ROCHESTER, Minn. – Everyone was evacuated from a 15-story luxury condominium after inspectors found two columns were structurally flawed. Inspectors reported the problem about 4:45 p.m. Immediately the 180 residents were told to move out. The building was entirely vacated by 7 p.m. Authorities established a 150-foot collapse zone around the building. They towed remaining cars from a nearby parking ramp. Fire Chief Eric Kerska said crews made a door-to-door check to assure no one remained in the building. Kerska said a structural engineer found the problem on a routine inspection. The condo management company called in experts to assess whether the failing columns can be shored up, the chief said. The Red Cross arranged temporary housing was for tenants at a nearby church.
150-foot collapse zone. A perimeter was established around the 15-story tower. Pedestrian and automobile traffic was diverted on the Broadway main thoroughfare a block away.
Rochester Towers: Condo profile
Rochester Towers, at 2nd 207 Fifth Avenue Southwest, has 94 units of one-room studios to three-bedroom penthouses in the $200,000 to $300,000 price range. Owners pay an annual maintenance fee of $36,000 to $7,200. Units range from 530 square feet to 2,100. Amenities include underground parking, an indoor pool, a sauna, a workout room, a community library, and what a sales brochure calls stylish community spaces and party spaces. The building is in the Mayo Clinic enclave downtown, within a block of the Baldwin, Jacobson, Kellen, Medical Sciences. Human Resources, Ozmun, buildings. Mayo’s showcase Gonda building is 1-1/2 blocks away, as are Mayo’s Saint Marys and Methodist hospitals.
Blue boxes superimposed on condo. The blue boxes are prices that the Re/Max real estate agency posted recently for units for sale. Neighboring Mayo Clinic buildings are labeled.
Grand entrance
View from the top
