Lt. Matt Coffin, public affairs officer for Chesterfield’s fire department, gives members of the local and national media a status report.

The fire department, EMS, and search and rescue teams have completed their work. In the shadow of tragedy, there is still a lot to be done. The collapse of Fountain Square Plaza condominiums last week has left builder Barney McLaughlin at square one. Putting the past behind them, McLaughlin’s McBar Realty has begun the arduous task of deciding how proceed with construction while making sense of what happened to cause the roof and first floor to give way.

Chesterfield’s building inspection department officials, in conjunction with OSHA and the Chesterfield County Police Department, have not closed the case and are continuing their investigation. The building was posted as unsafe and a perimeter fence was erected on Friday to keep anyone from getting too close or entering the building.

According to building inspection officials, there currently is no information that can be made public on the cause of the collapse.

Getting a fresh start with those who had contracts on commercial or residential spaces in the building that is now uninhabitable was one of the first tasks McBar tended to.

Four commercial spaces on the first floor and three residences on the second floor of the 18-unit building were under contract for sale. Two of the commercial spaces were to be occupied by a British pub. The Village News was set to occupy an office space in the building, and a local partnership was preparing to begin interior work on a deli in one of the first-floor units.

On Friday, McBar returned deposits and released all buyers from their contracts. According to William Bryce King, an agent for McBar, the company wanted all buyers to feel comfortable. Those who had contracts on the units would get first right of refusal to purchase a unit in a new building there.

McLaughlin intends to rebuild, he said by phone on Thursday. Exactly how he would proceed, he said, was uncertain. One option would be to demolish and haul away the debris from the 16 units affected by the collapse and leave the one commercial and one residential unit on the west end of the building standing. An initial assessment indicated that at least that section was not damaged. McLaughlin said, however, that an engineer’s inspection would determine whether or not that could be done.  

Michelle and Mark Fowler, who had planned to open a British style pub in two of the units on the east end of the building, say that it was important to think of the family involved first.
“Under the circumstances, our whole concern is with the family who lost a loved one. Those are the times when you appreciate the things that are important in life, like friends, family, and the community itself,” says Michelle Fowler, who, along with her husband Mark, was beginning work on the British pub. “Once things settle down, that’s when we’ll start looking at things and say, ‘what are we going to do?’”

Fowler says that after working with McLaughlin over the last year, “We realize he is such a professional that we’re quite sure he didn’t have anything to do with what happened.
“Apart from that, we started this whole thing because of the community of Chester, the people, and how everybody comes together for things. So we think, barring any unforeseeable problems in the future, that the best thing to do is to move forward.”

Village News publisher Linda Fausz says she commends McLaughlin for being quick to consider those under contract to purchase space from him. “We didn’t really expect to be released from our contract right away. We’re in no hurry and wouldn’t have expected him to deal with when he has so much to do right now.”

The Village News owners, like the Fowlers, do not want to push McLaughlin right now. “He has a lot to deal with right now; we only want to be supportive and wish him well during this difficult time,” says Linda Fausz.

** Mark Fausz is the managing editor and part owner of the Village News.

mfausz@villagepublishing.com | 751-0421

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