LAKEWOOD, Ohio — In the aftermath of last month's garage collapse at the Marine Towers West apartment building, the city of Lakewood has filed criminal charges against the property's owner, management company, and a construction company.
According to the complaints filed in Lakewood Municipal Court, Marine Towers LLC, the Burton Carol Managment Company, and Atlas Masonry & Restoration were all cited for failure to secure a permit. That charge is a fourth degree misdemeanor.
Last week, Lakewood Mayor Meghan George told 3News' Mark Naymik that construction was taking place inside the garage in the days leading up to the collapse. George's statement was the exact same thing that residents of Marine Tower West and its neighboring tower had been saying for days. George added that such work would have likely required the company to apply for a permit and noted that the city had no record of a permit for work.
The collapse occurred at approximately 10 a.m. on December 23. The high-rise was deemed safe at 2 p.m. on the following day. Around 24 cars were in the garage when it collapsed. There were no injuries.
"It's a fairly sizable collapse, it's a pancake collapse, so the second-floor deck collapsed onto the first-floor deck, and subsequently, sections of that also came down," said Lakewood Fire Chief Tim Dunphy at the time of the collapse. "It's substantial."
Joy Anzalone, Chief Operating Officer for Burton Carol Management, LLC, released the following statement regarding the city's investigation:
"We fully support and welcome the city of Lakewood's thorough investigation into this matter. We have from the outset been united with the city as well as our own investigative team of engineers, insurance companies and others in working to determine the cause. We would not want to say anything to the media that in any way could hamper or jeopardize the ongoing investigation. Marine Towers West, including the garage, has always been in full compliance with all city inspections as we take great pride in caring for and maintaining the property. Our company's reputation, not just with our residents but with city officials, is of paramount importance to us. All contracts we enter into clearly require that the contractor pull all necessary permits as required by law.
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