Crews Set To Tear Down Crumbling Marshall-Shadeland Home

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- Residents say it's an eye sore and a safety hazard.

A cracking and crumbling house in Pittsburgh's Marshall-Shadeland neighborhood is finally coming down, but this time it's with the help of professionals.

The structure at 1605 Forsythe Street is beginning to show the ravages of time, neglect and gravity.

While the old home - and one time neighborhood store - began to crumble a while back, it's the bricks that have broken away from the building that have drawn concern.

"The wall's been like that, been like that for a long time," said Anthony Brooks, a neighbor.

The fact is, you don't have to look far to see old city homes falling in on themselves. Right up the street, another home is beginning to collapse as well.

"They've been going around to these old abandon houses; they've been stripping the aluminum siding, taking the plumbing out," Brooks said. "Houses just been falling."

Just how bad is the problem? The city's building inspector has been busy.

"We've been doing about 500 a year - condemned buildings," said Paul Loy, the City Demolition Manager.

This one the latest.. And

However, getting the okay to tear a derelict structure down isn't easy.

The homeowner has to be notified and finding them can take time. In this case, they did find the owner, but an emergency demolition order was given to take it down too.

"We've contacted contractors to come out on site," said Loy. "We're going to take bids to demolish it today. It's not gonna be an easy one."

The plan is to have the building down within the next 24 to 48 hours.

RELATED LINKS:
Local House Appears Close To Collapsing (5/8/12)
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