WILLOWICK, Ohio — Three weeks after an underground parking garage collapsed at a Lake County apartment building, injuring two people and damaging several cars, tenants are still looking for answers and some still have not been able to move their cars.
Since the concrete crumbled on August 23, not much has changed in the lot at the Shoregate Towers apartments in Willowick.
“People are getting pretty fed up and it’s not looking too good back there,” resident Case Hall said.
Hall has lived there since 2012. If the collapse happened earlier in the summer, his car could have been among those crushed underneath. Fortunately, he stopped parking underground when the rates went up.
Hall’s white Jeep Compass looks as good as it did before the things caved in. But since then, the jeep has stayed put behind a barrier, along with more than a dozen other cars that aren’t damaged.
“They said don’t move it. it’s not safe to move it yet. So, we took their word for it,” he said.
In a notice to residents, apartment management said an engineer would assess the damage and create a plan to stabilize the deck where the cars are parked. That was posted august 28.
The office manager told 3News that she didn’t know when the process of removing the vehicles would happen but that she would keep the tenants updated.
“Just waiting. Waiting day by day that I can get to work,” Hall said.
In the meantime, Hall is borrowing a friend’s car and waiting for answers. The city says the buildings’ property owners pleaded no contest and were found guilty of 15 building code violations in May.
3News reached out to the property’s management office to ask about the incident and the owners’ history of violations. In an email, the manager replied, “no comment at this time.”
The city said in a statement following the collapse that it “will continue to assist [Willowick Fire] Chief Malovrh in his investigation to determine if further charges will be forthcoming.”
“It’s a praying game. it’s a waiting game,” Hall said. “Hoping nothing else collapses major and hoping one of these days we can get our jeep out.”
3News reached out to Willowick’s mayor’s office, building department and fire department throughout the day to ask about the investigation but as of Thursday night we had not received a response.
