DANGEROUS DEMOLITION SITE ON MORTON AVENUE REMAINS WIDE OPEN
Written By Johnny Kincaid For The City-County Observer
March 29, 2024
One block north of the Lloyd Expressway, at 119 N. Morton Avenue, sits a 13-acre plot of land that some people say looks like a war zone. The lot is covered with piles of bricks and twisted steel. Roadways have been cut through the debris to allow access to trucks and demolition equipment that never seemly arrived. Portions of buildings that have been weakened by fire are still standing but appear to be capable of collapsing at any moment.
The fire on the site on October 17, 2022, was big enough that almost every piece of firefighting equipment in Evansville was dispatched. Intense smoke caused the closure of the Lloyd Expressway during the morning rush hour. When the flames were extinguished, the massive warehouse complex was destroyed, and all that was left were the bricks and twisted steel beams.
Almost a year and a half later, no work is currently being done to clean up the ruble, and no security fence has been erected to keep people out. The lot remains open and has easy to access.
Accidents happen on unprotected demolition sites. Earlier this year, a man was injured when he entered the site of the Pearl Laundry building that burned down in May 2023. The man was injured when bricks from the chimney fell on him. Like the Morton location, there was no fence around the Pearl Laundry fire scene. A fence was erected around the property after the injury occurred.
Evansville Building Commissioner Johnny McAlister says he and other inspectors have visited the site. “We have sent out a notice to the owner of the record and have also issued citations,” McAlister stated. “The city’s legal department is also looking into options.”
McAlister did not give a timeline for when the cleanup will be completed but did share that the property owner is in talks with the Indiana Department of Environmental Management.
When asked if Evansville has an ordinance requiring fences around construction or demolition sites, McAlstered said, “No.” But the answer isn’t quite that simple. Two provisions in the Evansville building code relate to securing a site where hazards may be present. In 2008, the city council passed an ordinance, “Vacant Structures and Land. All vacant structures and premises thereon or vacant land shall be maintained in a clean, safe, secure, and sanitary condition as provided herein so as not to cause a blighting problem or adversely affect the public health or safety.” In addition, code 15.05.040 states, “No building project shall proceed without the contractor or his authorized agent taking the proper precautions for the protection of life and property. Where permission is given for the storage of materials, where excavations have been made, or where anything in or about any work or construction is being undertaken, there shall be properly displayed all necessary warning signs, red lights, and danger signals.”
The only safety measure that appears to be in place is a “No Trespassing” sign that faces out to Morton Avenue that is not visible from most likely entrances to the property.
People have been observed driving pickups onto the property to pick up pieces of steel to sell to scrap dealers. One of the scrappers stated that he made $11,000 last year from metal picked up from the site.
The Vanderburgh County Assessor’s website shows that Morton Warehouse, Inc. has owned the property since the mid-1980s.
Great article. Common theme no accountability. The old Pearl Laundry site is another one. Demo work started because it was brought up again. Worked started, now look at it. Worked stopped, equipment has been removed. No follow up, no accountability.
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