Trending
City Council on Monday awarded a contract for demolition of the nine-unit Sunset apartment building on the 2200 block of Broad Avenue, whose residents were evacuated in July 2025, after structural brickwork on the left side began to bow -- deterioration that has worsened since then, creating serious risk, according to city officials.
The city will pay the $103,000 cost of the demolition to G&R Excavating of Tyrone out of the All Together Altoona Fund, then lien a second Altoona property of building owner Eric Lowey of Port Matilda with the aim of obtaining reimbursement -- an effort that could ultimately include an attempt to attach Lowey's assets, according to city officials.
The city Department of Codes and Inspection has repeatedly ordered Lowey to raze or repair the buff-stone-fronted structure, an order that was ratified by the city Blighted Property Review Committee and that remained in effect through a code appeal, a hearing before a magisterial district judge and two hearings in Blair County Court, according to codes Director Rebecca Brow -- who was told by Lowey that he lacks the money to take care of the problem.
Despite Lowey having set up a fence and the building having been boarded up by city employees, squatters have broken in, which aggravates the risk and amplifies the need to get the building down, according to City Manager Christopher McGuire and others.
"It's a constant worry," Brown said. "I don't think (the building) would make it through the winter."
The state's Neighborhood Blight and Reclamation Act and the city's property maintenance code give the city the "right to step in and abate the problem," Brown said.
When the initial evacuation occurred, city officials advised residents of the seven occupied apartments to take everything they could of importance, according to Brown.
But some weren't able to take everything, as the evacuation happened quickly.
Carol Adams is one of those residents.
Some of her belongings remain despite her interactions with a lawyer who she was told might be able to help her, she said.
Based on the observations of a cousin who spends time near the building, people have broken into Adams' apartment and taken a number of items, including things that have emotional value, based on their connection with deceased relatives, Adams said.
She wonders about the likelihood of being reimbursed.
The city prohibited anyone from entering the building after it received an engineering report last summer detailing the structural hazard, according to Brown.
The problem stemmed from water that got behind the bricks, froze and pushed the bricks outward, according to City Councilman Ron Beatty.
The problem existed when Lowey took ownership of the building, but was minor at the time, officials said.
A subsequent repair was done improperly, Beatty said.
Lowey sought assistance from his insurance company, but was unsuccessful because the issue was deemed to have been inadequate maintenance, according to Brown.
The city's codes solicitor is expected to work on the legalities involved in the city's attempt to get reimbursement for the demolition cost.
"We will make every effort to recover as much of the funds as we can," Beatty said.
Mirror Staff Writer William Kibler is at 814-949-7038.