East Bank Street fenced off after roof collapse

Photos by Tom Rivers

ALBION – It’s a startling sight in downtown Albion with East Bank Street fenced off from Main to Platt Street.

The Village Board on Tuesday had an emergency meeting after the roof collapsed at 20 East Bank Street. The village hired Emergency Enclosures Inc. in Rochester for $10,000. That was the lowest of three bids for the fencing.

Albion will seek reimbursement of the cost from the owner of the building, Frank Corso, or his insurance company.

The roof fell through the third floor, which was unoccupied. The fallen roof prompted the evacuation of 15 tenants from the second floor apartments between 16 to 28 East Bank St., which is the tallest building in the photo.

An engineer will check the building to determine the soundness of the structure. Once that is known, the fencing could be restricted to a much smaller area or perhaps totally removed, said Tim McMurray, an Albion trustee.

The sidewalk on the north side of East Bank remains open while the fence is up.

The fencing is covering a large area of East Bank because the fall zone needs to be 1 ½ times the size of the building. (These photos were taken at about 8:20 p.m. Tuesday while the company put up the fence.)

The fenced-off area also includes the village’s municipal parking lot at the corner of East Bank Street and Platt Street.