- Negotiations underway: The city's attorneys are in negotiations with the property owner's attorneys, and the property owner's engineers have been given two options — repair the building or demolish it and clear the rubble so streetcar construction can continue.
- Cause still unknown: The city has not yet determined what caused the sinkhole, but says contractors will be billed through their insurance if they are found to be at fault.
- Construction halted for weeks: Streetcar construction in the Blackstone stretch near 38th and Farnam has been paused for about 6 weeks since the void formed outside the vacant former Brother's Lounge building.
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
OMAHA, Neb. - (KMTV) A sinkhole formed outside the former Brothers Lounge building at 38th and Farnam Street along the streetcar route, and Mayor Ewing gave an update Friday on the city's response.
The owner of the building, Trey Lalley, had stated publicly that the foundation and sidewalk were in good condition before streetcar construction began in the area. Lalley says he was sent a property violation notice citing a "collapsed foundation wall" and posted on Facebook that he had received a $125 inspection bill from the city.
Mayor Ewing addressed concerns about the city's handling of the situation.
"Our folks wanted to be able to get out in front of the news because there were a number of things that were being said that we didn't necessarily believe were accurate in terms of the city's responsiveness. They held that press conference and since then we have actually worked to make sure that we were clear in terms of what next steps needed to happen with the owners of the property so that's where we're at today," Ewing said.
The mayor says the city's attorneys are currently in negotiations with the property owner's attorneys. The city notified engineers for the property owners with twp options.
"One would be to repair the building so we would have to get estimates for that, the second one was to actually tear the building down then have the building rubble and everything removed so we could continue our street car project," Ewing said.
The property has been vacant for 5 years. The city says the cause of the hole has yet to be determined, and that if contractors are found to be at fault they will be billed through their insurance.
Streetcar construction in this stretch of Blackstone has not taken place since the void formed about 6 weeks ago.
