Code violations pile up on historic Norfolk building

NORFOLK

The owners of a historic building that has been long slated to undergo a major overhaul have been cited for 56 code violations, including deterioration of masonry, brick, wiring and fire escapes.

But city officials insist the building, in a prominent location downtown, is no threat to public safety.

The Bankers Trust Building, 161 Granby St., is owned by Bobby Wright. Wright announced last year that he planned to sell the property to a South Carolina-based firm that plans to turn it into apartments.

Chris Malendoski, a broker for Wright, said that sale is still pending. However, his company has worked to address the city's concerns, hiring an engineering firm months ago to help fix the code violations, he said.

"They required us to make some repairs, which we promptly did, and they issued a clean bill of health," Malendoski wrote in an email. "We've done our very best to cooperate with the city."

Assistant City Manager Stanley A. Stein said code officials are still monitoring the building's repairs. According to a letter written to Malendoski on Nov. 29 by Lynn Underwood, the city's code official, all repairs must be completed before Feb. 15.

"There is an active and ongoing code enforcement process, and the city is on top of it," Stein said.

Wright announced in February 2010 that he planned to sell the building to US Development.

David M. Bryant, a partner in US Development, said his firm's plans to close on the property were delayed because of the troubled financial market. US Development will now take over the property no later than the end of next month, he said.

"We're pushing as hard as we can to get this done," he said.

Built as a hotel for the 1907 Jamestown Exposition, the Bankers Trust Building is named for a bank that later occupied the space, US Development officials said.

Wright purchased the long-vacant building in 2004. Two years later, it had deteriorated to the point where the fire department declared it unfit for habitation. Scaffolding was installed in front of the building to protect pedestrians from flying debris. Although Wright repaired decaying bricks and removed glass from windows, the scaffolding remains.

Wright was required to submit engineering reports every six months attesting to the building's safety, city officials said. John Morsberger, the interim head of building code enforcement, acknowledges those reports were not always submitted on time.

"There was a gap in there; the ball got dropped," he said.

Malendoski said Wright's engineering firm provided reports through the end of 2009. At that point, US Development was supposed to provide the reports, he said.

Stein said city officials have prosecuted code violations on the property for more than a decade. Deputy City Attorney Cynthia Hall said in an email that she was prosecuting code enforcement charges against Wright until early 2010, when the deal with US Development was announced.

Donald Hornstein, who owns an adjacent building in which he runs a pawn shop and rents space to a restaurant, has sent numerous emails to city officials in recent months complaining about the building's condition.

"I've seen people cross the street because they don't want to go under scaffolding," he said. "And it's been this way for five years. ... I assume it's adversely affected the value of my building."

Hornstein's building is for sale.

Councilman Barclay C. Winn spoke about the building's issues at a meeting of the Downtown Norfolk Council last week.

"It looks horrible. Something needs to be done sooner than later," he said.

But Cathy Coleman, who heads the Downtown Norfolk Council, wants the city to continue to practice patience for the sake of pending transformation.

"If something is there endangering public safety, it's the city's responsibility to act," she said. "If it's an aesthetic issue, it's worth waiting a couple of months."

Harry Minium, (757) 446-2371, harry.minium@pilotonline.com