City delays demolition decision of ‘unsafe’ downtown structure

A decade after downtown real estate “developer” Tom Flanagan purchased what he said was a deteriorating downtown Gilbert Building already “in poor condition,” city of Beaumont officials agreed that an additional five days was not enough time to address the state of the historic property that burned to rubble two weeks prior to the June 18 decision. 

The June 6 blaze that tore through the historic, long-vacant downtown Gilbert Building, the Beaumont City Council heard June 18, resulted in fire official recommendation to declare the property at 328 Bowie as an imminent danger and order the owner to demolish the structure within five days. City staff further recommended that, if the property owner were to fail to comply, City Council should authorize the demolition of the structure without further notification or City Council action. 

“Where I struggle is only allowing the property owner five days,” Councilman Taylor Neild commented. “There’s no doubt in my mind that this building is salvageable, and my family has been doing this for over 100 years. I just can’t sit back and live with five days … 

“I don’t think it’s fair to Tom Flanagan, nor would it be fair to anyone else.” 

As prepared for presentation by Planning and Community Development Director Demi Engman, the city department was asking for the City Council to approve an ordinance forcing Flanigan’s hand regarding the demolition of property determined to pose a community health risk. The building was “tagged” as an imminent danger June 10. 

Engman supported the request to demolish the structure with a written recommendation issued by Terry Shipman of Fittz & Shipman, Inc., a licensed engineer. 

“The building should be demolished,” Shipman proposed. “If the exterior walls are salvaged, a demolition plan should be prepared by a qualified professional to ensure the safe removal of the debris. The exterior walls will need to be shored with the shoring plan designed by a structural engineer registered in the State of Texas.” 

With the Shipman report, Engman presented and ordinance that would declare the Gilbert Building as “a public nuisance” and a “clear and imminent danger to public safety,” as the property has been found by the city’s Building Codes Division “to be an unsafe structure” that violates the city’s code of ordinances and “is for want of repairs, or by reason of age or dilapidated, decayed, unsafe or unsanitary condition, or otherwise unfit for human habitation, or otherwise likely to endanger the health, safety or general welfare of the citizens of the city.” 

Shipman’s final report stated that it is possible for the external facade to be saved, but a more thorough investigation would need to occur once the building has been gutted. 

“We’d love to salvage this building if possible,” Councilman Randy Feldschau commented, eliciting Shipman to state that, although it would take months to inspect the external facade to see if damage can be repaired, he believes that the Gilbert Building is unsafe and a danger to citizens at this time. The cost to repair was pondered – and quickly dismissed among council. 

“It is not the city’s responsibility to determine how he does it and how much it costs him to do it,” Neild said of Flanagan’s path moving forward. “The property owner needs to do a feasibility report to see if it’s salvageable, and you can’t do that in five days.” 

Councilman Mike Getz agreed that a five-day demolition turnaround scenario seemed unreasonable; however, Flanagan has had more than five days to do something with the ever-diminishing condition of the downtown property. 

“I would love for it to be preserved,” Getz gushed over the Gilbert Building, a 100-plus-year-old historic marker. “But, with that being said, this building has sat vacant for a long time, and we are at a critical juncture downtown, and at the point that we are going to have to start making hard decisions on the deteriorating and vacant buildings. We need to aggressively enforce our codes downtown.” 

After some discussion and back-andforth between councilmembers, building owner Flanagan addressed the council, expressing a “desire to work with the city.” Flanagan stated that he had been buying buildings nobody else wanted for nearly 40 years and had restored 14 of them. Flanagan said he currently owns 18 buildings downtown, four of which, including the Gilbert Building, are vacant. 

“All but three were vacant when we bought them,” said Flanagan. “The city sold it to us vacant and in poor condition because they didn’t want to touch it.” 

Flanagan, who said he acquired the Gilbert Building in 2014, had reportedly alleged planning luxury apartments for the building, but did not offer any preconceived timeline when questioned by council. 

Despite the property being declared in imminent danger of failure or collapse and receiving citations for electrical facilities, exterior property sanitation, exterior windows and door frames, pest infestations and the exterior structure being in an unsafe condition in March and April inspections – prior to the fire – Flanagan blamed downtown crime and homelessness for the problem, even stating that more than one person on the scene with the Beaumont Fire Department told him that the fire had to have been man-made. According to public record, merely one call to service took place at the Gilbert Building over the last decade, which was initiated by BPD and not the buliding owner. Flanagan claimed his building was secured before the fire, although inspections provided by the city show otherwise. 

Beaumont Fire Department Chief Earl White stated that the cause and origin of the fire had not yet been determined and, due to the danger still noted inside the building, it may not be possible to definitively determine the cause. 

“We have our engineer, our attorney and a contractor here, and we’ve talked to numerous engineers and numerous contractors,” Flanagan presented June 18, pleading for a 60-day period to plan for either demolition or renovation. “We understand the urgency of it – I’m not an engineer, but I’m one of the few people that have renovated these old buildings.” 

Alliance Engineers and Project Consultants, LLC President Rob Fuselier, a tenant of Flanagan’s building at 470 Orleans said he was hired by Flanagan immediately following the fire to assess the structural integrity of the building, and also addressed the council to request more time. 

“We’ve put three engineers on it and put together a recommendation for Mr. Flanagan to approach the building in four steps,” said Fuselier. “We have conducted a survey of the exterior of the building and the data is being put together right now, but our engineers have reported no significant displacement of the supporting walls. We expect to finish analyzing that data this week and recommend further assessment.” 

Fuselier said his firm plans to use drones or laser scans to inspect the interior and will then analyze the original drawings to put together a structural model of the building to replicate its current condition. This will allow them to subject it to various loads to quantify what the building is capable of in its current condition. Fuselier was confident that, should the council grant 60 days, his firm would be able to complete this assessment within the given timeframe. 

When asked if he felt the building was in imminent danger of collapse right now, Fuselier reiterated that he can only speak to data and that he hasn’t seen data to indicate such danger. 

“I would have to get more data to be able to make that comment,” said Fuselier. “But I think it’s prudent to keep the roads closed.” 

According to City Attorney Sharae Reed, in an abundance of caution, the city has left the barricades around the Gilbert Building in place, and the streets will remain closed until complete safety can be assured. Nearby, several businesses in operation are forced to make customers park and walk around to receive services. 

In opposition to the staff recommendation for immediate demolition, council unanimously decided to table the matter for 60 days, pending Flanagan’s agreement to secure the entire property with a fence and razor wire within five days to prevent entry.