Building Demolished without City Permit

By: Barbara Herring | WSAV-TV
Published: April 02, 2008

It's hard to get permission to tear down a building in Savannah's historic district. But downtown neighbors say someone didn't wait for permission -- they just started tearing down a building at the corner of Montgomery and Oglethorpe this weekend -- without a city permit.

The old Chao Chinese restaurant at that corner is now in pieces after crews worked Saturday and Monday. Neighbors' concerns over public safety have halted work, and the city is now ready to punish those involved.

Pat Stringer got a surprise Saturday morning.

“The cat machine started up and they started demolishing the building.”

She knew the old restaurant behind her house was coming down eventually --- but there was no warning that it would be this week. A problem for stringer because her 1822 brownstone may be damaged by the work, and developers were supposed to install vibration monitors before they started.

Instead she says chunks of the building started flying, and some fell into a busy sidewalk next to the bus stop.

“We got very concerned because people were walking over there but nobody seemed to care.”

Once Pat got someone from the city on the phone, she learned that no permit for demolition had been issued, meaning the work was illegal.

Susan Broker with the city says a fine will be placed on them, that they will have double the fees associated with this. Additionally, she says the city is no longer going to issue a site demolition permit without having building clearance.

Meaning pat and her neighbors’ concerns will mean stricter regulations in the future.

The restaurant will still be torn down, but not until a city permit is issued. They plan to replace Chao's with a Springhill Suites hotel.

Building Demolished without City Permit

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