Back in February, we updated you on the ongoing demolition at the old Forum Theater and told you about upcoming plans to demolish three structures on the south side of the 2100 block of Market Street. Those buildings, previously home to Les Gals and Hoagie City, have been undergoing demolition for the last several weeks, until today when the Hoagie City building collapsed. The collapse not only brought down what was left of the Hoagie City building, but it also took out the Salvation Army building, located on the corner of 22nd & Market. There was apparently a demolition crew inside the Hoagie City building, and employees and shoppers inside the store when the building came down around 10:40 this morning.
As you can see in the photo above, the Les Gals buildings were gone and the facade had been taken off of the Hoagie City building as of this morning. It’s unclear at this time what caused the collapse, but multiple media sources are indicating that at least two people remain trapped in the rubble and and least one person has lost their life.
Our prayers and best wishes go out to everyone effected by this terrible event.