Architecture Review Board recommends emergency partial demolition at 7 Aviles Street, directs salvage and archaeology protections

The City of Saint Augustine Architecture Review Board on March 27 recommended an emergency partial demolition of structurally unsafe front walls at 7 Aviles Street and attached conditions to protect historic materials and archaeological resources.

Richard Shawland, the city building official, told the board he had received a structural report and photos showing brick veneer with no tiebacks and walls beginning to buckle. "The bricks don't have tiebacks onto the wall, so they're not being held by that structure whatsoever," Shawland said, and recommended an emergency demolition permit for public safety.

Jude Kossage, the structural engineer retained by the owner's architect, said the mortar had essentially "completely turned to sand" inside the wall and that north-facing cracking suggested the risk of a two-story brick collapse, creating a life-safety hazard. "I could literally grab the brick from the backside of the wall and pull it out," Kossage said, describing mortar failure and a lack of structural integrity.

Contractor Chad Swaniger (KRB Construction) described extensive interior deterioration discovered when opening the…