Crews were still searching for two missing workers and were expected to start controlled demolition April 10
Controlled demolition was expected to begin in the afternoon on April 10 on a partially collapsed Philadelphia parking garage that was under construction in the city’s Grays Ferry neighborhood.
The April 8 incident left one worker dead, while two others were presumed dead, according to Mayor Cherelle Parker, who spoke at a news conference on Thursday.
Crews initially planned to deconstruct the unstable, unfinished garage that was being built for the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. But after consulting structural engineers, officials have decided to instead demolish the garage, according to media reports. Emergency crews also used specially trained dogs, robots and drones to search for workers who might’ve still been alive but have found nothing.
Fire Commissioner Jeffrey Thompson told local reporters that crews deployed dogs trained to find human remains. «Both independent of one another, and they both hit independently,” Thompson said, “so we were confident what we were dealing with was no longer a rescue but a recovery.»
While the victims weren’t identified, Mayor Parker said they belonged to the Ironworkers Local 401. A person who answered the phone at Local 401 on April 10 said the union will put out a statement to the media on April 13.
Permits were properly issued and inspections were up to date for the $32.27-million project, according to the mayor. Construction started on the seven-story, multi-level, 335,000-sq-ft parking garage in 2025. Built to replace a surface parking lot, the garage was planned to have up to 1,012 spaces and was expected to be completed this year, according to city documents.
The mayor said the city will investigate the collapse, as will the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration. A specific cause has not been identified at this time. In her press conference, Mayor Parker described a progressive collapse scenario that appeared to begin with a precast concrete segment on the top floor and propagated down all seven levels of the garage.
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PreCast Services Inc., which reportedly was installing precast concrete floor and roof components on the project at the time, could not immediately be reached for comment.
HSC Builders & Construction Managers is construction manager on the project. It last ranked at 40 on the 2019 ENR MidAtlantic Top Contractors list, with $186.93 million in revenue.
In a statement to the media, the firm expressed sympathies for the families of the workers in the collapse. «We make significant efforts each and every day to ensure safe and secure jobsites for our workers, subcontractors and the public in general. We have never experienced a collapse or failure in the company’s history. Our immediate mission is to do whatever we can to aid the deceased workers and their families.»
The engineer of record, structural engineer, and architect have not been publicly confirmed in reporting and Philadelphia’s L&I system does contain this information. A rendering for the project credited to design firm THA Consulting Inc. was published by the Philadelphia Inquirer online.
A person who answered the phone at the firm said, “We have no comment at this time.”
A rendering of the parking garage. Image courtesy Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. CHOP could not be reached for comment but did release a statement released to the media. “Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia is aware of a serious construction incident at our parking garage construction site on 3000 Grays Ferry Avenue in Philadelphia. We are prioritizing the safety of the construction workers at this time and working closely with the City of Philadelphia and our construction partners. We will share additional information as it becomes available.”
