Medellin, Colombia’s second biggest city, has ordered the demolition of the final four towers of the “Space” residential building that collapsed in October 2013, killing 12 people, reported Caracol Radio on Tuesday.
The collapse of building six of the Space Towers complex prompted the mayor’s office of Medellin to investigate the remaining five for safety hazards. Tower five was successfully taken down in February 2014. On Tuesday, the city administration ordered the demolition of the remaining four, but the city will have to wait until all legal cases to do with the collapse have been resolved.
According to Caracol Radio reports, the construction company, CDO, appealed the decision. The Deputy Mayor for Education and Habitat, Claudia Patricia Restrepo Montoya announced that, after having considered the proposals of experts who examined CDO’s appeal to keep the building, the City Council decided to opt for demolition to avoid safety risks.
After extensive studies by the University of the Andes at request of the Medellin council and the city’s mayor, Anibal Gaviria, the administrative department of disaster risk management ruled the entire complex to be unsafe.
The tower, in the Poblado neighborhood of Medellin, allegedly collapsed due to errors in its construction. All occupants in adjacent blocks were subsequently removed.
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The luxury complex, with apartments selling from between $100,000 and $265,000, was built by CDO, owned by a former governor of Antioquia, Alvaro Villegas, and designed by architect Jorge de Jesus Aristizabal.