The managing group for the Elan City Lights apartments in Dallas has announced plans to remove the crane from its building in an eight-week long process.
Over the next few weeks, contractors and "support personnel" will begin work to "lift the crane and debris out of the building," using "several pieces of heavy equipment, including two mobile cranes," according to a statement from Greystar Development & Construction, the management company.
The announcement comes nearly two months to the day the crane collapsed, killing 29-year-old Kiersten Smith and injuring several others.
More than 500 residents have been unable to return to their apartments since the collapse, and the building has been deemed to be "totally unusable."
The collapse damaged 124 units along with the parking garage.
Residents have expressed frustration over what they call a lack of information from apartment management.
"It's not helping those that are in need right now," said displaced resident Jonathan Ross. "We live in this life of limbo and we can't communicate with them effectively and it turns out they also can't communicate effectively with us."
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On July 25, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) concluded its investigation, deciding that it would be safe to remove the crane from the site.
While some residents have been able to retrieve their items, others are relying on the crane's removal to do so.
At the end of July, residents voiced their frustrations with Greystar, and created a Facebook group to demand better communication from the management group.
Read Greystar Development & Construction's full statement below.
“After thoughtful and careful planning with numerous parties to determine the best means of removing the collapsed crane, work is scheduled to begin in the coming days. We have worked closely with OSHA throughout this process to develop a plan, which will preserve the integrity of their investigation. OSHA will also be onsite to observe parts of the process.
Various contractors and support personnel will mobilize this week. Over the next few weeks several pieces of heavy equipment, including two mobile cranes, will arrive on site. All of this equipment is necessary to lift the crane and debris out of the building. Once this work begins, we anticipate it will take a minimum of 8 weeks to complete. However, given the complicated nature of this removal project, the schedule is subject to change.
The safety of our neighbors and contractors onsite is our top priority. We have worked diligently to find the safest and quickest way to move forward and will continue to do so throughout the remainder of this process.”
Greystar currently manages six other apartment buildings in Dallas.
