A condemned house collapsed Friday on Semicir Street in Observatory Hill section of Pittsburgh's Perry North neighborhood as the city continues to face damage and disruption from multiple landslides.
There were no injuries when 45 Semicir St. fell, city officials said.
“We’re just glad that it went the way that it did – that it didn’t go forward into the street, that it went backward into the park, and no one was hurt,” said Denise Hogg, 65, of 71 Semicir St.
Landslides have been a recurring issue on the street above Riverview Park — in 2010 and again last year.
In a statement, city officials said the home had not been demolished because the hillside was "insecure" and it was not safe to do so.
"Demolishing it also could have further eroded the hillside, endangering other structures on the street," city spokesman Timothy McNulty said in a statement.
The house next door to it is also condemned.
Pittsburgh's Department of Mobility and Infrastructure said engineers completed work on the street this week to assess the condition of the hillside, with the goal of completing plans for retaining the hillside within three months.
In a statement earlier this month, neighborhood group Observatory Hill Inc. said it had been told by Pittsburgh officials that city engineers were taking daily measurements of movement of the street.
Observatory Hill Inc. “has been assured that city officials are working diligently to identify engineering solutions to address the landslide and the first priority is safety of the residents," the community group said in that statement.
Residents on the street knew the house could collapse imminently.
“It was just a matter of time,” said Mitch Hall, 28, of 49 Semicir St. – two doors away and on the same side of the street as the fallen house.
Mr. Hall, who’s lived on the street for about 1½ years, said he had taken the past few weeks off from his job at a landscape design company so he could be nearby and “see if anything happened.”
“It certainly was an ominous threat,” Mr. Hall said. “It’s definitely raised the stress level of everyone on the street.”
Semicir Street, a loop off Perrysville Avenue along a steep hillside above Riverview Park, may epitomize the city's struggles with landslides. But it doesn't encapsulate them.
Cessy Portuguez bought 45 Semicir in 2009. Her family was forced to evacuate last February after a back corner detached and fell off, leaving a gaping hole in the first floor.
Ms. Portuguez sued the city and the Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority in October, claiming negligence by PWSA for broken water lines and by the city for changing the slope of the street in a 2017 repaving. Both the city and the authority have claimed immunity and mounted other defenses against the lawsuit.
Edward G. Ferrell bought 35 Semicir late last year for $79,825. The sale was recorded by Allegheny County on Jan. 4. Six days later, the city condemned his house. That home above Riverview Park was evacuated Tuesday after the city deemed it unsafe due to landslide concerns.
In 2010, Justin and Dorothy Defide, who had lived at 33 Semicir for 44 years, were evacuated after a landslide, and their home was quickly razed. A recent demolition brought down 63 Semicir.
Homes on Semicir were built from the late 19th century to the mid-20th century.
Mr. Hall said his house was built in 1906, and it has no structural problems that he’s aware of.
“If we have to leave, we’ll leave,” he said.
Ms. Hogg, who’s lived on Semicir about 20 years, also is prepared to move. She’s mostly worried about the safety of her sister, who lives with her and uses an oxygen tank.
“Slowly but surely,” Ms. Hogg said, “we’re going to get ourselves prepared.”
Earlier this week, the city began work on a nearly $900,000, 40-foot-tall by 120-foot-wide retaining wall along landslide-threatened Diana Street in Spring Hill. It's just one of 20 active slide locations that the city is monitoring and that could affect public rights of way.
The city plans to spend $8 million this year on landslide-related construction projects. But that doesn't cover the estimated $12 million cost of the current landslides -- more than the city can currently afford.
Other anticipated remediation sites include List Street in Spring Hill, Forward Avenue in Squirrel Hill and Swinburne Street in South Oakland. The city spent $1 million fixing last year's Greenleaf Street landslide in Duquesne Heights.
The region saw several landslides and wet-weather related calamities in 2018, all of which were fueled by a record amount of precipitation that was nearly 50 percent higher than normal. The Pittsburgh area logged 57.83 inches, according to the National Weather Service in Moon.
Staff writer Andrew Goldstein contributed. Kate Giammarise: kgiammarise@post-gazette.com or 412-263-3909.
First Published: February 22, 2019, 4:19 p.m.
Updated: February 23, 2019, 1:54 a.m.