What we know about the partial parking garage collapse at Bayshore mall
Reports came in early Thursday afternoon of a partial collapse of a parking structure at Bayshore Town Center, the outdoor mall straddling the border of Glendale and Milwaukee.
Here's what we know about what happened.
Bayshore parking structure partially collapsed just after noon
Reports of the collapse were first received around 12:15 p.m. Thursday.
A portion of the parking garage's rooftop level collapsed onto the ramp between floors, sending piles of snow and concrete down to ground level.
"Literally from the third floor down, it is a wide open hole," said North Shore Fire Department Chief Robert Whitaker. "The third floor is in the first floor right now."
Mall shoppers and employees reported hearing loud booms and feeling buildings shake.
Officials confirmed no one was hurt in the collapse, originally couldn't say for sure
Surveillance footage from the garage — captured from two locations — showed that no occupied cars or pedestrians were in the path of the collapse, officials said in a press conference Thursday evening.
Two cars were damaged. Whitaker said at the press conference that the vehicles' owners had confirmed that no one was in the cars at the time of the collapse. After removing the debris, fire officials confirmed that no one was injured on Saturday.
A pile of plowed snow is a 'likely' factor, but it's not known if there were other causes of the collapse
Whitaker said a pile of plowed snow on the top floor of the parking structure "likely" factored into the partial collapse. He said it "would be fair to say" that the weight of the snow concentrated in one spot played a role.
The collapse occurred one day after the Milwaukee area received a "total liquid equivalent" between 0.9 and 1.2 inches of snow and sleet, said Denny VanCleve, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Sullivan. One liquid equivalent typically equates to 10 inches of snow — or 2 to 3 inches of sleet, he said.
The wintry mix of precipitation weighs more than average snowfall. Whitaker later confirmed at an evening news conference that the snow in the structure weighed 20 pounds per square foot, while snow typically weighs closer to six pounds per square foot.
"It can be deceiving," VanCleve said. "It doesn't seem like much but the piles are going to weigh much more than 2 inches of snow would."
It's not yet known whether any structural issues were a factor.
Best practices warn against large snow piles on parking structures.
Bayshore last year hired a new company to remove its snow
The collapse came about a year after Bayshore, which is operated by Dallas-based Cypress Equities LLC, switched from its longstanding snow removal firm to a competing business.
The current contractor, West Allis-based Winter Services LLC, began working for Bayshore during the 2021-'22 season, according to Jesse Hoffman, president of MCR Holdings LLC.
Milwaukee-based MCR Holdings previously held the snow removal contract at Bayshore for around 10 years.
Which parking structure partially collapsed?
The garage is located near the outdoor mall's Trader Joe's grocery store, at 5600 N. Port Washington Road. It has three levels for parking.
It's labeled as the Yellow Garage. Christel Henke, a spokesperson for Bayshore, referred to the structure as the Silver Spring parking garage.
It was built around 2005 and 2006, Glendale Mayor Bryan Kennedy said.
How big was the collapse?
Milwaukee Deputy Fire Chief Matthew Williamson said the collapsed portion of concrete was about 50 feet long and 20 feet wide.
The collapse occurred on the top floor of the structure, on an overhang above the garage's ramp, causing a pancaking sequence.
"The third floor is in the first floor right now," Whitaker said.
Bayshore mall did not close after the incident
Most businesses within the mall appeared to be remaining open after the collapse Thursday, including anchor retailers Target and Kohl's.
Trader Joe's, which is next to the parking structure, did appear to be closed after the incident.
56 cars are stuck in the garage, officials say they will be removed within the week
Vehicles remain struck in the parking garage because its sole ramp was destroyed.
“They’re literally going to have to reconstruct that ramp to get cars out,” Whitaker said at the time of the incident.
Bayshore officials announced Monday that a temporary ramp connecting the first level to the second level is being installed by engineers and people will be able to retrieve their cars this week.
Bayshore officials will escort the vehicle owner to their vehicle before confirming ownership and then officials will drive their vehicle out of the parking garage.
If employees or guests have a vehicle that is on the second or third level of the parking garage and have not reported their vehicle as being affected, they should contact Heather Hansen at the Bayshore Management Office at heather.hansen@baysoretowncenter.com or 414-433-3156.
Can the structure be repaired, and what's next?
Williamson said it is believed the rest of the parking structure was not compromised by the collapse.
But officials Thursday afternoon could not answer whether the hole left by the collapse can be repaired.
"That's a question I would leave for an engineer," Whitaker said.
Fire crews stopped digging through the piles of snow and concrete on Thursday after some of the largest slabs began shifting.
They began using torpedo heaters to melt the snow, but later stopped.
"We are working diligently with the City of Glendale, North Shore Fire and Police Departments, our engineering partners, owners and management on the remediation strategy," said a statement issued Friday by Bayshore.
"This will take some time and Bayshore will communicate further action plans for the next phase. This is an ongoing investigation, and our team is in actively working to communicate with those affected by the parking garage incident," it said.
Has the Milwaukee area seen an incident like this before?
Yes. In June 2010, a slab of concrete fell from the entryway of the garage at O'Donnell Park in Milwaukee, killing 15-year-old Jared Kellner and injuring two other people on their way to Summerfest.
Four years later, a Milwaukee County jury ruled that the insurance company for the firm that installed the concrete panel had to pay a total of total of $39 million for the death and injuries as a result of the accident, along with damage to the county-owned structure.
Sophie Carson, Mary Spicuzza, Ashley Luthern and Alex Groth contributed to this report.
Contact Elliot Hughes at elliot.hughes@jrn.com or 414-704-8958. Follow him on Twitter @elliothughes12.
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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: What we know after parking garage collapsed at Bayshore mall
