The entire front façade of the former Empire TV building on 215 North Queen Street collapsed sometime early Wednesday morning, striking a Red Rose Transit bus with debris in the process. According to RRTA marketing manager Jennifer Boley, there were about ten individuals riding in the bus, some of whom came out with “minor injuries.” The damaged building was located directly beside the current excavation site for a future RRTA bus station expansion and parking garage.
A city resident who works within blocks of the site said that the collapse must have occurred sometime after 7:15 a.m.
215 North Queen is currently owned by the Lancaster Museum of Art, purchased in 2005 for later development as a new home for the institution. The museum canceled this plan last January to avoid accruing unmanageable overhead expenses. The property has since been listed for a sale price of $650,000.
Amanda Forry, exhibits and education assistant for the museum, told NewsLanc on Wednesday morning that the building has not been under any regular use. “There shouldn’t have been anyone in there,” Forry said. Another assistant from the museum said that there have been no injuries from crews working at the excavation site at the time of the collapse.
Boley was unable to comment as to how this accident might impact the RRTA’s $17 million project next door. “It’s too early to tell at this point during the day what’s going to happen,” she said.
