City officials had to get a court order in order to take down the 235 Water St. structure after an engineering report declared it was at risk of catastrophic failure and was putting the residents in the neighboring building in grave danger.
Maine Superior Court Justice Thomas McKeon ordered the demolition Wednesday of 235 Water St. after Gardiner city officials evacuated the adjacent building in February after fears of its catastrophic failure.
The order to evacuate 247 Water St. came after an engineering review commissioned by Gardiner city officials found the fire-damaged building at 235 Water St. to be at risk of catastrophic failure, which the mayor says is the result of "stubborn inaction" by the owner.