OBSERVER Photo by Anthony Dolce The back half of the building at 25 Park Place in Silver Creek had to be razed last week following the collapse of a wall. The Village was prepared for the wall to collapse, as fencing was put up prior to it collapsing.

SILVER CREEK — On the afternoon of July 12, a portion of the wall at 25 Park Place collapsed into the Village Park.

Silver Creek Mayor Jeff Hornburg said they knew something was going to happen with that wall soon, and necessary precautions were taken. “It had been bowing,” said Hornburg. “We had fencing down there to protect everyone and it stayed within the fencing.”

Hornburg said himself, Silver Creek Code Enforcement Officer Daniel Hogg, Fire Chief Brandyn Griewisch and someone from demolition company HH Rauh, which the village has been talking to anyway, as Hornburg has wanted this wall down for the last two years.

“When this wall went down, it was an opportune time,” said Hornburg. “Chief Griewisch immediately condemned the building as unsafe and a hazard, and ordered it razed. And by Thursday, HH Rauh with an excavator and we raised the back two-thirds of that building.”

The demolition debris still sits there, as there is paperwork that must be filed before that rubble can be taken to the dumps.

HH Rauh told the village it would take around two weeks for it to be moved out, but there is no worry of the wall coming down on anybody.

“It is gone,” said Hornburg. “I’m glad it’s gone.”

The wall did fall while youth recreation was in session, but the fencing the Village put up to stop any potential debris did its job. Hornburg said they’d meet with the proper authorities moving forward, and the Village will now focus further on beautifying the park.