An Eastern Market building has been saved after it partially collapsed earlier this month and the city promptly issued an emergency demolition order. 

On Wednesday, the city gave DTE Energy permission to restore electricity at 2501 Russell after an appeal was filed by the building’s owner, and for contractors to begin restoration work.

The site was evacuated on the  morning of Sep. 16 after a wall of the 126-year-old building collapsed, sending bricks on top of multiple vehicles and injuring one person. Later that same day the city issued an emergency demolition order barring building owner, Scot Turnbull, and all tenants including Beyond Juice, Jabs Gym, Brooklyn Outdoor, j’adore Detroit, and Detroit vs. Everybody, from entering. The order called for the building’s immediate demolition, citing safety concerns. Multiple businesses said the demolition would result in thousands of dollars of losses and for j’adore Detroit it would mean permanent closure.  

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Turnbull appealed the order, temporarily pausing demolition, while preservationists called on the city for a postponement until structural engineers had done an evaluation of the site. 

On Friday, the city said the appeal hearing was adjourned “for now.” 

“The owner’s engineer has submitted a document stating the building is safe to enter, stabilize, assess, and repair. We have reviewed and accepted it,” David Bell, director of Detroit’s Buildings, Safety Engineering, and Environmental Department (BSEED), said in a statement last Friday. “The owner has also agreed to a reasonable timeline to begin stabilization, apply for permits, and begin repairs,” Bell said. 

Structural support beams have already been put in place. 

“We expect applications for permits and related documents to be submitted within 30 days and look forward to getting this building back online as soon as possible,” a Wednesday statement from Bell adds. 

Turnbull was not immediately available Wednesday for comment. It was unclear whether BSEED would send its own engineers to assess the building or was relying on Turnbull’s engineers. 

Lauren Van Haaren, an event manager for j’adore Detroit, said via email that although there is “much uncertainty” about the timeline and whether the building can be repaired, “we are holding onto faith that we will once again be able to operate in our beautiful space.

“We’re doing our best to get comfortable with the unknown and do as much groundwork internally to prepare for the next steps,” she wrote.

Van Haaren said in the interim, the business is relying on community support including donations to j’adore’s GoFundMe account and asking customers to share photos and memories from experiences there.

The city has not yet released inspection reports for the building or provided more information on why it collapsed. A Freedom of Information Act Request filed by BridgeDetroit is pending.

The wall that collapsed was a part of a unit being rented by Armond Harris, founder and owner of Jab’s Gym. After the demolition order, Harris told BridgeDetroit the gym would be looking to relocate. Now that the building will be saved, Harris said his business might move back in “depending on the timeline,” which he hasn’t been given information on yet. 

Harris plans to retrieve his items from the building when tenants are permitted back inside. So far, he said, only Turnbull’s contractor and engineering team has been allowed in. 

While the building is being fixed and businesses remain closed, Harris said tenants shouldn’t have to pay rent, which ranges from $3,000 to $7,000 per month, he said. Harris said Turnbull informed tenants they are still on the hook for rent, and has not provided information on what caused the collapse in the first place. 

“He said that he’s still gonna charge us our rent payments going forward, and we have to get reimbursed by insurance,” Harris said, “which is insane.”