New Castle County Executive Tom Gordon has directed the New Castle County Department of Land Use to condemn an estimated 130 decks at Stonebridge Apartments
According to a release, Gordon made his decision shortly after Chief Administrative Officer David Grimaldi, Land Use Administrator Joe Ruberto, and Inspector Aloysius “Al” Woerner performed a second inspection of the decks on Tuesday/ This came a day after a woman was injured after a wooden balcony collapsed. The woman was standing on the deck when it collapsed.
Stonebridge is in the Wilton area off Route 40 between New Castle and Bear.
“Our concern is for the safety of the residents, and having personally visited the complex, we feel condemnation is appropriate,” CAO Grimaldi said.
Stonebridge and other apartment complexes built in 1989 were constructed prior to the UDC adoption in 1998 and the International Building Code adoption in 2000.
County Executive Gordon has requested a list of all apartment complexes built prior to the adoption of the International Code so that notices can be sent to the corresponding management companies, warning of this potential safety hazard.
Deck collapses are not unknown in the county, but have been infrequent.
