Restoration of the Sandman Signature Hotel in downtown Fort Worth appears to be on the horizon.
FIRST ONSITE Property Restoration, a restoration service firm based in Farmers Branch, has applied for a permit to begin work on the Sandman Signature Hotel. The permit was granted less than a month after an explosion ripped through the building.
On January 8, a suspected gas explosion that reportedly originated from the hotel’s basement-level restaurant left a total of 21 people injured and a portion of the building damaged. Several individuals and family members affected by the explosion have since filed lawsuits claiming negligence on the part of hotel operator Sandman Management, the hotel owner Northland Properties Corp, and the gas service provider Atmos Energy, as previously reported by The Dallas Express.
The permit application, which was filed on January 30, was for a “selective demo for shoring” on the building.
“Shoring is the construction of a temporary structure to support temporarily an unsafe structure,” according to The Constructor. “Shoring can be used when walls bulge out, when walls crack due to unequal settlement of foundation and repairs are to be carried out to the cracked wall, when an adjacent structure needs pulling down, when openings are to be newly made or enlarged in a wall.”
Simon Chao, a civil engineering professor at the University of Texas at Arlington, told the Fort Worth Report that some of the building could need replacing and that certain portions may have to be destroyed, but added that the permit filing suggests hope for restoration.
“I think in a way it’s good news,” said Chao, per FWR. “‘Select’ means that’s … localized possible damage … [and] that it’s repairable.”
Northland Properties said in a news release that the structural integrity of the building does not appear to be compromised. However, the hotel is not expected to open anytime soon.
“We are working with a structural engineer to provide confirmation of this and there are no plans to demolish at this site,” read the release, per FWR. “We are encouraged by the community support during this challenging time and know that we all look forward to opening our doors again as soon as we can.”