More than one month after a crane collapsed on a downtown Dallas apartment complex, dozens of Elan City Lights residents will begin the process of recovering their belongings, officials confirm.
On Friday, apartment officials released a letter to displaced residents explaining the five step plan in place.
More than a month prior, on June 9, severe storms knocked over a construction crane into the apartments. The collapse killed one and injured several others.
Within seconds, around 500 residents suddenly had to find temporary housing, and many were only given five minutes to retrieve whatever they could carry out of their homes before the structure was deemed unlivable.
Now, contract workers will begin to pack and move belongings in the 184 units located outside the impacted zone, according to the letter released Friday.
The impacted zone includes areas of the building directly affected by the crane collapse. This also includes the parking garage and other areas that are structurally damaged, unsafe to enter, or that may contain evidence that OSHA has ordered to be preserved.
Officials said tracking technicians will inventory all units prior to any belongings being moved. These teams will document the condition of the apartments and contents by taking photos and videos, before the moving team takes over.
Crews will then pack belongings into boxes. Items such as cash, jewelry and prescription medications will be boxed separately and a have custody tape.
Apartment officials will contact displaced residents with information about which storage facility they can pick up their belongings from.
The letter states the inventory process is expected to begin on July 15. Teams are anticipated to complete 10 to 12-hour workdays, seven days a week to complete the work. However, the timing of the crane removal could impact the move out schedule.
More than 100 units within the impacted zones are being evaluated for potential access and recovery of resident belongings. Officials are working with a contractor to develop a plan for the recovery of resident belongings from these units.
Cars and belongings in the units within the impacted zone cannot be moved until the crane is removed.
In the letter, officials said they can not provide a timeline for the recovery of belongings within the impacted zone until OSHA and other investigators have completed their work.
