Penn Street Row Homes Deemed Stable; Residents Allowed to Move Back

Residents of the 300 block of East Penn Street received the go-ahead to move back into their homes on Wednesday, after officials from the codes department deemed the row homes to be stable.

Unfortunately for the family at 333 East Penn Street, their wait will continue, as the municipality decides whether or not to tear down their end-unit home following the removal of the home's facade on Tuesday.

“We have to consider the costs of repairing it, but we also have to consider the costs of keeping the building to the neighborhood and to Norristown as a whole,” said Joseph Januzelli, Norristown's Code Enforcement Manager, in a report by the Times Herald.

The residents were evacuated on Tuesday afternoon, after an officer on patrol noticed that the front wall of the home at 333 East Penn Street had begun to separate from the rest of the frame.

Cracks and protruding bricks were visible on the second and third floors of the home, and the window frames were beginning to collapse inwards. After the structure was evaluated by a municipal engineer, the decision was made to tear down the facade of the home, in the hopes of preserving the rest of it.

Utility crews arrived on scene just before 4 p.m., in order to sever the power lines and shut off the gas and water. In addition to the utility work, one of the workers was able to lure out the family's cat, who was still inside the evacuated home.

A few hours later, crews began to tear down the front of the home – a process that continued until 11:30 p.m., according to reports.

The home is now sealed by boards on the first floor, and a blue tarp covering the second and third floors, according to reports.

Click here for our previous coverage of this incident. 

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