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Historic DuPre Excelsior Mill Partially Collapses During Construction
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The historic DuPre Excelsior Mill in downtown Atlanta partially collapsed during recent construction.
No one was on site Friday when GPB News reporter Sarah Rose arrived. The location is undergoing renovations to become an office park. It formerly housed the Masquerade music venue for 28 years.
Developers Southeastern Capital Companies and Coro Realty announced earlier this month a new project after initial plans for converting the property into a mixed restaurant and retail space failed to materialize.
The developers released a statement Friday afternoon:
Today, Coro Realty and Southeastern Capital learned the eastern wall of the Excelsior Mill on North Avenue has collapsed. We are in the process of discovering what exactly happened, but preliminary information leads us to believe it was related to excavation work being done on site in accordance with the structural engineers’ specifications. No one was injured. It will take some time to assess the damage and figure out the best way forward. We are aware of the historic nature of these structures and have taken many precautions to protect them while we renovate and restore them.
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Jay Clark with Southeastern Capital Companies previously said those who are worried about preserving the history of the building shouldn’t be because plans were to preserve the original flooring and columns.
“We didn’t take out some of the old machinery," he said. "It’ll be part of the aesthetics.”
*This story is developing and will be updated.