An already buckling wall on the former Koch’s Appliance building in Lansford gave way and collapsed into an empty lot Saturday night.

The borough placed barricades in front of the building at 118 W. Ridge St. last week, preventing people from using the sidewalk or parking spaces in front of the property.

The borough engineer had inspected the building and feared the bowed outer wall would collapse into the side lot, which is fenced in and has a sign reading, “Keep Out,” on it.

The second floor had already collapsed into the first floor of the building last week, before the outer wall collapsing into the vacant lot.

Council President Bruce Markovich said the buckling, outer wall of the building fell around 8:30 p.m. on Saturday night, and he went out to look at the property.

The borough is now starting the legal process to get the building torn down, he said, and notifying the out-of-state owner to make repairs or raze the property is the first step.

Markovich wasn’t sure how much time the owner would have to do the work, but believed it could be as much as 30 days.

The borough cannot tear down the building under an emergency order, because the front of the building, which is brick and masonry, is holding, he said. The borough’s engineer did not believe it would fall into Ridge Street when previously inspected, Markovich said.

Neighbors told Markovich that the owner did come to look at the property during the night and then went back to New York, he said.

According to the county property record database, the owner of 118 W. Ridge St. was Hogarth Louis of Brooklyn, New York, as of July 2019.

“We have to start the legal process,” Markovich said.

If the owner takes no action, then the borough will have to step in to tear down the structure, he said.

In the past, the borough has razed buildings and placed a lien on the property, but failed to recoup the money spent when the property ends up sold in a county upset sale, when liens and taxes are forgiven.

The borough plans on taking a different approach to recoup costs, and will bill the owner for the borough’s costs to tear down the building and hand over any unpaid bill to Portnoff Law Associates for collections, Markovich said.