Keohane Company, Boston, Massachusetts - Real Estate Development, Construction and Property Management

NEW BEDFORD -- The decaying roof of the abandoned Keystone building crashed to the street early yesterday morning, the impact shattering a third-floor wall and scattering bricks across Union Street.

"The lucky thing is, not a person was hurt and not a car was hit," said Denis Keohane, the building's owner.
Most of the upper wall of the landmark 1886 building blocked traffic after it fell at 5 a.m., before the morning rush hour. Police were forced to close Union Street between Pleasant and Purchase streets.

Parts of the roof continued to dangle over the sidewalk, which during the day is heavily traveled by downtown workers and students at the Star Store campus for UMass Dartmouth and Bristol Community College.

Moss and weeds sprouted from cracks in what remained of the roof's splintered woodwork. Smaller pieces of roof continued to fall as engineers attempted to figure out how to safely demolish the structure.

The demolition could begin as soon as today.

The building has been predominantly vacant and falling into disrepair for more than a decade, city officials said. Years of water damage to the roof and heavy rain and wind over the past few weeks likely caused the collapse, city officials said.
When the Rev. Angelo Michael heard the giant crash of bricks, he was sitting in morning prayers in Our Lady's Chapel on Pleasant Street, a block away from the Keystone.

"It was like two trucks dumping gravel," he said.

Though for years city officials had hoped to save the building's historic facade, they ordered Mr. Keohane to make the building safe yesterday. The owner then worked with engineers and insurance agents to begin the demolition process. Union Street will remain closed until it is safe, said Matthew J. Thomas, the city solicitor.

"We wanted to keep that building and street-scape so it stays the way we all remember it growing up," Mr. Thomas said. "I think our efforts to preserve the integrity and historic nature of the street have been tremendous. Unfortunately, time and the elements beat us to the punch on this one."

As people walked to work, some said the building was an accident waiting to happen. Records at City Hall show the last time the building was inspected was 1989, though a city order required the first floor to be boarded up in 1999. A 2000 city report also deemed the building "structurally broken."

City officials could provide no further records of inspections yesterday; Robert Thatcher, the city's building inspector, was not available, and Mr. Thomas said the building has been regularly inspected, though he did not have exact dates.
The red-brick structure was the home of Keystone furniture store for 67 years -- from 1914 to 1981 -- before it was sold and ownership changed frequently.

Those who purchased the building then tried numerous ventures to rehabilitate it. From 1984 to today, developers floated plans to build a European-style hotel and a market like that in Boston's Faneuil Hall.

In 1996, the Keystone was purchased by Antonio D. Bairos, also known as Tony Pena, for $25,000 and was placed in the name of Maria J. Botelho, Mr. Bairos' fiancee. It was later learned he used drug money to make the purchase. He was sentenced in 2001 to six years in federal prison for cocaine trafficking and, according to court documents, is still serving his time.
Federal prosecutors say they caught Mr. Bairos on a wiretap while he explained how he laundered drug profits by purchasing buildings such as the Keystone, and then placing the titles in trusted relatives' names.

While the Drug Enforcement Administration cracked down on Mr. Bairos, the city attempted to work with the DEA to take control of the structure and clean it up, Mr. Thomas said. Much of the damage to the structure that contributed to yesterday's collapse started with Mr. Bairos, he said.

Mr. Bairos had gutted portions of the Keystone building illegally, removing support beams, ripping out asbestos and demolishing parts of the third floor, all without a permit, city officials said.

In 2000, the city took him to court because of the danger the building represented, Mr. Thomas said. A $70,000 city lien was placed on the property for money the city spent to remove asbestos and other environmental hazards. Mr. Bairos also owed New Bedford back taxes, city officials said.

Eventually Mr. Keohane, who also owns The Catwalk bar, purchased the building from Ms. Botelho for $190,000.
He had hoped to tear the structure down and build 20 residential units over a parking lot, but was asked by the city and Antone G. Souza Jr. of the Waterfront Historic Area League to attempt to save the facade, he said.

Mr. Keohane then decided to wait and see what other developers built around him before committing more money to the building.

He admits that he benefits from yesterday's accident, since he can avoid the cost of maintaining the building's historic brickwork and can start his development from scratch.

"It saves me a lot of money," Mr. Keohane said. "The roof is already down, so now I don't have to take it down myself. And the building has to come down now, since it just isn't safe."

Staff Writer Aaron Nicodemis contributed to this report.

This story appeared on Page A1 of The Standard-Times on October 6, 2004.