Thread: Hotel owner damages neighboring building in self-demolition

A Bozeman, MT hotel owner demolishing a building on his downtown property rammed a backhoe into a neighboring business Thursday, damaging a column and leaving the owner of the damaged property wondering what sort of standards the city sets for demolition.

Thomas Mosser, owner of the Imperial Inn on Main Street, was tearing down a former gas station and garage at the corner of Main Street and Grand Avenue Thursday morning when he lost control of the backhoe he was driving and backed into a column at the entrance of Mercury Advertising.

“We got a little cozy with our neighbors this morning,” Mosser's assistant Lisa Blank said after Mosser deferred media questions to her.

“Cozy” is not the word Jeff Welch, co-owner of Mercury Advertising, would have used to describe the accident. Before it happened, he and his staff watched through a window, astonished to see Mosser tearing down the building next to them.

City representatives told Welch there was nothing they could do to stop the demolition.

“I guess you don't need to be a contractor to demolish your own building,” he said.

No one was hurt, but Welch said he expects the damage will cost thousands of dollars to repair, with Mosser responsible for the bill.

The parking lot around the former gas station was roped off with yellow “do not cross” tape. The sidewalks were left open, with pedestrians able to walk only a few feet from where the machinery was operating.

The city required Mosser to secure the site for public safety during and after the demolition, “per industry standards,” when it issued him a demolition permit in May.

However, no one with the city of Bozeman could be reached Thursday to say just how those standards are enforced.

A representative for the Building Inspection Division, which would typically handle the matter, said the only person in her office authorized to speak with the media was gone for the week. Also, phone calls to Bozeman City Manager Chris Kukulski were not returned.

All the asbestos in the former gas station had been removed and the utilities had been shut off, Blank said. Most of the glass had been removed except for a few small panes. Fluorescent lights could still be seen hanging from the ceiling, as was a large metal box that was either a heater or air conditioner.

The remains of the building were dumped into two dump trucks to be taken to the Logan Landfill.

When asked why Mosser didn't hire a contractor to do the work, Blank said he just wanted to do it himself.

The building being demolished has stood since at least the 1930s, according to city records. Sitting next to the Imperial Inn, it was once a gas station, but more recently was the home for a dealership selling environmentally friendly cars.

Mosser has big plans for the property, hoping to transform it and the neighboring Imperial Inn into a multistory building housing hotel rooms and condos.

Some of his plans have run up against city codes. At one point Mosser proposed erecting a 17-story building on the site, even though city doesn't allow any building above six or seven stories tall downtown.

Also, in 2005, Mosser placed an ad in the Chronicle claiming the Gallatin Gateway Inn was up for sale, even though he didn't own the property. The owners of the inn, Yellowstone Gateway resorts, said the inn wasn't for sale.

The Bozeman City Commission approved his plans for replacing the Imperial Inn with a new hotel in April.