Historic NDSU building is salvageable, officials say

Officials at North Dakota State University in Fargo say the historic campus building that partially collapsed this weekend is mostly salvageable.

No one was hurt early Sunday morning when a large section of the north side of Minard Hall gave way, leaving a gaping hole in the century-old building.

Facilities director Bruce Frantz inspected Minard Hall Monday. He says much of the wall that fell was going to be torn down anyway to join the old building to a new addition being built.

Frantz says no classrooms were damaged, but about 35 faculty and staff members will have to move their offices - and that part of the building will stay vacant.

"There's a structural beam that runs east and west that's probably 25 feet from that north facade and so we're hoping the whole building south of that structural beam will be safe," Frantz said. "And we think it will be because there's been no sign of activity south of that beam."

Frantz says the collapse could add an estimated $500,000 to the cost of the building's ongoing $18 million dollar expansion.

A construction crew had been excavating under the part of the building that collapsed. Franz says the excavation likely weakened the soil there, causing the foundation to collapse.

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