The front of the home at 1442 Nixon Street in Manchester looks historic and quaint. There are signs it needs some work, but you can see the potential.
But now, when you walk around to the back of the home, you see debris scattered around and a partially collapsed structure.
“It’s kind of wild. I look at buildings like this all the time and seeing it on the ground when I kind of knew it was gonna happen is pretty crazy,” said Brian Sharlow.
He is a structural engineer with Steel City Structural Engineering. He’s also the son of the owner of the entire building, including the two-story addition that collapsed Sunday.
No one was injured.
Sharlow’s family has plans to renovate the building. Part of the front of the home they want to save was damaged in the collapse, and so were the stairs of the neighboring property, which is also under renovation.
Sharlow’s father bought the property in 2018. They decided in 2023 they would need to tear down the attached addition, because it was not structurally sound. They say they applied for a demolition permit in December 2023. The city confirmed as much.
The fact that the home is in a historic district complicates the approval process. The owners became increasingly worried about the structure in late 2024 and asked the city to grant them an emergency demolition permit.
“One person tells you you gotta talk to this person. One person tells you you gotta talk to that person. And then you just go in circles and nothing gets done,” Sharlow said. “We even contemplated just taking it down and dealing with the consequences after.”
In December, the city asked for a report detailing why the home “poses an immediate danger.”
Sharlow replied with a letter that same day, pointing to walls that were severely leaning in multiple areas, that daylight can be seen from inside the home and the floor structure is compromised.
In that letter, dated December 17, 2024, he wrote, “the current condition is a safety issue and poses a risk to the public.”
The Department of Permits, Licenses and Inspections requested more documentation.
“We did that, and then it just kind of got stuck again,” Sharlow said.
Months later, in March, he sent a 10-page report with photos attached.
Communication continued. For example, the group emailed the city in April saying “We are very concerned that it may soon self-demolish and cause problems or worse, injuries to anybody that happens by.”
The last communication was Friday when the architect on the project emailed the city, “It seems hopelessly mired in confused between condemnation/fines ordered, historic preservation, zoning, building. The client really wants to remove this unsafe structure.”
Two days later, it came crashing down.
“It’s unfortunate. You’re the first informing me that the back of this home has fallen down,” said Pittsburgh City Council President Daniel Lavelle.
We walked him through the timeline.
“It’s a complicated process. The reality is we don’t have the resources to catch all these properties as needed,” Lavelle said.
He also emphasized that the home’s location in a historic district complicates the permitting process.
“I know there have been other properties within Manchester that have not been deemed worthy of demolition despite residents’ concerns. I know there have been at least one or two other properties that we’ve actually put barricades around because parts of the building began to collapse,” he said.
When asked if the process should have moved faster in this case he said, “In any public emergency, yes, things should absolutely move quicker… Thankful that no one got hurt, but we do need to take a look at why it took so long.”
Lavelle said he plans to reach out to the director of PLI to better understand what happened and make changes.
As for the partially collapsed home, the owners were told they still need a permit to complete the demolition of the remaining structure.
Lavelle said he will do what he can to make sure that permit is expedited.
11 Investigates requested interviews with the director of PLI, Dave Green, as well as the mayor’s office, but we were not granted interviews on Tuesday.
The mayor’s office provided the following statement:
“The City adopted a maintenance code to establish minimum and reasonable standards that protect occupants and safeguard public health, welfare, and safety. Under this code, property owners are solely responsible for maintaining their properties. The Department of Permits, Licenses, and Inspections (PLI) is responsible for investigating potential violations and issuing notices to the property owner and, when appropriate, to the public.
According to Allegheny County Real Estate Portal records, Mr. Sharlow purchased 1442 Nixon St on October 30, 2018, for $40,000. The City has no records of Mr. Sharlow or any agent applying for a permit to repair the property. The deteriorate, failure, or collapse of a masonry building is generally the result of long-term conditions. Such damage is often more visible inside the structure than from the exterior. PLI’s “right to entry” or access to investigate maintenance code violations is limited to items visible from the street or on the path to the building entrance.
In response to permit application DP-2023-18701, The City provided comments within three business days of the initial submission and within five business days of the second and third submissions – meeting the OneStopPGH system’s published response times. On December 9, 2025, the applicant was notified that a Historic Certificate of Appropriateness would be required for demolition. To assist the applicant, the City created a zoning application record DCP-ZDR-2024-08090. As of this date, the applicant has not completed this submission.
The City is committed to transparent communication, responsive service, and continuous improvement. After assisting this owner in obtaining the necessary permit, we will request feedback to help enhance our processes and better serve the public.”
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