Nat Hyman says he’s become ‘the villain in my tragedy’ over who will pay to raze his fire-gutted building

Oct. 15--The owner of the fire-gutted warehouse in Allentown being demolished at taxpayer expense says he is being demonized for a rash decision by city elected officials.

Nat Hyman, who owns the building in the 400 block of Franklin Street through a limited liability company, said he learned that Allentown officials decided to demolish the building for $1.25 million via the news media.

The city contacted one of his attorneys last Tuesday asking about his intentions for the property, Hyman said, saying he told the attorney the next day that another lawyer would be handling the job.

The Morning Call reported Tuesday that fire officials said the building would be torn down in a story in which Hyman was quoted about his dashed plans for the four-story structure.

"I never was contacted by the city" about the contract, he said Monday. "No one discussed the $1.25 million price tag with me."

Allentown Communications Manager Mike Moore on Monday issued the following statement in response.

"The site is a public safety issue that had to be addressed. The city fire department needed safe access to extinguish the fire, so what was left of the building had to come down. Empire Services of Reading has the equipment and the experience of tearing down a building after a deadly fire in York last March. The smoke stack on the property is 105 feet above the ground and the hazard zone for tearing down the building is 1-and-a-half-times the height."

"The city reached out to Mr. Hyman by phone and contacted his attorney in the days immediately after the fire, but heard nothing about his plans to remedy the danger at the site."

Hyman said he is speaking out now because he believes he is being portrayed as "public enemy number one.

"I never would have believed I would become the villain in my tragedy," he said.

Hyman said he was collecting bids from contractors last week when Mayor Ray O'Connell and city council agreed to raze the building, which caught fire Oct. 7. O'Connell and council vowed to recoup the cost of demolition.

Hyman said he was prepared to pick up the market-rate cost of demolition himself. He calculated the job would cost roughly $200,000, saying demolition costs around $4 to $6 per square foot. But with the floors collapsed from the blaze, he said demolition would be even less.

"Do I think the taxpayers should be paying this?" he asked. "Absolutely not. I always assumed I would be paying for it."

PHOTO GALLERY: Emergency crews fought a two-alarm fire at a warehouse in the 400 block of North 15th Street in Allentown on Saturday evening, May 5, 2018.

(RICH ROLEN / SPECIAL TO THE MORNING CALL)

The $1.25 million contract the city signed, he said, is "an exorbitant, outrageous waste of taxpayer dollars... I am not going to pay for someone else's stupidity."

Lehigh County recently assessed the building at $191,000, he said. The building was not insured, Hyman said, because the cost of insurance on a vacant warehouse -- considering the risks such as fires -- is prohibitive. He added that he couldn't get insurance above the value of the property.

Hyman said he lost $1 million in the fire, which destroyed the building he was planning to convert to apartments.

Hyman has said he plans to speak to city council at its Wednesday meeting about the situation.

A second warehouse owned by Hyman also caught fire Sunday evening.

The small fire damaged the wooden floor of a vacant building at 361 Gordon St. on Sunday night, Allentown Capt. John Christopher said.

The 10 p.m. fire caused little damage on the second floor and was quickly extinguished, he said.

Christopher said the fire is still under investigation, and at this point is not considered suspicious.

He said the investigation into the cause of the building at 418 Franklin St. has not been completed.

Calls to O'Connell's office have not been returned.

Check back here for updates.

Morning Call reporter Manuel Gamiz Jr. contributed to this report.

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