BLOOMINGTON, Minn. - Documents and photos obtained by KARE 11 show La Quinta Inn and Suites knew about a problem with their building days before a partial wall collapse.
Four concrete panels fell 14 stories onto the lobby below in the early morning hours of Monday, June 8, damaging part of the building and leading to an evacuation of the hotel.
The newly obtained documents show the hotel hired a private contractor to review the wall on Friday, June 5 and the contractor warned the wall was "hanging by a thread."
The contractor wrote an email to La Quinta's director of construction at the company's headquarters in Irving, Texas that afternoon saying, "We see this as an urgent issue that needs to be addressed ASAP!"
The email went on to say, "I personally am shocked that those two panels are still on the wall and wouldn't be surprised after the next wind storm that we hear about it on the news."
That email was sent three days before the partial wall collapse.
"I don't know if it's incompetent, you know, but it could have been a lot worse," said guest Judy Wiener, who had to evacuate with her husband.
Repeated calls and emails to La Quinta spokesperson Teresa Ferguson have not been returned.
A building official in Bloomington says there is currently no investigation into wrongdoing on the part of La Quinta because even if the company knew of problems with the building's facade, there is no requirement they report it to the city.
