NORTHAMPTON — The city on Thursday closed a portion of the sidewalk in its central downtown after engineering consultants found that the section posed “an immediate risk of collapse.”

The conditions of the sidewalks had been assessed by consultants in preparation for the city’s upcoming Picture Main Street project, which seeks to expand downtown sidewalks and narrow the streets to one lane each direction.

The consultants had examined the empty space between the sidewalk and the ground, also known as “vaults” that are privately-owned extensions of nearby building foundations. Such spaces are common in older cities like Northampton, according to the city’s Planning & Sustainability Director Carolyn Misch.

“In some cases there’s full walls and ceilings on the vaults, and in other cases like this, the sidewalk is the ceiling,” Misch said. “Concrete is porous, so it rains and water finds its way down. In many situations these vaults are very wet because they’re not waterproofed.”

The affected area stretches along the section of 56-58 Main St., the building that hosts Florence Bank and the former Spoleto’s restaurant. The building remains open and accesible, although parts of the sidewalk is closed to pedestrian traffic. The building is owned by Eric Suher, a local property magnate who owns numerous buildings in Northampton and Holyoke.

VHB, the engineering consultant hired by the city, reported, “The steel framing spanning from the building face to the exterior basement wall in one location is severely corroded, and… it appears that it is no longer structurally adequate to support load. At this time, we recommend restricting [sidewalk] vehicular and pedestrian traffic within the affected area until temporary shoring can be installed.”

Misch said there were more than a dozen different vaults around the city’s downtown and that VHB was continuing to assess their conditions, but so far hadn’t found any of the same issues as with the vault under 56-58 Main St.

“They’re different shapes and sizes,” Misch said. “This one is the biggest, and perhaps because it’s the biggest, it’s been absorbing more water than the rest of them and seems to be in the most precarious situation.”

It is currently unknown how long the sidewalk needs to be closed for. As the vault space is considered part of the private property, the responsibility of repairs falls onto Suher. In a release on Thursday, the city stated Suher had been notified of the findings.

Suher has gained notoriety in recent years among Northampton residents, last year running afoul of the city’s License Commission after leaving many music venues under his ownership unopened and derelict since the COVID-19 pandemic. Under threat of removing the liquor licenses, Suher transferred ownership of some of the licenses and venues such as Iron Horse Music Hall. Others, such as Calvin Theatre, remain unopened for now.

Suher did not immediately return requests for comment regarding how long the repairs may take.

Alexander MacDougall can be reached at amacdougall@gazettenet.com.