Large Concrete Beam Falls from Center City High-Rise

A large concrete-wrapped beam fell from a Center City high-rise overnight Friday landing on the sidewalk outside a popular restaurant .

The piece fell from the 4th floor parking garage of the Kennedy House at 20th Street and John F. Kennedy Boulevard around 1:30 a.m. on Friday, officials said.

The building houses apartments and the Chima Brazilian steakhouse, which fronts the sidewalk where the steel and concrete beam landed.

Police say no one was injured and officers barricaded off the area to protect pedestrians and drivers.

A building inspector with the Department of Licenses & Inspections did respond to the scene and could be seen taking photos of areas of the building where the beam had fallen.

The post, which was reinforced with steel, is decorative and the structure of the building was not impacted, according to L&I officials.

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Kennedy House General Manager Jim Giblin tells NBC10.com says the L&I inspector assessed the beams and "felt they were safe for now."

"He wants to have our architect come out here and assess the damage and to make sure everything else is fine," he said. "So we're going to report back to L&I when the architect figures out what happened."

Giblin, who is a former Philadelphia firefighter, believes the accident was caused by the heavy precipitation that has hit the area this year.

"We think it had something to do with the connector," Giblin said. "It's probably a rusting issue. We've had tremendous moisture, as you know, during the winter months. Additionally, we just had rain."

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