Records raise questions on licenses, inspections for Grays Ferry parking garage
As the city continues to investigate the partial collapse of a parking garage in Grays Ferry, public records obtained by NBC10 are raising questions about licenses and inspections of the construction project.
An executive order issued by Mayor Cherelle Parker directed the city to review permitting, inspection, construction, alteration and maintenance records tied to the property.
“I commit to you that we’re going to find out what happened here,” Parker said.
NBC10 Investigators reviewed publicly available records tied to the commercial building permit for the project. Between Oct. 23, 2025, and March 16, 2026, 58 inspections were scheduled.
More than half of those inspections were canceled or waived, according to the records. It’s unclear why.
The records also do not specify whether the inspections were conducted by the Department of Licenses and Inspections or a special inspector hired for the precast project.
NBC10 reached out to the city for clarification on both questions but has not received a response. The special inspector involved in the project declined to comment.
Dr. Abi Aghayere, a Drexel University engineering professor who is not connected to the project, said canceling or waiving inspections is not typical.
“I don’t know all of the in and out of why they would have waived those inspections, but it’s not common,” Aghayere said.
Records show four types of inspections were scheduled, including initial site inspections, permit issuance notifications, foundation wall inspections and foundation footing inspections.
The initial site inspection passed, while the permit issuance notification was waived.
Foundation wall inspections — which verify whether walls are built according to approved plans — were scheduled 19 times. Of those, one was canceled, five passed and 13 were waived.
“I would just say inspections should not be waived,” Aghayere said.
Foundation footing inspections — which typically check reinforcement and footing size — were scheduled 37 times. Seventeen passed, seven were canceled and 13 were waived.
“Construction is a really risky business. I mean, one mistake can lead to the loss of life. So I will not waive any inspections, especially when a building is being built,” Aghayere said.
According to the L&I website, concrete is not supposed to be poured until a site passes inspection. The most recent successful inspections were a footing inspection on March 13 and a wall inspection on March 9. Both types of inspections scheduled for March 16 were waived.
Questions remain about subcontractor
Almost a week after the collapse that killed three workers, questions also remain about one of the companies involved in the project.
During a news conference, Parker identified a subcontractor as Precast Services Inc.
“The subcontractor here called Precast Services Incorporated. They were in the process of installing precast concrete floor, decking and roof segments. After placement a precast roof segment failed and fell to the level below, literally triggering a progressive collapse across all seven levels,” Parker said.
However, Precast Services Inc. is not listed as a subcontractor, according to the commercial building permit for the Grays Ferry parking garage project. There are also no valid licenses and inspection contractor records in Philadelphia for a company with that name.
Precast Services Inc. is company is registered with the Pennsylvania Secretary of State.
NBC10 Investigators have repeatedly asked the city for clarification about the subcontractor. When those questions went unanswered, reporters pressed city officials during a news conference.
“The City law department, in consultation with all of our related departments and our inter-governmental entities, we’re doing a very specific review of the timeline of obligations of everyone involved on the construction of this property, the contractors, the subcontractors. What inspections should have taken place, when. It’s not prudent to talk about that at this moment and time,” said Sam Scavuzzo, chief of staff to the city solicitor.
Meanwhile, Parker said the city is committed to determining the cause of the collapse.
“We will get to the bottom of this and we will find out exactly what happened that caused this structure to collapse,” she said.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) confirmed it is investigating the company in connection with the incident.
NBC10 has called and emailed Precast Services Inc. but has not received a response.
The city says multiple investigations are underway. At this point, there is no evidence of wrongdoing by Precast Services Inc.
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