GLEN BURNIE, Md. — Some drivers whose vehicles have been trapped inside the damaged Empire Towers parking garage for more than two months may finally get them back later this month.
Empire Towers management recently notified vehicle owners that it plans to begin removing cars from the garage the week of September 21 and is optimistic that at least half of the nearly 50 vehicles still inside can be retrieved by the end of September.
The vehicles have been inaccessible since July 9, when structural damage was discovered in the parking garage during active, unpermitted construction work. Anne Arundel County evacuated more than 100 people from the 10-story office building and declared it unsafe for occupancy. No injuries were reported.
In the weeks after the incident, engineers initially could not fully assess the garage because of the instability. Assistant Chief Larry Schultz with the Anne Arundel County Fire Department previously explained that contractors had not been able to make it even halfway into the garage because it was too dangerous to enter without additional shoring.
Emergency stabilization work has continued since then. According to the latest communication from management, the garage now contains more than 1,500 vertical shoring posts, and Phase 2 of the stabilization work is underway.
The posts create another challenge: safely maneuvering vehicles through what remains an active construction zone.
Structural engineers will evaluate vehicles individually to determine which can safely be removed. Owners whose vehicles are selected are expected to receive instructions from management and will be asked to provide a key and sign a liability waiver allowing contractors and structural engineers to drive the vehicle out of the garage.
Once removed, the vehicles are expected to be taken to a nearby location where owners can pick them up.
Management also confirmed for the first time that a small number of vehicles were damaged by the partial collapse of a concrete slab inside the garage.
Vehicles located beneath the collapsed section may remain inaccessible for what management described as a “lengthy period of time.”
For cars that cannot be retrieved during the upcoming removal process, management plans to provide owners with photos and/or video of their vehicles.
Management indicated that documentation, along with confirmation that a vehicle cannot be removed in the near future, could help owners work with their insurance companies to obtain additional rental-car coverage or potentially have a vehicle declared a total loss.
Owners of vehicles damaged by the slab collapse are also expected to receive photographs they can provide to their insurance companies.
Vehicle owners previously received a $3,000 transportation payment while their cars remained inaccessible.
For some families, however, the uncertainty has already forced bigger decisions.
One mother of four had a 2025 Chevrolet Traverse trapped in the garage. With no timeline for when she would get the SUV back, and no information about its condition, she was left deciding whether to use the $3,000 toward a rental car or another vehicle.
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With her husband in the military and her children heading back to school, she told WMAR-2 News Mallory Sofastaii she ultimately purchased another car.
Anne Arundel County continues to post updates, road closure information and resources for affected businesses at aacounty.org/empiretowers.