The roof of a building on South Main Street in Middletown collapsed this morning, and fire crews are on the scene.

The building is next door to Middletown homeless shelter Hope House, which is being evacuated as a precaution, a Middletown dispatcher said. The roof collapse was reported at 9:37 a.m.

This story will be updated as more information becomes available.

Someone Please tell me that this isn't the Rose Furniture building that the city just gave to the investment group.....Would this cause them to back out and leave the city hanging? Or is the deal completed and it is now their mess?

Owners of a historic Middletown building have been given 24 hours by the city to decide whether they will demolish the structure or complete repairs after heavy rains this past weekend caused its roof to collapse.

A structural engineer, hired by the owners of Historic Rose Furniture LLC, inspected the former Rose Furniture, 36 S. Main St., on Monday and offered two options: demolish the building or install steel beams to stabilize the structure, said Larry Tuttle, chief building officer for the City of Middletown.

The roof at the former Rose Furniture, 36 S. Main St., collapsed Sunday morning after heavy rains swept through the area. The building is located next to the Hope House Mission Center for Men, and it remains unclear whether the shelter is inhabitable, said Sandra Snyder, director of community relations.

After the roof fell around 9:30 a.m., Snyder said the 25 residents were moved to a wing of Hope House farthest from the damage. She said she was told that a beam in the furniture store could break and possibly shatter the shelter’s front glass windows. A section of South Main Street was closed Sunday and Monday as a precaution, city officials said.

The former Rose Furniture building was condemned in May as unsafe for occupancy, according to city records. The city acquired the building at no cost in 2011. Plans were made in May this year to demolish most of the building, except for the façade.

But on Friday, two days before the weather-related incident, Historic Rose Furniture LLC, a private investment group, closed on a deal to take over ownership of the 109-year-old building. City Council agreed to give the developers $300,000 to stabilize the building and make the renovations, according to the deal.

One of the investors, Stephen Coon, said the group knew the roof needed repairs, and even before the collapse, it was going to be replaced.

Coon said the group to have the building renovated and leased by Spring 2014.

He said the investment group plans to announce additional acquisitions of downtown properties in the coming weeks.

“We like Middletown,” he said. “We will see what we can do.”

Rose Furniture last operated in 2005, and Tuttle said the building has been “neglected” for a number of years. He said the last time he was in the building, buckets were on the floor.

Snyder said the homeless shelter had planned to find another location, and after Sunday’s incident, that timetable may have to be moved up. She said Hope House remains “committed” to Middletown and the new location would be located in the city limits and on the bus line.

The homeless shelter is not able to serve lunch to the public until further notice, according to Snyder.