Is the wooden-stud basement wall that runs next to & parallel to the shared concrete wall separating two townhouses load-bearing?

Question

Okay gang, so here's my deal:

My wife and I recently bought a 2-story (with a half-finished basement) townhouse, sandwiched in the middle of a row of other townhouses. After lengthy negotiation, I have prevailed upon the wife to let me have half our basement - which itself is pretty much the full footprint of the townhouse - for my workshop (I grew up a cabinet-maker's son, so I know my way around wood, tools and joinery, but not quite so much around construction and framing).

Built into the the wall running parallel to the concrete basement wall we share with the neighbors - the West wall - the previous owner had installed a really quite fine workbench, atop some lovely cabinetry. Unfortunately, he wrapped the surface AROUND the 3 exposed exposed faces of the studs, anchored it into the concrete floor, and appears to have used a combination of lag screws and either wood glue or epoxy to affix the top to the cabinets below, then laminated the worksurface ATOP all the screw heads. In short, I cannot remove/move the bench without destroying it.

This would be fine (as I said, it's well-crafted and aesthetically pleasing enough), but for the fact that the surface is only 2 feet deep. Due to the space constraints the room imposes, I'd very much like to install shelving above said workbench, but attaching shelves to the face of the studs will reduce the usable work area to about a foot. "Okay," thinks I, "how about we cut out to 4' lengths of these two studs, frame the newly-created gap like I would a window (double sill, jack studs, etc.) and slide the shelving in between?"

My problem here is that I cannot determine if they're load-bearing or not. Please, see the diagram below (the three questions I'm seeking an answer for are below it):

Okay, so here're my questions

1. Would a builder have relied on wooden studs 2" from a poured concrete foundation? These seem awfully janky; it's entirely possible a previous owner added them in just for the purpose of hanging drywall (I'm given to understand both the walls with exposed studs were once finished, but water damage necessitated their removal.)

2. Would the steel I-beams run parallel to the floor joists (east/west)? I would think they'd be run north-south to use the stronger I-beams as floating support, as well as to orient them towards the exterior walls of the structure (instead of those shared by the neighboring units)

3. Finally, if they ARE load bearing, given that they're so close to the corner of the concrete foundation can I safely remove a few feet from each for the 90 seconds It'll take me to slide in a preconstructed frame? I'm well aware that the load must be transferred, but does it have to happen instantly?

   Will the building's equilibrium/the shared concrete firewall/the studs' proximity to the foundation give me some wiggle room, or would I have to go the whole screw jack/temporary wall route? Presupposing I can both build an adequate support frame and size everything snug, can I make the 4 cuts, knock out the centers and just slide the double-silled frame into the gap? Or would the stresses hit instantly, narrowing the gap and making such a plan unfeasible?

Photos

Per Lee's request:

Answer 1

Seldom do we get this amount of information regarding construction issues. However, I still need some info. I’ll make some assumptions and you tell me where I’m wrong.

First, concrete party walls are used for 1) Fire Walls, 2) Sound Control, and 3) Structural.

If the walls are built as you have drawn them, (uniform width the full length of the building with wood framing added to interior) I’d assume the floor above is concrete not wood framing, because the supporting beams are steel not wood. If it is, then the walls are structural and they cannot be supported by wood (your 2 studs you want to remove).

To verify the party wall is concrete, I’d look in your wife’s DMZ area and see if the plumbing is exposed. If so, then it’s concrete. If not, more exploratory surgery may be required.

To answer your questions:

1. No, I doubt if the floor is supported by a few wood studs in one room. (I’d verify that the other rooms do not have studs.)

2. I doubt the floor is wood frame, as noted above.

3. The studs are not load bearing and therefore they can be removed (modified) and no screw jack is required.

Summary: Please verify my assumptions before you remove the studs. If things are different, please notify.