Jefferson City housing authority updates East Capitol Avenue area renewal plan

Jefferson City officials are one step closer to revitalizing the blighted East Capitol Avenue area.

Tuesday, the Housing Authority Board of Commissioners held a special meeting to update the urban renewal plan following several recommendations by the city’s planning and zoning commission.

The board adopted three changes to the plan to return the area to a vibrant part of the community.

One change included adding two more properties to the acquisition map, or the properties that should be acquired by the city and revitalized.

The plan will also now address the feral cat issue.

“There is a big problem in that area with so many abandoned properties,” Housing Authority Executive Director Cynthia Quetsch said. “The cats have a place to hang out and local residents are feeding them, and so we’re getting more and more cats.

Finally, the urban renewal plan will now include some standards for redevelopment from the former Central East Side Neighborhood Plan.

The next step in the process is for the city council to review and adopt the plan.

“After that, the renovations/restoration/rehabilitation will have to start,” Quetsch said. “And we don’t have details on what steps–the step-by-step on that yet.”