Owner of crumbled wall undecided on fate of building

The owner of 200 E. High St., which partially collapsed onto the Madison St. last week, has not decided whether the building will be repaired or demolished, according to Larry Burkhardt, the head of Jefferson City Building Regulations.

The building, owned by Andrew Neidert of Neidert Properties, was built in the 1880s and is part of the Missouri State Capital Historic District. While Neidert has not decided on the fate of the building, he has taken on some of the burden of managing the aftermath of the collapse.

“The owner is bending over backwards to help us,” Burkhardt said.

Neidert brought in the engineer who designed the reinforcements that are keeping the building from totally collapsing, according to Burkhardt. He also hired a private security company to assist in the overnight surveillance of the site, according to Lt. David Williams of the Jefferson City Police Department.

Burkhardt said there is no timeline on the project, nor is there a deadline for Neidert to decide on the building. But Burkhardt said he thinks the owner should have a decision by the end of next week.

Britt Smith, of the Jefferson City Public Works Department, says the city hopes to shrink the closed area on Madison Street to allow for two-way traffic by Friday or early next week. However, Britt said, “Things are fluid.”

The staff of Thursday Night Live, which was relocated for this week, is prepared to adjust for several weeks. Organizer Jill Snodgrass said staff members have discussed the possibility that the collapsed wall could affect the event for the remainder of the summer.

Neidert was not available for comment Tuesday.