Neighboring building compromised by Jefferson City collapsed wall repair

The fate of 200 E. High Street is still undecided, pending a decision by the owner, but a recent discovery city engineers has made things “a lot more complicated,” according to Building Official Larry Burkhardt.

“The building is tied to the adjacent building (202 E. High St.),” so if the damaged building were to be repaired or demolished, special precautions would be “made to keep the adjacent structure standing” Burkhardt said.

The city has given the building’s owner until the end of July to decide what to do next. Next month the city will begin the process of demolishing the building themselves.

“I’m more concerned about public safety,” Burkhardt said. “I got a damaged building there with a temporary barrier.”

Burkhardt says the owner of Neidert Properties LLC, who owns 200 E. High St., has been communicative since the partial collapse. ” I know he’s hassling with his insurance company about it,” Burkhardt said.

The building partially collapsed onto Madison St. in early June , and city engineers have yet to pin down a specific cause. However the age of the building, which was constructed in the 1880’s, as well as prolonged water damage, are likely suspects, according to city engineers.

“The masonry of the structure is very suspicious,” Burkhardt said.

At least one unrelated city project is working around the closed-off pile of bricks on Madison St.

According to Britt Smith, operations division director of Jefferson City Public Works, the city planned on running new cables on the side of Madison St. adjacent to the partial collapse site as part of an electrical expansion project.

The new plan is to run the new wiring onto the other side of the Madison, requiring a few more feet of wiring.

The additional wiring will cost the city an additional few hundred dollars, Smith estimated. He says it’s a nominal fee for the million dollar renovation.

“In the scheme of things, it’s a very small number and it’s inconsequential to the quality of the project.”