Jefferson City to start taking bids for historic buildings on East Capitol Avenue

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ)

Jefferson City will start taking bids and rehabilitation plans for certain properties located on East Capitol Avenue next week.

The Jefferson City Council met on Monday to discuss a proposed plan to give community members the opportunity to rehabilitate some of the buildings in the neighborhood.

The city plans to have a third-party assess the properties to determine the cost of rehabilitation, and to identify structural deficiencies.

Once the buildings have been assessed and deemed safe to rehabilitate, they will be made available for the public to bid on. Buildings found to be beyond rehabilitation will be demolished.

Mayor Carrie Tergin says that people have expressed interest in the buildings.

"We have several buildings that have been declared dangerous and there are people that are interested in perhaps rehabbing some of those properties, so we came up with a solution to allow sort of a quick turnaround time," Tergin said.

Quinten Rice, who has lived in Jefferson City his entire life, says he would like to see these properties get a second chance.

"I would like to see them saved if at all possible. I think it will help maintain the integrity of the neighborhood, and preserve the history, which is something I believe should be done especially this close to the Capitol," Rice said.

Two properties, 108 and 104 Jackson, are already set to be demolished using federal funding. 106 has already been demolished. Jefferson City's Historical Preservation Commission determined that there was no impact to the historical value of the area.

Any properties that are found to be capable of rehabilitation will be open for interested parties to bid on.

Interested parties will have to:

• Enter into a Bid Guarantee Agreement
• Deposit at least 1% of the estimated rehabilitation cost
• Or pay $5,000 in escrow with city for each property they are interest in acquiring

If a property is not bid on, the city will demolish the buildings under the dangerous building declaration.