The Jefferson City Housing Authority Board of Commissioners on Tuesday approved a resolution to demolish a duplex at 1103 Buena Vista St., which has been deemed uninhabitable.
The board had already approved the demolition of the property previously under a "de minimis" demolition - to comply with Section 18 of the U.S. Housing Act of 1937, in any five-year period, no more than the lesser of five dwelling units or 5 percent of the total public housing dwelling units can be demolished.
Any properties demolished count toward that total. After that, demolitions need to be approved by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
Housing Authority Executive Director Cynthia Quetsch said the duplex would have been well within their de minimis demolition number, but because the property is uninhabitable, HUD recommended they do a for-cause demolition, which does not count in that total, and save their de minimis demolitions for when they are needed.
Quetsch also updated the board Tuesday on the urban renewal zone bordered by East State, Lafayette, East High and Adams streets.
Negotiations are taking place for the property at 105 Jackson St., also known as the Parsons House, to be sold. The board purchased the house as part of the urban renewal plan, which began after a study found the area was blighted due to deteriorating conditions of several properties.
In 2016, the Parsons House was named on the Missouri Alliance for Historic Preservation's Places in Peril list.
Also at Tuesday's meeting, the board heard an update on repairs at the Capital City Apartments, 522 E. Elm St., which were heavily damaged in the May 22 tornado.
A contract for final renovations was signed Oct. 1, and new windows and siding for the renovations will be coming in the next month or so, Housing Supervisor Michelle Wessler said. The plans for the repairs were given to the board at their September meeting.
Quetsch said they have applied for a FEMA grant for the property but might not qualify because the property is not owned by a not-for-profit. Although the owner, Capital City Apartments L.P., is a limited partnership between two not-for-profits - Capital City Housing Corporation and Capital City Investment Corporation - the actual owner is not a not-for-profit, she said.
"We haven't given up yet," she said.