Update: The location for the ribbon cutting was changed from an earlier announcement. It now will be at Capitol Avenue and Lafayette Street. The text below has been amended to reflect that change.
After months of work, the joint Jefferson City-Cole County project to improve Capitol Avenue is coming to a close.
Aplex Inc. of Linn was finishing up small items and planting trees along Capitol Avenue last week, Jefferson City Public Works Director Matt Morasch said. About two-thirds of the trees - a mixture of maples, oaks and gingkos - were planted, and the remainder will be planted in the spring. There will be about 28 trees per block.
City Engineer David Bange said Aplex may continue to plant the fall trees after the ribbon-cutting, scheduled at 11 a.m. Wednesday at the corner of Capitol Avenue and Lafayette Street.
Capitol Avenue will sport new and repaired sidewalks, improved curbs and gutters, and new bicycle lanes.
This was the first capital improvements project where street improvements were made with bicycle lanes already in mind, Bange said. Before, bicycle lanes were retrofitted to the streets.
The addition of bike lanes on Capitol Avenue mostly connects the Katy Trail to the Missouri State Penitentiary. The only area between the Katy Trail and MSP without bicycle lanes is around the Capitol building.
Bange said the city might talk with the state about striping bicycle lanes around the building to complete the connection.
More than 50 historic-style lights extend between Adams and Cherry streets and include electrical receptacles for street festivals. There are also electric cabinets at the midpoints of each block for festivals.
Bange said there were not many surprises throughout the project - the biggest was workers stumbled upon a tunnel near Lafayette Street, but it did not push back construction, he added.
Now that the project is winding down, Bange said, the city is working on the process to request electricity in the area. The receptacles are turned off unless someone requests the city turns on electricity in a certain block. Bange said they do not have a clear process now for how to submit such a request.
"There's going to have to be some way for folks to relay to us to turn on the electricity and us knowing when to send someone up there to flip the breaker," Bange said.
The project extended from Adams to Lafayette streets and cost about $1.5 million. Work on Capitol Avenue began in May.
Bange said the city hopes the improvements will attract tourists to the area and encourage more festivals, but this also depends on other improvements in progress along Capitol Avenue.
"We certainly have high hopes," he said. "We want to help create more of a pedestrian, non-car-centric environment, and it really is close to downtown and close to some of the other attractions, and the houses along that corridor are historic themselves, but it's just hard to say. It's really going to depend on how the properties develop."
Several property owners are fixing up properties as part of the East Capitol Avenue Urban Renewal Plan. Last year, the Jefferson City Council approved the urban renewal zone, bordered by East State Street, Lafayette Street, East High Street - including some parcels on the south side of East High Street - and Adams Street.
The area was declared blighted due to deteriorating conditions on some of the properties. Several properties in the area also were considered abandoned under city ordinance.
After city inspectors and the Jefferson City Housing Authority conducted inspections, property owners could either agree to rehabilitation agreements that listed what they needed to fix on their properties or risk eminent domain.
The Housing Authority sent letters to five owner-occupied property owners in late March, and those who signed rehabilitation agreements had six months to fix issues, ranging from picking up trash to fixing the exterior of the homes.
Housing Authority Executive Director Cynthia Quetsch said four property owners signed the rehabilitation agreement, but the property owner who did not sign made changes to the house.
A city inspector looked at the structures last week and found three of the four property owners who signed agreements had fixed the items listed, Quetsch said. The one property owner who signed, but appeared to not have met the requirements, was sent a letter and invited to the Nov. 28 Housing Authority meeting.
Most of the remaining properties in the 33-acre downtown neighborhood - 48 in all - are not owner-occupied. These include tenant-occupied and vacant properties, along with vacant lots.
Owners of these properties who signed rehabilitation agreements had eight months to fix the problems listed on the agreement. They had to start the work within two to three months of signing the rehabilitation agreement and agree to progress checks.
Quetsch said property owners who both signed and did not sign the agreements are working on their homes.
Earlier this year, the Housing Authority received and reviewed appraisals for seven properties in the urban renewal area: 101 Jackson St., 103 Jackson St., 105 Jackson St., 108 Jackson St., 401 E. Capitol Ave., 500 E. Capitol Ave. and 501 E. Capitol Ave.
These were listed as priority properties for urban renewal through a public forum, city staff recommendations and the Housing Authority Board of Commissioners' review.
In August, the Housing Authority began the eminent domain process by filing a civil suit against Barbara Buescher, owner of 101 and 105 Jackson St., and Stephen and Cheryl Bratten, owners of 103 Jackson St.
According to the suit, the Housing Authority "desires and intends to acquire the properties by condemnation."
The suit states Buescher refused the Housing Authority's offers, and the Brattens did not respond.
As of Friday, Quetsch said Buescher has not been served the summons yet, but the Brattens have. A hearing is set for Dec. 4.
The Housing Authority does not want to hold onto properties, Quetsch said. Instead, it wants to acquire houses that could be privately purchased and revitalized.
The City Council also approved the Capitol Avenue Overlay District in April, which requires new construction meet architectural design requirements similar to the current architecture in the district. It also rezoned the East Capitol Avenue area to a mixed-use zoning district.