The owners of the building at 202 E. High St. in Jefferson City plan to repair a wall the structure shares with a crumbling downtown building.
Along with repairing the shared wall between 202 and 200 E. High St., Carol and Ruben Wieberg - owners of 202 E. High St. - may rebuild on the neighboring site if they purchase 200 E. High St., Carol Wieberg said.
Andrew Neidert, owner of 200 E. High St., said he has offered to sell his building to either the Wiebergs or Jay Seaver, owner of 204 E. High St., for $1 or pay $1 for the Wiebergs' building.
In June 2018, the west wall at 200 E. High St. partially collapsed due to water infiltration and hidden decay of the mortar in the wall.
"We want (200 E. High St.) down as soon as possible so we can just move forward," Carol Wieberg said, adding she is unsure when demolition would occur.
Engineers visited 202 E. High St. on Wednesday and will give the Wiebergs possible options, she added.
Neidert and Carol Wieberg said they do not believe a lawsuit recently filed by Residences at 204 LLC - owner of 204 E. High St. - will delay demolition of 200 E. High St.
Residences at 204 filed a petition for injunctive relief against Neidert Properties on June 25 with the Cole County Circuit Court. Residences at 204 is asking the court to order Neidert Properties to remove a fire escape from a shared private alley.
Last month, Cole County Presiding Judge Pat Joyce ruled Neidert Properties could proceed with demolishing 200 E. High St.
Neidert Properties and the Wiebergs did not agree on who was responsible for repairing and maintaining the shared wall between 200 and 202 E. High St. Neidert Properties filed a declaratory judgment action against the Wiebergs last October, and the Wiebergs filed a counter-petition in response soon after.
The city ruled both 200 and 202 E. High St. dangerous buildings last fall, giving Neidert Properties and the Wiebergs city-imposed deadlines to repair or demolish their buildings, which both downtown property owners missed. When that occurred, the city conducted administrative hearings and ruled if the property owners did not repair or demolish the buildings, the city may begin the abatement process.
The Wiebergs filed a lawsuit against the city in March, asking for a new hearing. Last month, Joyce affirmed the city's ruling that 202 E. High St. was a dangerous building and the Wiebergs must repair or demolish the property.