Nearly two years after the west wall of 200 E. High St. partially collapsed into Madison Street, crews will be out demolishing the building starting next week.
Demolition of the building will begin Monday, and parts of the 200 block of East High Street and 300 block of Madison Street will be closed for three to four days, according to a Thursday news release from Jefferson City.
During the next phase of demolition, East High Street will be reopened to traffic.
In total, the demolition is expected to take two to three weeks.
Britt Smith, operations division director with the city's Department of Public Works, said the two stages are necessary because of the height of the three-story building.
"We have to protect that same distance out on the ground, if you will, just for safety," Smith said. "So that area includes High Street and Madison Street."
Once work gets down to just the lower levels, more of the streets can be reopened.
The sidewalk on High Street around the building will also be closed for safety, Smith said. They've also asked BarVino and other tenants to vacate the building at 204 E. High St. just to be cautious.
Smith said they know residents may be curious to see the building come down and asks that people stay safe by keeping to the far side of High Street or avoiding the area, as well as continuing to practice social distancing to prevent coronavirus spread.
The Jefferson City Council approved a $186,000 contract with ARSI Inc. in January to demolish 200 E. High St.
The west wall of 200 E. High St. partially collapsed in June 2018 due to water infiltration and hidden decay, according to structural engineers.
City staff later ruled the common wall that 200 E. High St. and 202 E. High St. share was also failing and must be repaired. Both buildings were evacuated in 2018 after the city ruled both buildings were dangerous.
The city plans to demolish the north, south and west walls of 200 E. High St., leaving the shared wall between 200 and 202 E. High St. intact. Carol and Ruben Wieberg, owners of 202 E. High St., recently reinforced and secured the supporting wall.
"We are looking forward to seeing the demolition of 200 E. High St.," Carol Wieberg said Thursday. "I'm anxiously awaiting to fix my wall and move on with life."
Neidert Properties LLC previously owned 200 E. High St. but transferred the property to the city earlier this year as part of a settlement agreement between the city, Neidert and the Wiebergs. Andrew Neidert, with Neidert Properties, also agreed to pay the city $7,300.
The city will not place a tax lien on 200 E. High St., City Counselor Ryan Moehlman has said.
Neidert told the News Tribune he did not want to comment on the demolition of 200 E. High St.
Since fall 2018, Neidert Properties and the Wiebergs argued over who was responsible for repairing and maintaining the common wall, filing petitions with the Cole County Court.
The two property owners also missed several city deadlines to repair or demolish their buildings. The city later ruled it could abate the nuisance if the property owners didn't repair or demolish the two buildings.
After Cole County Presiding Judge Pat Joyce ruled last year Neidert Properties owned the common wall, the Wiebergs filed an appeal with the Missouri Western District Court of Appeals in October, asking the court to reconsider Joyce's judgment.
The civil suits were dismissed as part of the settlement agreement with the city.
Once the building is demolished, Smith said, the city will start work to repair the damage to Madison Street already caused by the building, and any possible damage caused by the demolition.
"We're going to work to get it as close to normal as we can, as quickly as we can," Smith said.