The historic Parsons House has been sold by Historic City of Jefferson to a developer who will bring the home back to life.
HCJ announced Wednesday it has sold the property to LN Construction, owned by Lake of the Ozarks resident Chris Stepnoski.
The Parsons House, 105 Jackson St., was built around 1832 and is named for its original owners, Gen. Gustavus and Patience Parsons. Gustavus Parsons served as private secretary to President Thomas Jefferson.
The home was acquired by the Jefferson City Housing Authority through an eminent domain lawsuit against former owner Barbara Buescher. The property has been vacant for some time and received some damage from the May 22, 2019, tornado.
In November 2019, HCJ purchased the home from the Housing Authority after more than a year passed without any viable bids.
Anne Green, executive director of HCJ, said they chose to buy it after seeing it go without bids for so long.
"We thought it was important that this historic home in the community be saved," Green said.
Originally, HCJ planned to complete exterior stabilization work on the house before finding a developer for the interior. However, quotes for the work ran higher than HCJ anticipated, and the coronavirus pandemic hit in the middle of the process.
Green said they found a developer who would take the full project on, which made the organization consider that possibility. While talks with that developer didn't continue, it eventually led them to the agreement with Stepnoski.
"We realize we're good at advocacy and saving buildings, but Chris is a professional at actually doing the work and saving the building physically," Green said. "So while we were able to draw attention to this historic building that needed saved, Chris is the one that can actually save the building with his crew."
Blighted buildings sold by the Housing Authority come with development agreements that include a timeline during which work is expected to be completed. Green said all of the negotiations and contract creation with Stepnoski has been done in coordination with and has been approved by the Housing Authority.
Guidelines have been put into the contract with Stepnoski to make sure the work is completed, including a three-phase grant agreement between HCJ and Stepnoski.
When progress on the exterior reaches each of the three benchmarks, HCJ will award Stepnoski a $5,000 grant for an eventual total of $15,000.
Green said the HCJ board chose to give the grant funds after seeing how much of a financial commitment they would've had to make if they completed the work themselves. HCJ is currently raising the funds and is accepting donations via their website or by mail to P.O. Box 105056, Jefferson City, MO, 65110.
"Hopefully in a couple of years, Chris will emerge with a historic home that has been rehabbed and saved, and HCJ will have had an integral role in saving this building at a fiscally responsible amount," Green said.
Green said Stepnoski is currently working with an architectural engineer to determine the best way to stabilize the exterior.
Stepnoski hopes to complete exterior stabilization work by spring 2021, with interior renovations completed in spring 2022. This timeline would be on track with Housing Authority requirements, Green said.
Once completed, Stepnoski would retain ownership. The home could be developed as a fully residential or mixed-use property.
"We're confident that Chris is the person to breathe life back into the building and rehab the building fully," Green said.
This article was edited to correct a typographical error in the year when the Parsons House was built.