The Jefferson City Housing Authority is continuing its efforts to address blight in the area around Capitol Avenue.
The Housing Authority still owns one home on Jackson Street, which is open for project submissions to purchase, and is moving ahead with acquiring more properties.
This will be the third phase of the Housing Authority's acquisition of historic properties around Capitol Avenue and finding new owners to revitalize them.
Executive Director Michelle Wessler said Tuesday the Housing Authority Board of Directors has chosen properties for phase three and is talking to current owners.
The first two phases resulted in an eminent domain lawsuit, which could happen again.
However, one property being considered likely won't be on the list anymore.
Wessler said the structure at 417 E. Capitol Ave. is likely in bad enough condition to need demolition.
Building Inspector Dave Helmick said the storms Jefferson City saw at the end of June caused the center of the roof to collapse and the remaining roof to shift. It was abandoned and declared dangerous July 1.
"Basically, the center of the roof collapsed down, which then forced the outside edges of the roof to push off," he said. "If you go and look up right now - which I don't advise because it's fenced off - you can actually see the roof is now hanging off of the wall rather than sitting flush, where it would have been on top of the wall. So the whole roof is basically moved off of the walls that it was sitting on."
Helmick said the property is going through the dangerous building process to be considered for demolition, with a hearing scheduled Aug. 2.
"There's a likely chance that before we can get possession of the property, they'll probably tear it down," Wessler said.
A property is declared dangerous when city inspectors report an issue with the building and notify the owner. If the owner doesn't correct it, then it goes through a trial where it can be declared dangerous and added to the city's list of properties to address.
Of the nine Capitol Avenue area properties purchased between phases one and two of the project, the Housing Authority still owns one, 101 Jackson St.
Wessler said two people have looked at the property, with one coming back for a second tour. There's hope somebody will make an offer, which includes an action plan to get the property back into a livable state.
"We let all the parties that have come to look at the property in the last probably about 45 days know that any proposals we receive would go into the August (board) meeting, just so it's fair to all of them," Wessler said.
The property is continuing to deteriorate, she said.
Wessler said the Housing Authority is looking for a roofer to cover the hole - with a tarp or piece of wood - to keep more water from entering.