Building owner spars with Cape Girardeau city government over downtown condemnation

The owner of a condemned building on North Main Street says a faulty storm sewer is causing his historic building to settle.

During a condemnation hearing Monday, John Wyman, owner of the former Wiggery building at 101 N. Main St., said the leaky storm sewer has allowed water to penetrate the building's foundation, causing it to shift over the past couple years.

Kelly Green, the city's director of development services, disagreed with Wyman's claims. According to an inspection by city staff, Green said, the storm sewer on the south side of the building is working properly.

City building supervisor Craig Billmeyer ordered Wyman to come back to the city with preliminary repair plans within 30 days of receiving a copy of the city's storm sewer inspection report. Green said she could have the report to Wyman by Dec. 6.

Wyman and his attorney, Kevin Spaeth, said they believed the city should repair the storm sewer before the building can be fixed. Wyman was first issued a condemnation notice in September, but there has not been any work done to the building since then.

"From our perspective we want to get this thing taken care of and fixed, but given that, you hate to spend a hundred or a hundred-and-twenty or a hundred-and-forty thousand dollars or whatever it's going to take to repair that building just to have it occur again," Spaeth said.

Spaeth said there has to be a recent reason the building is settling because it did not have these problems in 2002 when Wyman bought it.

Rich Behring, who operated Kitchen Gizmos & Gadgets in a storefront at the side of the building, addressed the city's building commission, upset that he was granted a business license just seven weeks before the building was condemned.

"I applied for my license. The city people came down and inspected it. The fire department and all that good stuff. They signed off on it and said it was good to go," Behring said. "My biggest question is if all this was going on, how did they cash my check, give me a license, let me operate for seven weeks and then decide I couldn't?"

While the condemnation proceedings continue, he said, his inventory is tied up in the building along with money he invested in setting up the store.

Spaeth asked if Wyman's engineer could work with the city's engineers to try to come to a solution to the alleged storm drain problems. He also asked the commission for 60 days to present plans to the city.

Green urged the commission to move forward quickly, citing safety concerns.

"This is a building that's right in the middle of downtown," Green said. "It's been considered a dangerous building. I don't want anybody getting hurt down there because of this."

Wyman said he's "terrified" that someone will get hurt due to the building crumbling.

"The front of the building is pulling away from the roof. This is because the front of that building has sunk. It has sunk in the last two years, and it is probably accelerating right now," he said.

The three-story building has structural issues, according to city inspectors. Wyman installed a wooden cover to shield passers-by from possible falling bricks several months ago and installed some bracing on the corners of the building.

Green said they shouldn't argue over where the problem is but that instead, Wyman needs to come to the city with a solution to keep the building from failing.

Spaeth asked Green, who is an engineer, why she thought the building was sinking.

She said the building's settling has been going on for years. In 1990, the city granted easements to a previous owner who built additional supports for the building in the city's right of way. The foundation shifting also could be due to the soil structure below the building or the fact that it's near the river.

Scott House, chairman of the city's Historic Preservation Commission, also attended the hearing. The building is listed on the National Register as part of the Cape Girardeau Commercial Historic District. The Sturdivant Bank, the oldest bank in Southeast Missouri, was established in that building in the 1890s.

In addition to the Wiggery building, the city building commission also hosted a condemnation hearing on the former Dino's Pizza building at 1034 Broadway.

Owner Kostas "Gus" Demopoulos presented the city with plans from United Services Disaster Restoration Specialists to demolish the top-story living quarters at the back of the building and renovate the front restaurant area. Billmeyer ordered that repairs must begin within 60 days.

The building was condemned following a fire in August.

mmiller@semissourian.com

388-3646

Pertinent address:

101 N. Main St., Cape Girardeau, MO

1034 Broadway, Cape Girardeau, MO