Cape Girardeau city officials order old Jefferson School demolished or repaired

Cape Girardeau officials rejected a proposal Monday to bring the city's last segregated black schoolhouse partially up to code and instead ordered that the 107-year-old building be demolished or fully repaired.

That means the owners of the old Jefferson School have 30 days to tear down the dilapidated building or present a plan to bring it entirely up to code, according to an order issued by building supervisor and local lawyer Steve Southard.

The building, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, housed the last segregated school for black students in Cape Girardeau. The school was shut down after the landmark Brown vs. Board of Education decision in 1954.

Southard's order, which followed the recommendation of city staff, came during a brief public hearing Monday at city hall. The owners, Guy and Rene Tomasino, were represented by Brandon Beninati of Boulder Construction.

"They're trying to refrain from demolishing the building," Beninati told Southard and building inspector Steve Williams.

The Tomasinos, who now live in Florida, have offered to board up the building at 731 Jefferson Ave. and make repairs to the first floor. Williams told Beninati that the condemnation process calls for bringing dangerous buildings fully up to city code.

The Tomasinos had previously said through their real estate agent that they would tear down the structure. They tried for months to sell the building, but those efforts were fruitless.

The building, Williams said, is more than 60 percent damaged. City reports have also noted that the roof has a large hole in it and described the wiring, foundation, porches and plumbing as substandard.

Following the hearing, Beninati, an estimator and project manager for Boulder Construction, said the Tomasinos are in discussions about what the best option for the building would be.

Boulder representatives met with city officials before the hearing to discuss the Tomasinos' plan, he said. Beninati agreed that the future of the building is now up in the air and they will inform the Tomasinos of the order and see what they want to do next.

Old Jefferson School was designated a dangerous building Aug. 2, said city planner Martha Brown, who also attended the hearing. The designation came a month or so after the building made Missouri Preservation's most endangered list.

The city ran two notices in the newspaper and notified the owners and heard nothing back from them, Brown said.

The city listened to the Tomasinos' proposal but decided that the building needs to be brought fully up to code, Brown said. Now, the Tomasinos have 30 days to get back to the city with a plan, she said.

"If they can show us a plan, or financing to do the work, we would extend that deadline," Brown said. "But we need to have something concrete."

If the Tomasinos do nothing, the city could pay a contractor to demolish the building and bill the owners for the work, she said.

"It is not going to be cheap," Brown said. "It's a big structure. ... But we would love to see the building brought back up to code and used. We don't like to be in this position."

smoyers@semissourian.com

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Pertinent address:

731 Jefferson Ave., Cape Girardeau, MO

401 Independence St., Cape Girardeau, MO