Vacant building threatens D&G
Oct. 16—The building at 1906 Frederick Ave. has been vacant for years and is costing its next-door neighbor, D&G Pub and Grub, thousands of dollars in repairs.
In July, the roof of the vacant building collapsed in on itself, with portions of the debris falling and puncturing holes in the ceiling of Cafe Acoustic Concert Hall, which is owned by and attached to D&G.
"We had a rainstorm the next day and it flooded the cafe and all of our equipment," said Steve Grimes, the owner of the D&G and Cafe Acoustic.
The damage cost him about $20,000 in repairs and even more money in months of lost shows — the roof wasn't complete until earlier this month.
"We've lost shows over it because we've obviously had rain," Grimes said. "We still have water coming in up until now."
St. Joseph City Manager Bryan Carter said the city performed a structural analysis of the building and a notice of violation was sent to the owner of the property. In the letter, it states actions that need to be taken to comply with city ordinances, including replacing all damaged structural members, deteriorated exterior walls and the rear stairway.
"Those buildings that share walls with other buildings are particularly challenging because not only do you have a building that may be in a dangerous condition, but it has a direct physical impact on its neighbor," Carter said.
On top of the violations, a dangerous building hearing for the structure has been scheduled for Nov. 15. At the hearing, the inspector will submit evidence, from photos to code violations, to the chief building official to determine if the structure should be demolished or repaired.
The former chief building official, Jim Haake, who recently left the city, is actually the previous owner of an LLC that owned the building under question. He sold it to the current owners in February, before the roof collapsed. Although the Grimes have raised concerns about the vacant building next door for years, the real problems didn't take place until after Haake sold it.
Tayeb & Wazna Enterprises LLC is the new owner of the building. That LLC belongs to Youssef Yanouri. His plans are to restore the building into multiple suites and a Mediterranean restaurant.
But restoring that building is a tall task. In an email, he said, "I have to have another look thru the back door to get an idea if we have the muscle to handle the interior structure."
However, a demolition is tricky too, as the building shares a wall with Cafe Acoustic.
"When that building's gone, it exposes a wall that may not have been constructed for exterior exposure," Carter said. "It may have been constructed as an interior wall that was never intended to be exposed to the elements, so it makes those shared wall demolitions particularly difficult."
And this isn't an isolated incident. St. Joseph has plenty of vacant buildings waiting to collapse.
"We try to stay ahead of enforcement and to make sure that we limit the problems that arise," Carter said.
Quinn Ritzdorf can be reached at quinn.ritzdorf@newspressnow.com
