A Minute with MoPres

In 2024 we’re making an effort to do more to share with you about the types of places and people we’ve been helping!

In January we were contacted by concerned citizens in Liberty, Missouri regarding the status of a block of buildings on the historic town square. Using public records available to us, including City Council minutes, deed records, newspaper articles and Historic District Review Commission minutes, we put together a picture of what was happening. Although Liberty is a Certified Local Government Community, and thus has a Historic District Review Commission, we have found that the city has done their best to bypass the commission and their power to protect the historic structures in the city.

The buildings at 7 – 11 North Water Street have been a topic of concern in the community for many years. In 2015, 1-3 North Water street collapsed, and during the ensuing debris removal it was determined that 5 North Water street should come down as well, as it had lost the support of the neighboring building and the once-interior wall was now exposed to the elements.

With the removal of No. 5, its neighbor No. 7 was now the one subjected to the elements. Thus it has remained for the last few years. Deed records show that the current mayor of Liberty, under the name 7 North Water LLC, purchased the building in 2022. No work was done to mitigate the issues or stop further damage from occurring. He sold the building to the City of Liberty in November 2023 for the price of $1. Shortly after, the city hired Norton & Schmidt Consulting Engineers, LLC to complete a structural inspection of 7, 9 & 11 North Water Street. The inspection was completed on December 5-6, 2023 but the report was not completed until December 14th. In this report, the inspector indicates that 7 N. Water, while clearly showing signs of damage (primarily due to the loss of its neighbor that was removed in 2016 and failure in the years following to repair and maintain), is not too far gone and that many of the issues have only accelerated in the last few months. As for 9 N. Water Street, the report states there are no signs of major structural failures, but that removal of its neighbor could cause the same issues that 7 is currently experiencing. At the City Council meeting on December 11, the city voted to purchase 9 North Water Street for $345,000.

At the City Council meeting on January 16, the general public was shocked to learn that the City of Liberty privately approved the transfer of 7 & 9 North Water Street to a developer, Star Development, who also had recently purchased 11 North Water Street. Within the transfer agreement, it was noted that the developer would file for a demolition permit within (15) days of closing and complete the demolition of the properties within (60) days of the permit approval. Per the Clay County Recorder of Deeds, the City of Liberty only officially held ownership of 9 N. Water for 8 days before the transfer.

Locals, especially members of the Historic District Review Commission, were shocked and upset that the city had effectively bypassed their ability to stop demolitions. No one was aware that the city was considering selling the properties, no notices were released calling for proposals for a potential historic rehabilitation. That same evening, the HDRC was already being instructed to work with the architects of the new construction that would go up in place of 7 – 11 North Water.

While we wish we were able to do more (like help take legal action), as a small non-profit Missouri Preservation is really only able to do a few things: provide words of support and potential next steps to locals and the HDRC, send a letter regarding our disappointment to the City, and publicly shame them online. Unfortunately by the time we received all of the information we needed from the locals to provide a decent response with concrete evidence, the city was already putting up barriers and making their move to complete the demolition.

This is the statement we shared with our followers on Facebook:

We are disappointed in the City of Liberty’s decision to allow the demolition of these structures, bypassing the Historic District Review Commission’s ability to review and stop demolition. The city council accepted 7 N. Water Street in November 2023 for the price of $1 (from the current Mayor of Liberty), and purchased 9 N. Water Street in December for $345,000. Both buildings were transferred to Star Development in January. The development agreement signed at the time of transfer mandates that the new owners would apply for a demolition permit within 15 days of closing and complete demolition within 60 days of receiving the permit. Many locals claim they were unaware the buildings were even for sale, and that the city did not release a request for proposals for what might be done with the property, including looking at the potential of rehabilitation. The transfer of the buildings to Star Development was made public when the City Council released the ordinance and agreement at their January 16th meeting. Per the Clay County Recorder of Deeds, the City of Liberty only officially held ownership of 9 N. Water for 8 days before the transfer. A structural report from December 2023 indicates that 7 N. Water, while clearly showing signs of damage (primarily due to the loss of its neighbor that was removed in 2016 and failure in the years following to repair and maintain), was not too far gone and that many of the issues had only accelerated in the last few months. As for 9 N. Water Street, the report states there are no signs of major structural failures, but that removal of its neighbor could cause the same issues that 7 is currently experiencing. While we understand the City’s desire to mitigate an issue that has marred their square for years, we are very disappointed in their quick movement after years of non-action towards the owners regarding care of their buildings. The closed door decisions and lack of due diligence regarding the involvement of the Historic District Review Commission does not look good. The best protections for historic buildings in Missouri are at the local level, through Certified Local Government Programs and historic preservation ordinances. For the city to bypass these protections, they are undermining their codified role as stewards of their community’s historic resources.

In Missouri, the best protection you can offer your historic buildings is to become a Certified Local Government and establish a preservation ordinance. We are incredibly angry for the citizens of Liberty, Missouri that this was allowed to happen so quickly and without their input.