The Ste. Genevieve Herald
Wed., April 14, 2004
By Jean Feld Rissover

        Two of the last few properties bought out following major flooding in Ste. Genevieve have been purchased by private individuals and are being renovated.
        The properties were among four flood-prone buildings considered to be of historic significance that were purchased by the state in 1995. The state “mothballed” the properties, hoping they would eventually be bought by people who would renovate them.
        “We’re glad to see it happen,” said Sandy Koller, the city’s zoning administrator in charge of buyout properties. “It means two houses that have been sitting empty will be occupied soon.”
        Both the properties are located on North Main Street. One is a multistory brick, Queen Ann-style house. It was purchased by Steve Streiler. The other is a house at North Main and Ziegler Street. That buyer is Eddie Luttrell.
        Both buildings are being renovated.
        Koller said the buy-up of the buyouts could mean the city will get about $29,000 from the sale of the homes. The city entered into a contract with the state during the original buyout. The terms of the agreement included a payment to the city if the buildings were re-sold.
        “Under the agreement, we’re supposed to get the money back,” Koller said. “But some preliminary discussions with state officials suggest they may not want to pay. They’ve indicated that they are reluctant to do so since they’ve been maintaining the properties for so long a period of time.”
        Two more buyout properties are still on the market. One is a small log building on Ziegler, the other a two-story brick at Fourth and LaHaye streets.
        “There has been some interest in at least one of those buildings,” Koller said. “But we think the state is waiting to see what the Corps of Engineers has planned for the creek mitigation project before they sell them to anyone.”
        Koller said that while the historic buildings being renovated aren’t in the city’s Landmarks District, the renovations are being overseen by the state, which has imposed the U.S. Secretary of the Interior’s guidelines for historic preservation on all historic buyout properties the state holds. The guidelines are paralleled by local guidelines.