By the start of next year, Moberly officials hope to see a major change to their skyline: two 120-foot tall, abandoned towers on the eastern edge of downtown will be demolished using a $321,000 grant from the Missouri Department of Economic Development.
The buildings were originally constructed as a grain mill in the late 1950s, and fell out of use in the 1980s. Since then, several owners have attempted to make something of the towers, but they’ve continued to deteriorate. The most recent owners donated the property to the city several months ago so that they could be demolished.
Moberly Public Works Director Tom Sanders said the towers are visible from the town’s main drag, Reed Street, and have brought down nearby property values.
“I mean, they're full of pigeons, and roofs are falling up at the tops of them, and they’re in poor condition — not a lot of other use for 'em,” Sanders said. “So this was an opportunity to get 'em removed before they potentially collapse or continue to decline further.”
The total cost of the demolition will be $422,000, with around $100,000 coming from the City of Moberly. Some of that funding, according to Sanders, will go toward testing the site for contaminants like asbestos and lead. The terms of the grant end in 2028, and officials say the project should be completed within the next year.
It isn’t yet known what will occupy the space once the demolition is complete, but Moberly Director of Communications Scott McGarvey said the project will open up possibilities to revitalize the downtown area.
“This is going to give the city an opportunity to take a look at that property as a development opportunity that would not have been available with those towers in place,” McGarvey said. “It almost feels like that this area has kind of been on hold until someone could come up with a direction, and unfortunately the towers themselves were an impediment to making that change.”
Across the state, 43 other projects received funding through the Missouri Department of Economic Development program, totaling more than $16 million in grants.
