The bridge’s condition has been rated “poor” by MoDOT since 2017, preventing it’s use by heavy emergency vehicles and city buses. The area is also a major site of flooding, which the city hopes to control by replacing the bridge as part of the larger Renew Jordan Creek project.
Negotiations have been ongoing since 2019, but the City and Hotel owner Sterling Mathis haven’t been able to agree on a price. Back in February 2023 the city authorized the use of eminent domain, but three months later they repealed that ordinance after Mathis led a successful signature campaign.
Earlier this month, council announced their plans to try again, inviting press to a tour of the bridge's underside to demonstrate the need to do so. Mathis told KSMU in an email afterwards that he believes the bridge (which he called "not a bridge at all") is "an excuse" to remove the haunted house from the planned park around the daylighted Jordan Creek.
Between the initial attempt and now, Mathis raised his minimum selling price from something like $2 million to $3.5 million. While that’s more than the property itself is worth, according to the City, Mathis contends that his price includes the cost to move. He also contended during public comments that the City blindsided him.
"My builder goes down to get permits; they turn us down," recounted Mathis. "We set up another meeting; we go down there [June] 11. We got there, all new people… It started very aggressively. [They] told me we had to change several things: codes changed, this changed. [It] added a lot of money to this progress."
A total of nine speakers signed up for public comment, though not everyone showed. Most spoke against the use of eminent domain, with a few expressing support of Renew Jordan Creek and hoping the two parties could come to a fair compromise.
Council will vote on the ordinance December 15. If passed, the final price would be set by a court-appointed commission, with both parties having the option to appeal for a trial by jury.