FLORISSANT, Mo. – The mayor of Florissant has jumped into the battle between the owner of a 230-year-old historic home and a new city street project.
Homeowner Mark Rowles fears the work on the street will damage the house that he’s meticulously kept true to form. And he doesn’t like that the foliage in front of this house is having to be removed for a retaining wall.
The home, located on Rue St. Dennis Street in Old Town Florissant, is on the National Register of Historic Places.
Mayor Tim Lowery said he’s spoken with Rowles to try and sort this out.
“So, we had a good conversation. I explained my concerns. (The mayor) agreed to help me out with a few things that were on my list of issues,” Rowles said.
“When they tear out all this foliage and the street was right there, he agreed to try to put some greenery in here to try to insulate us a little. The biggest concern, which is the structural impact on the house, there’s still basically nothing in our last interview. One of the city people mentioned they were going to do some vibration monitoring but that I heard isn’t going to happen.”
What can Mayor Lowery do to allay Rowles’ fears?
“First of all, I want people to understand that Florissant is full of history, so history is important to the city of Florissant, and the historic homes mean a lot, not only to myself, but to the entire community,” Lowery said.
The mayor insists there is little chance of damaging the historic house.
“This type of project is not like a major project on a highway, where you have big, heavy equipment,” he said. “It’s going to be very mild; an overlay-type project where there’s not going to be a ton of banging, things like that, which is going to disturb the foundation of the home.”
Rowles said the city has given assurances his home won’t be damaged. He’s crossing his fingers, but he says he’ll be watching.
“I’m hopeful. I don’t want the whole house to fall down. I don’t want it to be damaged,” he said. “So, I’m hopeful that they’re careful. I hope they’re putting in some kind of restriction in their construction contract.”
The mayor said he will everything in his power to safeguard the historic home and make good on replacing the assorted foliage protecting the house from the street.
“We kind of hit an impasse with Mr. Rowles on that part of the project, so I’m going to have to find some other funding to try to put some bushes and things like that back in front of his property,” Lowery said. “But as I’ve told him, I’m trying to do everything I can to satisfy his concerns and his needs. I’ve felt like we’ve had a pretty good relationship as far as discussing these issue.”
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