Fairfield city officials disappointed in progress on JC Penny building

FAIRFIELD – The Fairfield City Council is hoping to make progress on bringing the former JC Penny building on the square up to code, but so far the progress has been slow.

The building at the corner of East Broadway Avenue and North Court Street is owned by Mary Welch, who appeared before the council in December. At that meeting, the council gave Welch four months to make substantial progress on bringing her building up to code, and that if she did not make progress, the council would begin legal proceedings under Iowa Code 657A. That section of code refers to abating a nuisance caused by an abandoned or unsafe building.

The process is designed to give property owners ample time to fix the nuisances on their properties, and if they fail to do so in that span of time, the city will take possession of the property.

In 2022, Fairfield Code Enforcement Officer Weston McKee inspected Welch’s downtown building and discovered substantial leaks in the roof, electrical problems, and learned that it had not passed inspection by a fire marshal. McKee and other city officials determined the property was in such bad shape that it was no longer safe to inhabit, and gave the tenants of the second-floor apartments hours to vacate. In October 2023, a first-floor restaurant in the building called Noodle House moved out, and the owner cited problems with the building as reasons for the move.

Now, seven months after Welch’s meeting with the council to address her property’s problems, city officials say little if any progress has been made on the building.

“Mary has claimed to have fixed some things in the building and done some repairs,” McKee said. “There is a check list of items to get an area back up to code that Mary could do to speed things up, but even that is not being met.”

Fairfield City Administrator Doug Reinert said the biggest problem with the building is the water damage.

“I believe there has been some roof repairs made, but it’s very minimal and it’s not to the point of satisfaction to where that building can be occupied,” Reinert said. “Currently, we’re working with the city attorney and magistrate about the next steps. We need to see that building repaired and occupied.”

Reinert said the city wants to see its business owners succeed, and it also wants to protect the public.

“We encourage anyone to invest in the city of Fairfield and especially our downtown, but we can’t have an unsafe building, and right now it’s unoccupied because it isn’t safe,” he said. “We have to use everything at our disposal to bring it into compliance.”

McKee said the council’s ways and means committee has taken up this issue since it could involve spending money on litigation and, potentially, costs associated with acquiring the building.

Mary Welch could not be reached for comment.

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Call Andy Hallman at 641-575-0135 or email him at andy.hallman@southeastiowaunion.com