Visitors to downtown Festus may wonder what’s going on under the nest of scaffolding at the front of Comtrea’s building at 227 Main Street.
Extensive tuckpointing is underway, according to Comtrea chief operating officer Lisa Rothweiler, who has been with the agency for 24 years.
“The building was built in the 1800s, and we’ve been having problems for a long time,” Rothweiler said. “We’ve had problems with the parapet pulling away from the building. We’ve had leaks in the building, and we’ve been putting Band-Aids on it for years. So the board went ahead and voted to bite the bullet because it’s pretty bad.
“It’s all around the building, on all sides. On the Mill Street side, we had bricks crumbling and pulling away. It’s a safety issue, so it’s time.”
Rothweiler said Comtrea will take out a construction loan to cover the $350,000 cost of the tuckpointing work.
The agency has hired James G. Staat Tuckpointing & Waterproofing in Affton to do the work.
“They’ve been doing a good job,” Rothweiler said.
The Comtrea building is not rectangular; it wraps around the Festus Flower Shop. The portion facing Main Street, called the W.H. “Stu” O’Brien Treatment Center, houses administrative and financial offices as well as psychiatric services and outpatient counseling. The portion adjoining Mill Street houses Comtrea’s Children’s Advocacy Center. That layout has been somewhat problematic in getting to all the places that need repair, Rothweiler said.
“The Festus Flower Shop and the Optical Shop (on the east side of the building) have been great partners in this,” she said. “It’s been challenging for them, I know, but they have been great neighbors.”
Rothweiler said the work started about 30 days ago, and it will probably take another 60 days to finish.
“They’re almost finished in the alleyway between us and the Optical Shop,” she said.