Fire at Historic MO Apartment Could Delay Renovations

May 13—Fire damage early Thursday at a historic apartment complex in Joplin could set back work for renovation by at least a year and increase developers' costs.

An overnight fire caused extensive damage to the Cleveland Apartments, three stone buildings, 801-807 W. First St., at the corner of Jackson Avenue. A pair of brothers, Shawn and Stephen Grindle, of Joplin, previously had announced plans to renovate them.

"They were on the National Register for Historic Places, and the next window for applying for tax credits is in July," said Lori Haun, executive director for the Downtown Joplin Alliance. "The scope has changed, and it could put them back a full year to rehabilitate that building. Unless plans get turned around really quickly, there is a lot more demolition and cleanup to be done now."

All three buildings were showing flames when firefighters arrived at 1:17 a.m. Thursday, said Andy Nimmo, assistant fire chief.

Nimmo said one building had heavy fire damage, and the other two had fire damage to the upper floor along with water damage from the effort to extinguish the blaze. It took 2 1/2 hours for the fire department, assisted by eight area fire departments, to get the blaze under control. A tanker shuttle had to be set up to get enough water to fight the fire, Nimmo said.

Nimmo said all the buildings were damaged because they are connected by an attic. The fire moved through the attic to reach them all. No one was found in the buildings and no one was injured, he said.

Firefighters left the scene at 8:26 a.m. The fire marshal is investigating the cause and origin of the fire, Nimmo said.

"It is going to take a while to come up with anything, due to the structure's instability," Nimmo said. "It's not easy to get in or out of, and a lot of water got added to the basement."

The fire bears some similarities to a fire at the Olivia Apartments in 2020, said Haun, who also specializes in restoring historic buildings. As the damage from that fire was assessed, workers found that the structural components remained sound.

"We're definitely hopeful it's OK," Haun said. "But its days are very numbered with the roof gone. Whatever happens needs to happen fast."

The Globe was unable to reach the developers for comment.

The Cleveland Apartments were luxury apartments that had a reputation for housing wealthy widows left behind by entrepreneurial husbands.

William Phelps Cleveland built the Cleveland Apartments 24 years after he came to Joplin in 1890. He was from Pennsylvania, where he had worked in the mining industry.

Jill Hallibach Sullivan, who chairs the Joplin Historic Preservation Commission, said that materials salvaged from the destruction of Patrick Murphy's mansion were used in the construction of the building.

"The materials were tied to one of the founders of our city," Sullivan said. "Also, in more recent years, that was where a lot of musicians lived and bands played. It was known for underground music."

Cleveland was in charge of Empire Zinc's laboratory for several years, eventually moving up to the job as superintendent. He later left to start his business in assaying ore, the W.P. Cleveland Analytical Laboratory.

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