Frisco Building controversy continues

Controversy continues to surround the historic Frisco Building at 6th and Main in Joplin.

Residents of over 50 apartments are getting the old “heave-ho” – reportedly being told in letters they will have to vacate prior to a major renovation project.

The building’s new owners, the Frisco Station Apartments, et al, are suing the former owners, claiming that they ignored needed repairs and spent insurance funds  for uses other than those originally designated, thereby allowing the building to fall into disrepair.

The Frisco was built in 1913 as a train station and office building. It was a premiere part of Joplin’s business center through much of the 20th century but, by the mid-1980s, was virtually abandoned.

In 2003, a partnership of Snyder Co. and Carlson Gardner Inc. of Springfield and the local Economic Security Corporation launched an effort to reclaim the nine-story brick and stone structure for use as affordable senior housing.