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Oliva Hotel Contractor says COVID issues persist in obtaining supplies needed to proceed with the project

Historic Murphysburg Preservation Society

A lot of work has been completed, including a complete roof reconstruction after a devastating fire in December of 2020. Yet, overseas supply chain issues have slowed progress on the multi-million redevelopment project.

Reconstruction of the Oliva Hotel is well underway. The five-story, historic building near downtown Joplin suffered substantial fire damage in December 2020. The Joplin City Council got an update Monday at their bi-weekly meeting. KRPS's Fred Fletcher-Fierro has more.

Construction of the Oliva started in 1906 for an estimated $150,000, according to the Murphysburg Historic District. The property has been listed in the National Register since 2008. That designation didn't help the property, and it fell into disrepair.

In early December 2020, an arsonist set the top floor of the Oliva ablaze, destroying the roof—the interior of the building needed to be gutted. Blue Haven Investments of Joplin purchased the property just over two years ago and sought a quarter of a million dollars from the city to assist in rebuilding the Oliva's roof.

The city council approved the funding. Sawyer Smith with Blue Haven Investmentnarrated a video update of the hotel's progress Monday night.

"So starting from the beginning, the first thing we did was pull off the roof that was damaged in the fire and put on a brand new roof. It was a monumental effort, and (Ideal Group Inspection?) let the charge on, and they did amazing work.

From that time, we have gutted the rest of the building; you can see here down to the studs, we removed all the water-logged materials."

Monday night, the Joplin City Council, with seven yes votes, one abstention, and one council member absent, agreed to extend the agreement between the city, Blue Haven company, and Neal Construction contractor for two years. Six months longer than the two firms were seeking. For 89 9 KRPS News, I'm Fred Fletcher-Fierro

Since 2017 Fred Fletcher-Fierro has driven up Highway 171 through thunderstorms, downpours, snow, and ice storms to host KRPS’s Morning Edition. He’s also a daily reporter for the station, covering city government, elections, public safety, arts, entertainment, culture, sports and more. Fred has also spearheaded and overseen a sea change in programming for KRPS from a legacy classical station to one that airs a balance of classical, news, jazz, and cultural programming that better reflects the diverse audience of the Four States. For over two months in the fall of 2022 he worked remotely with NPR staff to relaunch krps.org to an NPR style news and information website.