Dubuque City Council at Crossroads Over Decaying Downtown Building

The former Dubuque Malting & Brewing Company Building at 3000 Jackson Street has been standing for 128 years, but its condition is rapidly deteriorating. Per KCRG and the Telegraph Herald, several homeowners and business owners near the historic building voiced concerns over its structural integrity.

Back in August 2023, Dubuque Assistant Housing Director Michael Belmont stated that letters had been sent to people in a 110-foot radius of the Dubuque Malting and Brewing building last week as a precautionary measure. They also sent a notice to the building's owner, Steve Emerson, in June to conduct a structural evaluation. With no response, the city had no choice but to hire its own contractor to assess the building.

The city's appointed contractor pointed out 10 areas of concern, including bulging walls, cracks, deteriorating bricks and mortar, and missing roofing tiles that raise concern over the possibility the building or a portion of it could collapse, per KCRG.

Steve Emerson, the building's owner, has expressed a tire to demolish the southern portion of the building, but the Dubuque City Council on Tuesday were apprehensive to contribute the funds necessary for the demolition. On Tuesday, Emerson outlined his proposal to have the city contribute $500,000 for the project, per Telegraph Herald:

I came to Dubuque six years ago to do the right thing, and it’s been a very costly mistake. This plan recycles all the materials that we can, salvages whatever we can and opens the streets in the absolute fastest timeline that is possible. - Steve Emerson, per Telegraph Herald

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The problem is two-fold, not only with the building being a danger to public safety, but also its condition an inconvenience as the ongoing instability of the structure has resulted in the closure of Jackson Street from East 29th to East 32nd Street. That's affected area businesses and downtown traffic as well.

Perpetual delays to develop a bracing system for the decaying parts of the old brewing and malting building forced the Dubuque City Council to move forward with demolition plans in December. Eliminating the southern portion of the building would allow for the reopening of the aforementioned parts of Jackson Street and eliminate potential dangers to the safety of the public and local residents.

Before demolition is okayed, the City of Dubuque must secure approval from local utility companies in order to carry out the practice safely. For more details on the former Dubuque Malting and Brewing Co. building, read the full story on Telegraph Herald.