JOPLIN, Mo. — The Joplin City Council is moving forward with a plan to renovate the former Olivia Apartments.

The building was heavily damaged when a fire broke out in December 2020. Tuesday council passed an agreement with Bykota REI LLC, who plans to transform the building into a 38 unit apartment building. The city of Joplin is helping with the development by matching dollar-for-dollar up to $250,000 for the upgrade. Joplin’s City Manager says the project will benefit the city by encouraging more people to live in town.

Nick Edwards, City Manager, said, “Anything that attracts investment to downtown Joplin or even Joplin as a whole is a positive. When we have developers that are bringing money and investing those into new projects that’s a sign of growth instead of decline so that’s really encouraging.”

The investment company plans on installing a roof by June 15 and hopes to finish the entire project by March first 2023.