As chairs, desks and mirrors he envisioned as stock for a downtown antiques market were auctioned off Sunday, the owner of the 140-year-old building that collapsed before the market could open said he’s hopeful a settlement can be reached out of court.

&#8220If the insurance pays off, I think everyone’s going to be happy,” said Preston Reuther who, with his wife, Mary, had purchased the former Thomas Furniture building at 707-709 Clay.

The building collapsed during cleaning on Jan. 25 and has been at the center of a legal and regulatory firestorm since.

The Reuthers owned most of the items auctioned at the Vicksburg Auction Gallery attended by about 50 collectors and resellers.

The Reuthers watched, and talked about what might happen next.

Although he had coverage, he expressed doubts that the provider, international property-casualty insurance firm Zurich Financial Services, would deem the collapse an insured loss.

&#8220I don’t think they’ll pay anything,” he said, a conclusion that would likely leave him and his wife with the substantial bill for clearing the property, now being managed by the City of Vicksburg.

A previous architect’s estimate submitted to the city by the Reuthers said securing the still-standing sections bringing them up to modern building codes could cost $2.75 million. Reuther, whose request to demolish the remaining structures was rejected by the city’s architectural review board in February, said the day of the collapse the building was insured for $1 million. Since, however, Mayor Laurence Leyens and Reuther’s former contractor, Freddie Parson, have said the insurance on the property was less than $300,000.

&#8220I have three lawyers looking over all of it,” Reuther said. &#8220They’re looking at the policies.”

The board of mayor and aldermen on April 3 approved a $17,500 contract with engineer Patrick Sparks to put together a cleanup plan for the property. It was three weeks after the March 11 deadline set for Reuther to begin work on the building. That plan will take about a month for Sparks to put together, Leyens said, after which the city will advertise for a contractor to begin cleanup based on its guidelines. Reuther has &#8220a wide open door” to begin work any time in the process, Leyens said, but could face a court challenge from the city under its slum clearance ordinance to recoup any public expenses used for the stabilization.

Reuther said was uncertain of the effect of the city’s action. &#8220I don’t want to comment on that,” he said. &#8220I don’t know.”

Meanwhile, Reuther said, he and his wife – who own 12 other properties in the city, all bought since they moved from New Orleans five years ago – have lost interest in the idea of an antiques store. He sold about half of the items he spent four years collecting to auctioneer Hardy Katzenmeyer, he said, though there are still many in the intact basement of 711 and 713 Clay. The rest were lost in the collapse.

&#8220Some of the things weren’t to sell, they were to be displayed. I bought those things without thinking about money, and I paid top dollar for those things,” Reuther said. &#8220It’s not a profitable venture.”

Most of the smaller items were going for $15 to $20, with some combinations – a set of four upholstered chairs, for example – going for as little as $50.

One of the auction patrons was Malcolm Allred, owner of the Adolph Rose Antiques building at 717 Clay St., which was left with a hole in its west wall during the collapse. He said he had moved back into his third-floor apartment in the building Friday, days after crews finished patching up the wall.

&#8220The outside is done, but there’s still a lot to be done on the inside,” Allred said.

The Adolph Rose Antiques store on the building’s first floor remains closed. Its owners, Larry and Linda Walker filed a suit against the Reuthers and Parson last month that seeks more than $129,000 in damaged property, lost profit and punitive damages, plus court costs.

Reuther said he has filed an answer to the Walkers’ suit, but, despite past predictions of legal action, has not filed any suits himself.

&#8220We haven’t sued anybody who hasn’t sued us,” he said.