Cape mayor: Purpose Built revitalization plan would take years

Revitalizing Cape Girardeau's south-side neighborhoods through a redevelopment model that originated in Atlanta will take years, Mayor Harry Rediger said Wednesday.

The mayor discussed the project at a public meeting at the Shawnee Park Center.

Rediger led the meeting that drew about 100 bankers, educators, pastors, real-estate agents, developers, representatives of social service agencies and charity groups, residents and city officials.

Purpose Built Communities vice president Kathleen Brownlee talked about the group's model for changing neighborhoods and lives in areas that have been plagued with crime and poverty. Brittany Collins, a community development adviser for the Atlanta-based, pro-bono consulting company, also attended the meeting.

Rediger said, "This is an education meeting. This is not a decision meeting."

Lynn Ware speaks from the audience at a meeting for Purpose Built Communities on Wednesday at the Shawnee Park Center in Cape Girardeau.Fred Lynch

He added, "This is a long-term plan, probably at least a 10-year plan."

Rediger said the plan will be driven by local stakeholders. The cost of such a project has not been estimated, he said.

No decision has been made on the boundaries of the possible redevelopment area.

But Rediger said after the meeting it could involve several city blocks, both north and south of Highway 74.

During the meeting, south-side resident Betty Mosley said the area south of the Highway 74 bridge route is a "forgotten" area in the community.

A crowd listens to Mayor Harry Rediger speak at a meeting for Purpose Built Communities on Wednesday at the Shawnee Park Center in Cape Girardeau.Fred Lynch

Mosley, who lives on Ranney Avenue south of Highway 74, said the area no longer has an elementary school.

"I think you need to have a school in our neighborhood," she said.

The Purpose Built Communities model is being implemented in 16 communities nationwide.

In addition, the organization is in discussions with 30 other communities including Cape Girardeau, Brownlee said.

Brownlee said the model was pioneered in the mid-1990s to revitalize the poverty-stricken, crime-ridden East Lake neighborhood of Atlanta.

A quote is displayed at a meeting for Purpose Built Communities Wednesday at the Shawnee Park Center in Cape Girardeau.Fred Lynch

It led to construction of mixed-income housing, opening of a charter school and construction of a YMCA.

Brownlee said there are three major components to Purpose Built Communities: mixed-income housing; a cradle-to-career education system that ensures student growth, learning and achievement at every level; and community wellness programs and facilities that promote healthy living and productive lives.

The plan proved successful, prompting the establishment of the Purpose Built Communities consulting firm in 2000 to aid efforts to revitalize neighborhoods across the nation, Brownlee said.

The group's Brownlee and Collins toured Cape Girardeau's south side with city staff and community leaders Tuesday before the Wednesday meeting.

Brownlee said Atlanta's East Lake neighborhood was a struggling area, plagued by crime, a failing school and uninhabitable buildings. It was home to a 650-unit public housing complex.

The crime rate was 18 times higher than the national average, she said. Only 13 percent of residents were employed. Median household income was $4,536 a year.

Today, the area has seen a 73 percent reduction in crime, including a 90 percent reduction in violent crime. All adults, except for the elderly and disabled, hold jobs, Brownlee said. The median household income for working families receiving housing subsidies is $20,000.

Test scores for elementary students rose dramatically and rival those in some of the wealthier Atlanta-area schools, Brownlee said.

In a 10-year period, the area has benefited from more than $400 million in private investment, she said. Home values have more than quadrupled.

The East Lake project involved a community partnership that included the Atlanta Housing Authority that oversees public housing in the city.

But Brownlee said after the meeting a public housing authority is not necessary to implement the development model.

"A lot of residents did have to relocate," she said of the East Lake redevelopment.

The housing authority worked to find them alternate, subsidized housing.

"Your goal is not to displace residents," she said at the meeting.

Twenty-two percent of residents ended up returning to the neighborhood after new housing was constructed, Brownlee said.

Many did not return because they did not want to move again or the East Lake neighborhood held too many painful memories, she said.

Brownlee said it took three to five years to erect new housing in the less-than-one-square-mile neighborhood. The development included a 50-50 split in public housing and market-rate housing.

She suggested a better ratio would be one-third market-value housing and two-thirds subsidized housing.

The "secret sauce" with Purpose Built Communities involves setting up a not-for-profit entity with a "community quarterback" to steer revitalization efforts and secure funding, she said. Having a person in charge provides "a single point of accountability," Brownlee said.

Representatives of the Purpose Built Communities group plan to continue working with Cape Girardeau and community leaders in the coming months to formulate a neighborhood revitalization plan.

Brownlee said the process is just beginning.

"We don't have all the answers yet. We are on our first date, so we will see how it goes."

mbliss@semissourian.com

(573) 388-3641

Pertinent address:

835 S. West End Blvd., Cape Girardeau, Mo.