City officials, neighborhood leaders look to improve south Cape, but when and how?

Residents in Cape Girardeau's south-side neighborhood and city and school leaders have the same goal in mind: improving the struggling neighborhood.

The debate is on how to do it and what should happen first.

City officials suggest progress might take years; residents want more immediate results.

City, school and community leaders said the south Cape Girardeau neighborhood would benefit from a big-picture approach called Purpose Built Communities redevelopment model that could lead to construction of mixed-income housing, an early learning center and walking trails.

But they stressed nothing is finalized, and any improvement plans depend on finding south-side residents who could "quarterback" efforts to revitalize the city's neighborhood.

Lamont Whitney, 21, does a kick flip on his skateboard while riding Wednesday Cape Girardeau.Andrew J. Whitaker

Meanwhile, organized groups and neighborhood leaders said there are more near- and mid-term improvements and plans that can be made now, such as including south Cape Girardeau in parks plans for the next park-tax proposal, improving lighting in neighborhoods and other such amenities.

The Purpose Built redevelopment model originated in Atlanta and has succeeded in turning around a poverty-stricken, crime-ridden neighborhood.

It focuses on developing neighborhood leaders, cradle-to-career education, mixed-income housing and community wellness.

The idea of implementing such a model was discussed at a community meeting at the Shawnee Park Center in November. Since then, there have been behind-the-scenes discussions among city leaders, educators and others.

City manager Scott Meyer said, "We are kind of looking for leaders to emerge that might make up this quarterback group."

Mayor Harry Rediger, who has championed the idea, said he hopes such leaders can be identified by year's end.

City and community leaders have traveled to Atlanta twice since 2016 to view the progress in that city's East Lake neighborhood.

In August, Meyer and top officials with the Cape Girardeau School District visited the Georgia neighborhood and came away impressed with the redevelopment success and how schools can contribute to the progress.

City and school officials have insisted the model requires neighborhood buy-in and won't be led by the city or the school district.

"We can't be the quarterback," Rediger said, adding the effort requires "a cultural change."

Housing development

Meyer said improvements could include construction of 150 housing units and an early childhood center. The project would cost an estimated $15 million, he said.

To move forward with such a project, developers would have to submit proposals, and decisions would have to be made how to subsidize it, Meyer said.

Any revitalization effort would rely partly on philanthropy, he said.

The housing units could vary in size and be spread among a number of buildings. The units would have monthly rental rates of about $500, which is the current market rate in that area of the city, Meyer said. Low-income residents would need rent subsidy, he said.

"What you are looking for is to build community in such a way that it begins to cement the neighborhood back together," Meyer said.

The city manager said any redevelopment effort also needs to provide incentives to encourage current homeowners in the neighborhood to reinvest in their properties and upgrade their homes.

Adding walking trails along both sides of Highway 74 could better connect the neighborhood and improve mobility, Meyer said.

"When Highway 74 was built, it split this neighborhood in two," Meyer said, adding it isolated people on both sides of the road.

Meyer said the goal is to improve an area that faces major challenges.

Meyer said the proposals are "just ideas that we are throwing out there. We want to hear what the neighborhood says about it."

Meyer said Cape Girardeau overall has experienced tremendous growth.

"But we have a small neighborhood of our city that hasn't enjoyed that. They haven't seen property values increase. They haven't seen quality of buildings and building stock increase," he said.

On the south side, there has been little new construction, Meyer said.

The neighborhood also has experienced an increase in crime.

"It is a serious issue. The murders are just not acceptable, and yet they continue," the city manager said.

Besides homicides, the area is plagued with a drug problem, thefts and burglaries, according to Meyer.

There also is an education problem, he said.

"People aren't graduating or they are not getting good employment," said Meyer.

"No city manager likes to say that there is a piece of their town that is getting worse, but I think you have to name it before you can begin to solve it," he said.

Meyer said, "We have to put the community in the driver's seat. That is probably what we will be working on for the next year."

Rediger said it could take a decade to fully implement redevelopment on the south side.

"We can't be impatient," he said.

But leaders of Authentic Voices, a group of mostly black south-side residents, said they want to see concrete changes much sooner and are working toward that.

Koreena Woodson, who is co-chairwoman of the Authentic Voices neighborhood group, said residents want to know how the Atlanta model can help them now.

"What about sidewalks now? What about lighting now? What about child care now?" she asked.

May Greene Elementary School, the only school south of Highway 74, closed in 1999, shifting many students to Jefferson Elementary School.

But residents living south of Highway 74 often don't view Jefferson as a neighborhood school.

"We have no school," said Woodson. "We have no sense of ownership."

Early learning center

But Cape Girardeau public schools superintendent Neil Glass said he believes development of an early-learning center, which would serve infants to 4-year-olds, would improve the neighborhood and have "a positive impact on our students."

Glass was one of the school district officials who made the recent trip to Atlanta to view the operation of East Lake's charter school.

While local officials are not talking about setting up a charter elementary school, Glass said he and the others on the trip came away "very, very excited" about taking steps to set up an early-childhood learning center. East Lake has an early learning center that prepares the children for elementary school, he said.

Glass said it would give neighborhood children, many of whom live in poverty, "a jump start" to a better education.

"There is a huge (achievement) gap between your wealthier and middle-income families and students of poverty" in terms of language and other skills, he said.

An early-learning center would prepare students for success in school, Glass said.

"When we look at what the possibilities are in Cape Girardeau, an early-learning center would certainly pay huge dividends to this community," Glass said.

A learning center could be privately operated, he said. The details would have to be worked out, but the school district would be a partner in some way with such a center, Glass said.

"We would want to have a voice in what that looked like," he said.

Deputy superintendent Tony Robinson said an early-learning center would be a "linchpin" for revitalizing the neighborhood.

"It is a change that transforms how students come up through the education system," Robinson said.

But south-side residents said the area needs other improvements, too.

Pushing for a park

Authentic Voices is pushing for development of a new park on the south side, one that would have permanent restrooms and could be used by all, regardless of age or ability.

Melissa Stickel, who is co-chairwoman of Authentic Voices, said the area's Indian and Ranney parks have few amenities and no permanent restrooms.

Indian Park also lacks off-street parking, and the small Ranney Park "does not count as a park," she said.

Stickel, who directs the Community Caring Council, does not reside in the neighborhood. Where she lives in the city, there are two nearby parks with amenities.

There is nothing similar in the south part of town, she said.

At a public meeting Tuesday night at Shawnee Park Center. Stickel suggested the City Council include development of a south side park in its list of projects that would be funded if voters extend a parks and stormwater sales tax next year.

She said she was "grossly disappointed" with city officials that such a project was not among a list of possible park projects considered by the council at a recent study session.

Authentic Voices also is among groups pushing to provide programming at the Shawnee Park Center that would allow the city facility to truly operate as a neighborhood community center.

Stickel said Shawnee Park now operates as "a sports park" for organized leagues. Residents have said they don't view it as a community park.

City planner Ryan Shrimplin, who attended the meeting, said, "I think what you want is a neighborhood park."

Authentic Voices member Betty Mosley said "you can talk all day long" about possible improvements, but residents want to see concrete steps taken to improve their neighborhood.

Mosley said a good first step would be to install streetlights and cut high weeds that border many alleys.

"A lot of alleys are pitch-black," she said.

mbliss@semissourian.com

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