DOWNTOWNS OF NEARBY COMMUNITIES THRIVE

In an era when downtown areas are struggling, the downtowns of nearby communities are thriving.

Cape Girardeau, Jackson and Perryville all have thriving downtown areas with bright futures. But had it not been for some special attention city officials made over the last few years that might not have been the case.

Cape Girardeau had the most obstacles to overcome, as development in the west end of the city that established Cape Girardeau as a regional retail center, practically left the downtown area abandoned.

To survive, the emphasis was shifted away from the traditional retail stores and re-directed to a combination of entertainment, retail stores and people moving downtown to live.

About 15 years ago, business owners gathered to discuss the formation of a downtown redevelopment corporation, so a tax could be imposed to improve the area.

At the time, there were vacant buildings and the once thriving downtown Cape Girardeau was becoming eerily quiet.

"When we wanted to get downtown redevelopment started, we had a lot of critics saying we were pouring money into an endless hole," said Charles Hutson, a longtime business owner who is president of the Downtown Redevelopment Corp.

"I think now those same critics see that it was not a mistake."

New restaurants and night spots have been springing up downtown, mixed in with some retail stores. Recently, there has been increased interest in refurbishing old homes downtown and a number of apartments are being built.

And, plans by Boyd Gaming to build a riverboat gambling development along the river, will only further enhance downtown.

Vacant buildings are rare; many property owners have completed renovations or have them planned.

Efforts by the redevelopment corporation have included the upgrading of intersections, additional lighting and plantings.

Several years ago, concerns about the deteriorating conditions of downtown Perryville led city officials and merchants to join together there. There weren't a lot of vacant buildings, but there was concern that without improvements the unique blend of home-owned businesses that made up the area around the courthouse would be in jeopardy.

"We tried to make sure people did not leave the area," City Administrator Craig Lindsley said.

The effort began when the mayor appointed a committee, a plan was developed and an engineer hired to do final design. Two phases were completed, in 1992 and 1993.

"It was a real people-oriented process," Lindsley said. "We held public hearings to get input and a lot of their suggestions ended up being part of the final design."

New streets, sidewalks, water, sewer and gas lines were installed as part of the city's regular street projects. Park benches and new trash containers were added, and the courthouse lawn was re-done.

"After we got done with our part, some business owners did renovations on their buildings," Lindsley said. "It was a very successful project, done to prevent businesses from leaving our downtown."

Jackson Mayor Paul Sander said the downtown area remains the business hub of Jackson, even with growth on Highway 72 West and Highway 61 East.

The area has a good mix of businesses, many of them locally owned.

"At the present time we are happy with the situation in Jackson," Sander said. "I don't have any reason to think it will deteriorate. With a growing city, we would hope that our businesses would remain strong."

Like Perryville, Jackson officials have spent money from the city's transportation sales tax in the downtown area to replace streets over the last five years. City officials are also continually looking at ways to make the businesses easily accessible to shoppers.

Plans are under way for an extension of East Main from downtown to eventually tie in with a new interchange at I-55. Completion of that will make it easier to get to the downtown area and only further enhance its viability, Sander said.

Officials in all three cities agree that efforts to keep downtown areas strong require partnerships between city government, business owners and community leaders.