Copyright 1998, Southeast Missourian

A newly formed Springfield, Mo., corporation has bought old St. Francis Hospital and hopes to renovate it for government offices or housing.

The corporation, 801 Good Hope Inc., bought the vacant Cape Girardeau hospital last month from the estate of Texan Peter Kern. No purchase price was disclosed.

The corporation is named after the street address of the 85-year-old building.

Springfield businessman Trent Condellone runs the corporation, which was incorporated March 23.

Reached in Springfield Wednesday, Condellone said the corporation has the backing of two out-of-state investors. The main investor is from California, he said.

Condellone said the corporation hopes to turn the building into a one-stop government center for social-services agencies. Other options include low-income and senior-citizen housing.

Condellone said he drove by the building in January and walked through part of it last month. Renovation of the brick building would cost at least $3.5 million and could range between $4 million and $5 million, Condellone said.

The corporation plans to ask for government tax credits as part of the financing plan.

Cape Girardeau County Assessor Jerry Reynolds said back taxes and penalties of $20,608 are owed on the property. The delinquent taxes and penalties have piled up since 1990, and the only taxes paid were those for 1993, he said.

Condellone has asked the Cape Girardeau County Commission to write off all but $100 of the taxes owed. Reynolds said the request may be discussed by the commission today.

Condellone said the corporation considers a waiver of back taxes and penalties essential for any renovation. If that doesn't occur, the building could remain boarded up, he said.

The building has been vacant for 13 years. Constructed in 1913, it was used as a hospital until St. Francis Medical Center opened in 1976. It was sold to Southeast Missouri State University, which housed students in the building until 1985.

Kern bought the property in 1988, but his plans for a senior housing center ran afoul of the city's building code. After Kern's death, the property went to his estate and became tied up in probate court.

Condellone previously was involved in operating two old downtown Springfield, Mo., hotels as homeless shelters. The venture was plagued by controversy and financial woes.

Condellone was president and principal owner of Missouri Property Investments in Springfield. The company supervised more than 155 housing units and large buildings in several states. It also had a carry-out restaurant division, Condellone said.

Missouri Property Investments bought the two Springfield hotels -- the Seville and Marquette -- in 1996 from Scott O'Reilly, who subsequently tried to reclaim ownership of them. He accused Condellone of defaulting on a $420,000 mortgage.

In September 1996, the city cut utility power to the Seville Hotel over a reported $17,000 in unpaid bills. Condellone said the utility had raised the deposit with no warning as a result of pressure from O'Reilly.

The Springfield News-Leader newspaper reported that an agreement was reached between Condellone and utility officials, and power was restored.

City building and health officials closed the Marquette Hotel in November 1996 for fire safety deficiencies, said a Jan. 17, 1997, story in the News-Leader.

Condellone blamed O'Reilly and crooked building inspectors for the problem. Those inspectors later were removed from their jobs, he said.

"We pretty much had a house cleaning," Condellone said.

In 1997, Condellone's company, Missouri Property Investments, filed for bankruptcy in federal court. The company sought to reorganize under Chapter 11 of the federal bankruptcy law.

Condellone said his company paid all but $3,000 to $4,000 owed creditors.

A federal bankruptcy judge appointed O'Reilly as the bankruptcy trustee, Condellone said. O'Reilly held a foreclosure sale on Oct. 17, 1997, and bought back the properties for $260,000.

Condellone said the foreclosure sale wasn't properly advertised, and O'Reilly has burned company records and prevented him from operating the Seville Hotel. Maintenance of the building has suffered, but it continues to serve as a homeless shelter for about 100 people, Condellone said.

In January, Condellone filed a lawsuit against O'Reilly in Greene County Circuit Court in an effort to reclaim control of the hotels. The suit is pending.

Condellone has held a variety of jobs in recent years. He was chief of police for Battlefield, a Springfield suburb from 1993 to 1994. Condellone's resume states that he started the police department in the growing community.

He operated a computer company in the late 1980s. He later operated a real-estate investment firm in which he bought and sold single and multi-family homes.