Projects win grant, tax credits

Two Cape Girardeau projects that are part of the city's DREAM initiative received boosts Wednesday with the announcement of a $400,000 grant for street construction and tax credits for a museum.

Gov. Matt Blunt announced a Community Development Block Grant to extend Fountain Street from Morgan Oak Street to William Street. He also announced $172,270 in tax credits for the Discovery Playhouse's Southeast Missouri Children's Museum.

"This is wonderful news," city manager Doug Leslie said.

The DREAM, or Downtown Revitalization and Economic Development for Missouri, initiative, is Blunt's effort to bring state grants and tax credits to areas needing a boost. The program includes an extensive planning process and accelerated consideration of requests for funding or tax preferences in the designated areas.

The Fountain Street extension is planned to continue the divided, pavestoned street that currently connects Morgan Oak Street with Highway 74 just west of the Bill Emerson Memorial Bridge. The city is seeking an additional grant of $390,000 through the Missouri Department of Transportation to cover the costs of the street.

"This fits well with a prominent corridor from the new Emerson Bridge," Leslie said.

The plan does not include connecting Fountain Street from William Street to the existing Fountain Street at Independence Street. To do so, the corridor would have to cross land occupied by city hall, and Leslie said it is not in city plans. The city's portion of the costs would be paid through the half-cent transportation sales tax approved by voters in 2005.

The Discovery Playhouse currently operates in West Park Mall. The tax credits, available under the Neighborhood Assistance Program, will help renovate the old Goddard Grocer Co. building at 101 William St.

Martha Brown, president of the museum's board of directors, said approval of the tax credits will allow the renovation work to begin soon, with a target date for opening in late summer.

While some of the tax credits are already committed to donors, other contributors can still participate, she said. The program provides a 50 percent credit for donations from businesses and financial institutions, but not to individuals.

"It makes it much more attractive for people to make a contribution," she said. To anyone interested in donating, she said: "We would be happy to talk to them."

The museum is the first organization to receive state help to move into the area designated for the DREAM initiative. "It ties in very nicely and in a very positive fashion in the overall effort to increase interest in the downtown area," Leslie said.

In a prepared statement, Blunt said the DREAM initiative "is helping communities revitalize their downtown regions into thriving centers of capital and commerce."

Sen. Jason Crowell, R-Cape Girardeau, also issued a statement on the grants and credits. He said the program "will help communities in Missouri to improve their downtown areas and transform them into centers of job creation."

rkeller@semissourian.com

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