Cape Girardeau DREAMing big

Since 2006 an effort to revitalize downtown Cape Girardeau has been a dream come true for the city.

Cape Girardeau was selected Sept. 26, 2006, as one of the first 10 communities to receive grants to be used to revitalize their downtown areas through the Downtown Revitalization Economic Assistance for Missouri, or DREAM, Initiative. The other communities selected in 2006 were Excelsior Springs, Hannibal, Hermann, Kennett, Neosho, Sedalia, St. Joseph, Washington and West Plains. The communities were selected from 98 applicants. Thirty communities now are DREAM communities.

Because of the DREAM Initiative, downtown economic development efforts have been infused with more than $2.5 million, with more opportunities to come. The city has reached the halfway point in the three-year process of reshaping the look of downtown Cape Girardeau.

Reports on the results of focus groups, land-use studies, visitor surveys and market analyses are finished or in the final drafting stages. The final draft report of a comprehensive plan, which brings all the other studies together to present ideas for development, is due in June.

The plan will cover about 130 blocks of Cape Girardeau, with three areas of emphasis -- the Broadway corridor, the riverfront and the Good Hope-Haarig district.

KIT DOYLE ~ kdoyle@semissourian.comClassroom doors will remain, along with other aspects of the old Schultz School building in Cape Girardeau, which is being renovated into apartments as part of the DREAM Initiative.

Old Town Cape executive director Marla Mills said the initiative has involved community leaders and has brought Cape Girardeau a great deal of recognition throughout Missouri.

"The initiative has raised the awareness of our community on a statewide level," Mills said. "Most of the money we've received may never have happened had it not been for the DREAM Initiative."

So far grants the city has received include:

• $600,000 in state and federal tax credits from the Missouri Housing Development Commission for the private renovation of the Schultz School into senior apartments.
• $250,000 to help transform the old Schultz School into senior apartments.
• $400,000 in Community Development Block Grant funds for the Fountain Street project and $185,000 in enhancement funds for the same project from the Missouri Department of Transportation.
• $370,800 to build a parking lot and public restrooms in downtown Cape Girardeau.
• $250,000 in state tax credits for the Discovery Playhouse Children's Museum.
• $228,000 in redevelopment planning funds for the entire DREAM process.
• $5,000 from the Missouri Arts Council for the Storytelling Festival and another $5,000 for Tunes at Twilight.
• $70,000 in Missouri Heritage Properties Program funds to replace the heating and cooling system in the Common Pleas Courthouse.

Cape Girardeau Mayor Jay Knudtson called the DREAM Initiative one of the biggest ways for city leaders to save and enhance the historic downtown area.

"The cards are clearly stacked against revitalizing old downtowns," Knudtson said. "With the economic challenges that we all are facing, merchants especially must make decisions that best allows them to drive their bottom line. This affords them less opportunities to make emotional decisions."

Knudtson said it's up to city leaders to create an atmosphere that fosters economic growth and development.

"As a practical matter, we have more tools and resources to work with when promoting other areas for development than we do in the downtown," Knudtson said. "The accessibility and exposure that is created through I-55 development is undeniable, and these areas have certainly experienced tremendous growth for many of these reasons. The challenges are different for the downtown, and absent of the DREAM designation to kick-start the redevelopment renaissance that is taking place, I'm not sure we could have gotten over the hump in the preservation and development of our downtown."

Even with the progress made so far, future funding for DREAM communities may be in jeopardy.

Gov. Jay Nixon has proposed shifting grant money intended for those cities to a 4 percent interest loan program for small businesses through his Show Me Jobs initiative. Nixon had not indicated whether he will continue funding the DREAM Initiative.

"For us, the state signed an agreement that they'd see these services through and we expect they'll honor that commitment," Mills said. "The question is, will the extra funding for future programs continue?"

Either way, the city has benefited from the program.

"I feel confident we've gotten more than we've ever imagined," Mills said. "I believe the governor's initiative goes hand in hand with the DREAM Initiative. Our state is built on small businesses, and small businesses are vital to a downtown's success. That's what the DREAM Initiative is all about."

bblackwell@semissourian.com

388-3628