Old Town Cape recognizes efforts to strengthen downtown

To recognize the greatest efforts of volunteerism, rehabilitation and restoration in downtown Cape Girardeau, Old Town Cape hosted its annual awards dinner Thursday night at Isle Casino Cape Girardeau.

Four awards were distributed throughout the course of the night, while dozens were thanked and recognized for their work. Old Town Cape executive director Marla Mills said the crowd grows each year at the event, a positive sign of the widespread interest in the downtown area.

Before announcing award winners, Mills took time to discuss a recent name change for an Old Town Cape scholarship. The organization's board voted to rename it the Old Town Cape William Dunn Scholarship, in honor of Dunn's dedication to the group's scholarship garden. Mills said the garden is the source of nearly all the funds for two endowed scholarships sponsored by the organization.

Dawn Dauer, who was named first vice president and treasurer of the organization for 2015, introduced the winner of the Business Excellence Award. The honored business may not seem typical of a downtown area, she said, but it has served the community well for many years. Thomas R. Higgins Accounting LLC was proof "you do not have to be a retailer, restaurant or bar to thrive in downtown," Dauer said. Higgins has been involved with Old Town Cape for about 15 years, since it first began.

The next award, the Adaptive Use Recognition Award, honored the efforts of a group that tackled what Dr. Steven Hoffman called a "white elephant." In the historic preservation world, the term describes a historic building that sits vacant year after year after outgrowing its original use and is difficult to repurpose.

Hoffman said the old federal building on Broadway became a white elephant when it was put out to the highest bidder, no longer serving a public use. When Janus Development Group purchased the building in May, he said it brought new hope. Since the initial purchase, 13 leases have been filled, bringing new purpose to the building and new businesses to downtown.

Joe Uzoaru, the Cape Girardeau city councilman who was described as the face of Janus Development Group, accepted the award. He acknowledged the building was a white elephant and joked "one of my bankers nearly spit his coffee all over the floor" upon learning of the plans to purchase the property. Repurposing the building comes with its difficulties, but Uzoaru said the effort is worth it.

"It has been a great success," he said of the venture. "We would love to bring more people downtown."

Rounding out the night were the presentations of the Volunteer of the Year and Charles L. Hutson Visionary awards. Mills said much of the work done by Old Town Cape is possible only because of the many hours put in by volunteers. The award is given each year to volunteers who go above and beyond to make an impact in the downtown area, she said. The visionary award is reserved for those who step up as leaders downtown and throughout the community.

For only the second time in the organization's history, the Volunteer of the Year Award and Charles L. Hutson Visionary Award were presented to the same person. Dave Hutson offered the audience a long list of reasons Jim Maurer was deserving of both awards, noting particularly his efforts to make the Downtown Community Improvement District a reality. He served as chairman of the CID steering committee, gathering petition signatures twice when the effort suffered setbacks, working to draw CID boundaries and answering questions from residents and business owners. It was approved by voters last year.

Maurer thanked those who worked before him to improve downtown, specifically noting the work of Charles L. Hutson. To receive an award in his name was an honor, he said.

"I never thought of myself as a visionary," Maurer said, "just, if there's a job to be done, then you have to roll up your sleeves and do it."

srinehart@semissourian.com

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Pertinent address:

777 N. Main St., Cape Girardeau, MO