PERRYVILLE, Mo. -- The halls are empty, the classrooms deserted in the former Catholic library building at St. Mary's of the Barrens.

But the 47-year-old stone building, with its arched entrance and marble and terrazzo foyer with Latin inscription, still displays a whisper of its old greatness on the quiet grounds of the former seminary.

The second floor features a massive library and reading room. It has a high, rounded ceiling, decorative light fixtures on the walls. A small interior balcony overlooks the area. Sunlight streams through a wall of windows along one side of the room. Its bookcases are largely empty now.

Until recently, the Congregation of the Mission -- the Catholic order that owns the building -- had housed a collection of rare books, art objects and church records. The Cath-olic order has removed the books and other items.

Students haven't graced the library's halls since the seminary closed in 1985, although priests still live in a building on the grounds.

Southeast Missouri State University's Al Stoverink isn't concerned with past history.

He's sold on plans to turn the building into a first-rate higher education center that will offer classes taught by faculty from Southeast and Mineral Area College at Park Hills, Mo. Once renovated, the building would replace the Perry County Higher Education Center at Sereno, Mo. That center is housed in a former grade school five miles east of Perryville on Highway 51.

The new center could handle an enrollment of 400 or more students, nearly double the 250-student enrollment at the Sereno center.

Stoverink believes the old library is a perfect fit for a new center.

Stoverink heads up facilities management at Southeast, the department that is in charge of renovating the building. Stoverink hopes to see the building open to classes by fall 2002.

"It's pretty well laid out for classes already," he said. "This building is in great condition."

Stoverink loves the front entrance to the building. "This is your classic American campus architecture," he said. "It's a great first impression."

Project cost

The university will use the building under a 50-year lease agreement worked out last fall. Under the agreement, the university will pay $1 a year to the Congregation of the Mission, headquartered in St. Louis County.

Stoverink estimates it could cost $1.5 million to renovate the building, install a handicapped accessible ramp, construct a 120-space parking lot and make street improvements to provide better access to the site.

Southeast has spent about $45,000 to remove asbestos floor tiles and insulation material and pay for some architectural work.

But the construction work depends on local funding, Stoverink said.

The Perryville Development Corp., a non-profit group of area business leaders, is raising funds. So far, it has pledged $400,000.

The group has applied for state tax credits for the project, a move designed to encourage donations.

U.S. Sen. Christopher Bond, R-Mo., hopes to secure $300,000 for the project in federal funds.

Chris Mudd, a Perryville businessman who heads up the community's higher education committee spearheading the effort, said the fund raising has dragged on for more than a year. "You get frustrated when you work on projects like this," he said.

Still, he remains confident that the funding will be found.

Stoverink and other university officials are optimistic that the funding will be in place by the end of September.

Bids already submitted

The university already has taken bids for initial work on the project and is prepared to sign a contract with Zoellner Construction of Perryville once the funding is in place.

The initial work will involve new lighting, painting, and installation of a sprinkler system and carpeting on the main floor at a cost of about $230,000.

Stoverink hopes that work can begin in October, followed by additional work on the second floor.

The university also wants to install central air conditioning and a new elevator.

Some renovation also may be done to the third floor and the basement in the future. Those areas initially would be used for storage, he said.

University officials say they want to do as much renovation as possible before opening the building to classes.

Stoverink envisions the building's main floor will have five classrooms, a computer lab, two offices and equipment for an interactive television classroom.

The upstairs library will once again be used as a library and a study area, Stoverink said. The second floor also has classroom space.

Plans are being made to extend Edgemont and Progress streets onto the former seminary grounds, providing better access to and from the site. The street work would be funded by the city of Perryville, Perry County and private donations, Stoverink said. The project cost includes the street work, he said.

"We will end up with a lot more space," said Dr. Dan Tallent, who heads up the Sereno center operated by Mineral Area College. Most of the students are enrolled in community college classes.

Mineral Area College will help equip the new center, and both Southeast and the community college will share operating costs, Tallent said.

"I think it is going to be a boost," Tallent said of the new center. "It's a lot better location." It is located only a short distance from Interstate 55 on the outskirts of Perryville.

The new center will be more accessible to students from Perry and surrounding counties, he said. Mineral Area College hopes to sell the Sereno center back to the Perryville public schools, Tallent said.