City Council to hold public hearing Monday on proposed CID

Cape Girardeau officials will hold a public hearing Monday for consideration of a 3.15-acre community improvement district (CID) off South Kingshighway.

The proposed CID, Bloomfield Crossing Community Improvement District, resides at the northeast corner of the intersection of South Kingshighway and Bloomfield Street.

According to a petition for the CID filed with the city clerk, the CID is owned by J.S. Coalter & Associates Inc.

According to Jason Coalter, president of J.S. Coalter & Associates, one of the main purposes of the CID is to fund improvements for vehicular ingress and egress to the site the CID occupies.

"There's going to be a left turn in and a left turn out that is currently being obstructed by a big concrete median that will be removed in order to make ingress and egress much safer," Coalter said.

The Missouri Department of Revenue defines a CID as a local special taxing district that collects revenue within its designated boundaries to pay for special public facilities, improvements or services.

If approved, the district may impose an annual district-wide special assessment of $1.25 per leasable square foot against each parcel of property within the district.

According to the petition for the formation of the Bloomfield Crossing CID, the proposed district will fund or assist in funding the rehabilitation and renovation of commercial buildings within the district. Parking lot and pedestrian traffic improvements may also be made as well as demolition of a commercial building in the district's boundaries.

Coalter said the largest of two buildings within the proposed CID "that needed significant improvements" will be renovated.

An analysis from the Southeast Missouri Regional Planning and Economic Development Commission found the land within the proposed CID to be "blighted."

"Our companies have consistently become known for buying underutilized and aged properties and revitalizing them and developing them for the community," Coalter said, noting previous renovations to buildings that now house Lorimier Apartments and Broussard's Cajun Cuisine.

If approved, the CID would be led by a five-person board of directors appointed by the mayor with the consent of the city council. Each director will either be an owner of real property within the district or a legally authorized representative.

The estimated cost for the project is $1,300,000.

A public hearing on Bloomfield Crossing Community Improvement District will be held at 7 p.m. Monday at Cape Girardeau City Hall, 401 Independence St.

Final approval of the petition for the proposed CID will be made by Cape Girardeau City Council.