City of Cape working on plan to demolish unsafe buildings

This story has been updated with a list of properties from the City of Cape Girardeau.

Cape Girardeau officials want to make the city a bit safer by demolishing unsafe and abandoned buildings.

According to Cape Girardeau's city manager Kenny Haskin, residents in the city often report illegal activities occurring in abandoned, structurally unsafe buildings.

The proposal includes using $125,000 from American Rescue Plan funds and will provide enough money to triple the amount of funding for the removal of abandoned or unsafe buildings. The proposal is part of Cape Girardeau's safety initiative and aims to decrease the crime rate in the area.

"Nuisance properties increase crime risk, while plunging local property value," Haskin said. "Removing unsafe structures is one way we can reduce crime and improve neighborhoods."

According to the U.S. Department of Housing, "abandoned properties have negative effects on communities including reduced property values, increased crime, increased risk to public health and welfare and increased costs for municipal governments."

Cape Girardeau's Fire Department reported approximately 15 vacant building fires over the last two years. Fire Chief Randy Morris said fires in vacant buildings are a safety threat to the firefighters combating the flames because the buildings are usually dilapidated.

Employees in the Planning Services Division have compiled a list of vacant buildings in Cape Girardeau and the fire department adds those addresses to its dispatch list. The condemnation list, currently 26 properties, provides the department with information on what type of building firefighters are going to enter.

Morris suggested residents who live near vacant buildings report any suspicious or illegal activities to law enforcement to decrease the likelihood of a fire occurring.

The proposal is also part of the city's Comprehensive Plan process, a long-term guide for growth and development, and was adopted by the city in 2020.

"Our city limits have expanded with new neighborhoods in recent years, but there isn't a lot of vacant space left within the city for new development," Mayor Stacy Kinder said. "What Cape does have is a lot of redevelopment opportunity, so we've got to make that opportunity more attractive and attainable with the great assets we do have."

The condemnation process can take up to one year before a structure is officially condemned. The owner has that time to improve the building to pass inspection from the Planning Services Division.

Kinder said she wants to provide homeowners with "every opportunity to take responsibility." If the owner of a condemned building does not comply with the city's building codes then the building is demolished, the site is restored to grade and covered with seed and straw.

Here is a city-provided list of properties:

• 519 S. Pacific St.
• 611 S. Ellis St.
• 840 S. Ellis St.
• 503 S. Frederick St.
• 298 N. West End Blvd.
• 40 Henderson Ave.
• 1125 Dorothy St.
• 416 N. Frederick St.
• 50 Centennial Drive
• 805 Broadway
• 1801 Big Bend Road
• 710 Morgan Oak St.
• 2641 Hopper Road
• 518 S. Benton St.
• 535 S. Benton St.
• 1220 S. Pacific St.
• 1010 Jefferson St.
• 16 Henderson Ave.
• 807 Maple St.
• 1108 William St.
• 504 S. Frederick St.
• 1515 Independence St.
• 37 S. Benton St.
• 408 S. Hanover St.
• 1410 New Madrid St.
• 423 S. Frederick St.
• 2039 Brink St.
• 2102 Big Bend Road