Revised plans for River Campus presented to board

Members of the River Campus Board of Managers got their first look at the most recent revisions to the project's conceptual design Monday during a meeting with Jacobs Facilities, the architectural firm hired by Southeast Missouri State University to design the campus.

Scott Starling, who serves as project manager with the St. Louis-based firm, told the board there were very few modifications to the original design, which was developed three years ago.

The $35.6 million River Campus will serve as a performing arts center for the university and will include a regional museum and visitors center overlooking the Mississippi River.

Among other things, the campus will boast a 1,000-seat performance hall, a 350-seat theater and a recital hall. The former St. Vincent's Catholic seminary building located on the site will be used for office space and classrooms.

Museum on the move

Starling said the most significant design change was the location of the 22,000-square foot museum. Originally, the design called for a two-story, horseshoe-shaped museum to be built to the north of the former seminary.

But because the placement of the museum obscured the view of the seminary from Morgan Oak Street, it was moved to the western side of the campus and connected to the performance hall and visitors' center with a lobby area.

Under the design revisions, student parking would be located off Morgan Oak Street on the north side of the campus. Public access to the museum and visitors' center would be off Fountain Street on the west side.

Due to changes in program offerings in the past three years, the theater and dance portions of the campus have been combined. Studios and office space for the art department have also been joined at the request of faculty members.

Ruth Knote, a member of the River Campus Board of Managers, said she believes all the board members were pleased with the design changes.

"I feel like it's going to be much more sensible," Knote said. "This design is more condensed. Before, it was too fragmented."

The project is a joint venture with the city, which will chip in $8.9 million of the total cost to be paid with revenue from a hotel/motel tax.

The university must come up with $10.15 million, of which $7 million has already been raised, for their part of the cost. The remaining $16.55 million will be paid with out of state appropriations.

For almost four years, the project has been tied up in a legal battle that pitted the city against Cape Girardeau businessman Jim Drury. During a meeting last week, the city council gave its official approval to the River Campus project.

The design changes reviewed by the board of managers are only recommendations at this point. The final design will be approved by the university's board of regents at their Dec. 13 meeting.