A boost for downtown: Southeast Missouri communities work to revitalize historic downtown areas

Throughout Southeast Missouri, efforts are mounting to grow and enrich cities' historic downtown districts.

Marla Mills, president of Old Town Cape in Cape Girardeau, says she has seen a trend in the past three to five years of people wanting to be able to live and work downtown.

"It's definitely a national trend of people moving back to the core, being more and more interested in sustainable practices," where they can live, work and get everything they need within walking distance, she explains.

"I've seen more and more interest in people not just having a business downtown, but being part of downtown," Mills says.

Leaders of the revitalization efforts from Cape Girardeau to Ste. Genevieve, Missouri, say organizing, using available resources and looking to other towns for inspiration are what have made them successful.

The new Cape Girardeau County History Center opened March 15 at 102 S. High St. in Jackson. (Fred Lynch)

Bob Schooley, president of the Uptown Jackson Revitalization Organization, says working with the Missouri Main Street Connection has been vital to the organization's success.

"I don't think we would be reaching our goals nearly as quick if we ... weren't partnered with them," Schooley says.

Jackson is an affiliate grant with Missouri Main Street Connection, the second step on the path to becoming accredited.

"So over the next 24 months, they'll be training us, giving us resources, tutelage, holding our hand, essentially, so that we can grow ...," he says.

Schooley says the decision to go with Missouri Main Street Connection was easy.

"To me, they're the one and only source for that in the state of Missouri," he says. "The approach is proven nationwide, and so there really wasn't any question about who we would go with."

Schooley and Mills say another important part of implementing successful downtown revitalization is looking at what other towns are doing to accomplish similar goals.

"We do that continually," Mills says. She says Old Town Cape representatives attend state and national conferences to network with other communities, see presentations and attend workshops on what other towns are doing.

"... Each community is a little bit different, and the key is really building on our uniqueness and promoting that in a way that makes us a place that people want to come," she says.

Probably the most visible way downtowns promote themselves is through community events.

In Cape Girardeau, Old Town Cape sponsors the annual Parade of Lights, Small Business Saturday and other events throughout the year.

Schooley calls Uptown Jackson's Oktoberfest its "most visible" success.

The Perryville Downtown Revitalization Committee hosts the Home Brew Block Party, Cruise In, Rocktober and more.

And in Ste. Genevieve, the Sainte Genevieve Downtown Renewal Project's events include Shop Small Saturday, Fourth Friday art walks and the Cookie Crumb Trail.

The Cookie Crumb Trail, set for Nov. 7, is an event designed to give back to community, says Kara Burt, president of the Sainte Genevieve Downtown Renewal Project.

"It's a $10 ticket, and you go from shop to shop, and then all the proceeds go to needy families in the community," she says.

Another project underway in Ste. Genevieve is River Gauge Park.

"It's our tribute to all the people that helped save the town during the '93 flood," Burt says. "We're hoping that it's going to end up being approved. It's going to be kind of like Mud Island down in Memphis."

Burt says one of their committees is trying to recruit people to take over businesses and buildings that are for sale. She adds they've had quite a few businesses open in a recent four-month period.

"We're working with the city more and reporting to them about what our efforts are, and really starting to gauge how our efforts are hopefully changing the town for the better," Burt says.

Cape Girardeau won the Great American Main Street Award in April, which Mills says has been a tool in marketing the city.

"What we were excited about was how we could leverage that and really promote downtown, promote Cape Girardeau as a community that has one of the greatest downtowns in the nation," she says.

Mills says the award has given people something to talk about and to use in recruitment efforts for students and businesses.

"It's given us as a community, us as an organization ... a way to say, 'We have this great community that's been recognized nationally. Come see us,'" Mills says.

Schooley has a piece of advice for other communities looking to mount a downtown revitalization effort.

"I would say the best thing you could ever do is to form," he says. "A lot of times people talk about it and they never really, actually, officially form. ... With Missouri Main Street behind you, you stand to go a long way. But you've got to form first."

Burt also recommends working with Missouri Main Street Connection and networking with other towns.

"Be persistent," she says. "It takes a lot of work, but I think it's totally an effort that's worth moving forward with."