BUSINESS: MARQUETTE CONDITION DISPUTED

The owner of the old Marquette Hotel in downtown Cape Girardeau says the building is structurally stable and believes it is being unjustly targeted for demolition by the city.

Meanwhile, city officials say the structure must be renovated or torn down.

Carol Bullock, who maintains the building on behalf of her 85-year-old mother, Ruby Bullock, said a meeting with city representatives to discuss the condition of the old, six-story hotel was "very positive, but she feels the city is overly eager to see it condemned even though she complied with inspectors' repair requests.

"That building is built so well it could withstand anything," Bullock said. "I can't imagine anybody within a mile of the place wanting it to be torn down."

But Cape Girardeau Mayor Albert Spradling said the building, which stands at the corner of Broadway and Fountain streets, has many structural problems, including a weak roof, an open elevator shaft and falling debris from the building's facade.

"There's all kinds of things inside that make it a hazard," Spradling said. "There has been no effort in my opinion to try to maintain the property in any condition."

Repairs made

The city council decided June 5 to begin condemnation proceedings on the building, constructed in 1928 and last used, only on the ground floor, in 1997 as by the Bullock family as a piano store. Bullock, who lives in Maryland, admitted she did not jump to maintain the building after her father, Thad Bullock, died in 1999.

On June 19, city officials sent a letter to the family requesting 10 structural and cosmetic repairs be made to the building, including removing trash, boarding up windows and removing marquees from the building.

Bullock came to Cape Girardeau and oversaw the repairs, which she said were completed by July 5. By mid-July, the city posted condemnation notices on the building, even though an Aug. 3 letter sent to Bullock acknowledged that all violations outlined in the June 19 were rectified.

At a Nov. 15 meeting, city officials and Bullock agreed that she will have 120 days to improve or sell the property before the city proceeds with condemnation and possible demolition. Numerous real estate inquiries have been made about the property, Bullock said, although the most promising deal is on hold for lack of funding.