Casino plans, related city projects, move ahead

In November, Isle of Capri won favor from Cape Girardeau voters.

In December, the casino business won favor from the state's gaming commission.

Now, the task of winning the favor of its neighbors and customers is taking shape as Isle moves forward with plans for a $125 downtown development.

The new gaming and entertainment complex north of downtown at the old shoe factory site off North Main Street is expected to have 1,000 slot machines, 28 table games, three restaurants, a lounge and terrace overlooking the Mississippi River and a 750-seat event center.

Isle has promised to employ 500 people with an annual payroll of $14 million and attract 1 million visitors a year to Cape Girardeau. It estimates 60 percent of those visiting will come from outside the immediate area.

The city has received $2 million from Isle of Capri in exchange for about 11 acres of city property and public rights-of-way. According to the development agreement between Isle and the city, $1 million must be used for enhancements to Broadway.

Requests for qualifications for a design consultant for the Broadway project have been sent out, according to city engineer Kelly Green.

"We want this consultant to look at what amenities make sense for this area. Treescaping and decorative lighting might be a possibility," Green said. The city had allocated approximately $2.85 million for improvements to Broadway from Pacific to Water Streets as part of its Transportation Trust Fund 4 program. The $1 million from Isle of Capri will be used to pay for enhancements that wouldn't be part of a typical city street project.

The Broadway redesign is scheduled to be completed by the time the casino opens.

The city council has allocated the other $1 million from Isle for several public projects, including $400,000 to bolster city reserves. The rest will be spend on seven other projects: $50,000 for a community garden, $50,000 for parking renovation at the River Heritage Museum, $100,000 for recreational trail lighting, $125,000 for sidewalks on Kingsway Drive and $25,000 for a dog park.

"This project represents one of the largest economic development projects in the history of Cape Girardeau," Paul Keller, Isle of Capri senior vice president and chief development officer said in December when Isle was granted prioritization status by the gaming commission. "Our goal is to build a showpiece for Southeast Missouri, enhance the historic downtown area and bring hundreds of quality jobs to the community."

Isle of Capri is finalizing designs for both the casino building and the realignment of North Main Street around its site, said Jill Haynes, director of corporate communication for Isle of Capri.

The realignment of Main Street will be the first step in the construction. It will be funded privately by Isle of Capri, but the city must still approve Isle's roadwork plans. The North Main Street project is scheduled to be completed in November, Haynes said.

Work on the casino building itself will begin this summer, but site preparation work will start earlier than that, she said. The casino will open in late 2012.

It is difficult to predict how the casino development will impact neighboring properties or the downtown business district, said Tom Meyer of Thomas L. Meyer Commercial Realty.

"Everyone is in a wait-and-see mode," he said. "This is a conservative area. People gotta see it, touch it and smell it before I take a risk. In this economy, risk is higher than what people are comfortable with."

Another obstacle to commercial development surrounding the Isle site is that most of the neighboring property is zoned residential.

"Until you have some applications for that use, it's not going to be set up as a commercial attraction," Meyer said.

Isle doesn't track property values or developments it does not own surrounding its 15 casino sites, said Haynes, noting no two communities are alike.

mmiller@semissourian.com

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