Developers see a ripple effect of Marquette building renovation

The view from the new seventh floor penthouse atop the historic Marquette Towers is expansive. The Bill Emerson Memorial Bridge stands as the backdrop for the rooftops of downtown Cape Girardeau, peaceful on a Saturday morning.

But as real estate agent Tom M. Meyer scans the landscape from his perch, he sees people in the streets below, fueling a revitalized downtown market. From the top of six stories of Cape Girardeau history, he sees what he hopes to be the future.

In the 76-year-old building beneath him, that future is beginning to take shape.

In May 2003, the dust that had settled on the Spanish tile floors of the 1920s-era Marquette Hotel was disturbed by contractors' footsteps. The historic building that had sat mostly dormant since the 1970s was awakened, first by the whirring machines of asbestos removers, then by the saws, drills and hammers of construction workers. Almost a year later, wooden walls have been replaced by new sheet rock and bare steel stud wall frames have been laid over chipped red brick. Blueprint bones are beginning to be fleshed out.

More demand for space

As the transformation of the Marquette Hotel to the Marquette Towers of government offices, private businesses and retail shops picks up steam, Meyer said he has seen precursors of what's to come.

"We've already started to see the ripple effect this project will have on downtown," said Meyer, who is handling the leasing of the towers.

He's seen it in the way of increasing property values in the district. More demand for retail and residential space both in the heart of downtown and the immediately outlying areas. He sees the Marquette Plaza -- which includes Marquette Towers and the future Marquette Centre, across the street in the building at 221 N. Fountain St. -- as just one piece in a triangle of downtown development that will pump adrenalin into the area. The other corners of that triangle, he said, are the new federal courthouse being built on Independence and the proposed River Campus off of Highway 74.

Catherine Dunlap, executive director of Old Town Cape, said that she hasn't seen such a widespread investment of local, state and federal money in the downtown for some time.

Another residual effect of the Marquette Towers, she said, is that other downtown businesses have more knowledge of how to use state historic preservation tax credits. Since the Marquette project began, the H-H Building across Fountain Street has been put on the National Register of Historic Places.

"Also, this project has all the surrounding owners thinking about revitalizing the appearances of their own buildings," Dunlap said. "It's going to look great and be a fantastic boon for the entire district."

A little over 70 percent of the space is already leased, and Meyer said he expects that by July, most if not all of the 120 state agency employees will be sitting at their desks. State office space will occupy almost all of the third, fourth and sixth floors and parts of the remaining areas, including the renovated garage off Fountain Street. The concrete floors that once housed Model T's and Model A's will now be carpeted as a place for state workers to park themselves in front of their computers.

The rest of the space will be leased as private office, commercial and retail space. This includes rooms surrounding the old lobby, which will be refurbished to retain much of its original look. Meyer said he's shooting for a September ribbon-cutting on this part of the building.

Built 'like a fortress'

This public area includes the room where unaccompanied ladies used to have to wait for their husbands or boyfriends to come and escort them into the hotel, and the room from which KFVS radio broadcast the voices of Jack Buck and Harry Carry calling St. Louis Cardinal baseball games to the people of Cape Girardeau, including patrons in the lobby. Their original stucco walls and Spanish tiles will be restored to show their floral patterns of vibrant blues, reds, greens and yellows. Their metal casement windows have been restored.

"When we first got here, the concrete was chipping, the paint was peeling and the colors were fading," Meyer said. "But internally, this place was built strong like a fortress."

The strength of the concrete floors and steel-reinforced concrete pillars made both the structure and the investment in its rehabilitation sound. Meyer said it was actually one of the first buildings in the region to be designed with earthquakes from the New Madrid fault in mind. To be safe, however, they've installed a new concrete share wall to reinforce the structure.

Another addition was the seventh floor, which will be leased as either a restaurant or a corporate penthouse and office space. The new top story is terraced to allow people to step out and enjoy Meyer's view of downtown Cape Girardeau.

trehagen@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 137