BENEFACTOR ASKS BUILDINGS BE PRESERVED

B.W. Harrison smiled as he was introduced to a small gathering Saturday at the front courtyard of the old St. Vincent's Seminary grounds.

He viewed the displays and greeted those who were attending. Then Harrison admitted he is a bit overwhelmed by the scope of what he started.

Harrison donated about $800,000 to the Southeast Missouri State University Foundation to buy the seminary property. In return, he asked the university to preserve the historic buildings.

His contribution got the ball rolling for what has become a proposal for a River Campus for Southeast.

The university and city are working to renovate the property into a campus to house the university's theater, dance, music and fine arts programs.

As part of the joint project, voters are being asked to approve an increase in the city's hotel-motel tax from 3 percent to 4 percent and to extend it from 2004 to 2030. Voters are also being asked to extend the 1 percent restaurant tax until 2030.

The tax measures on the Nov. 3 ballot would raise $8.9 million. The 10-cent debt service levy included in the city's real estate tax will expire in 2004, so residents would achieve savings, say university and city officials.

"Going into this, I never imagined," Harrison said Saturday. "This is much more than I thought, but I knew that if anybody could make it go, it was the university."

He viewed artists' renderings of possible expansions and new buildings that would house classrooms and performance halls, while still preserving the historic heart of the seminary.

Harrison's goal all along has been to preserve the seminary for Cape Girardeau. He was involved with the Colonial Cape Girardeau Foundation, which at one time owned the seminary property. "We weren't quite organized enough," Harrison said. "I think getting the university involved was the best answer."

Jim Biundo agrees. As assistant to the president for university relations, Biundo has been involved in the River Campus project.

"Fifty years from now, I think people will look back at this time as a turning point in the history of the university and probably in the community as well," he said Saturday. "It takes people with vision, the kind of vision B.W. Harrison has to really see what a truly outstanding facility this is."

John Mehner, president of the Cape Girardeau Chamber of Commerce, urged a yes vote Nov. 3. "What an opportunity this is for Cape Girardeau," he said. "This project will pump $35.6 million into a section of town that really needs an investment."

The university, with it's 125-year history in Cape Girardeau, makes a good partner, Mehner said, adding: "This is not someone who has a chance of leaving in a year or two."

The project had advantages for the whole community, Mehner said.

Directors of the Cape Girardeau Area Industrial Recruitment Association voted unanimously to support the River Campus project.

In a letter from Mitch Robinson, executive director of the association, the board said, "The renovation and redevelopment of the Old St. Vincent's Seminary into an arts and cultural center for the region will inspire and encourage more development in the surrounding downtown area.

"The cultural activities and opportunities made available by the River Campus will benefit the overall quality of life for Cape Girardeau County and for the region," the board said.