Broadway projects on TIF Commission agenda

A meeting of the Cape Girardeau Tax Increment Financing (TIF) Commission this week originally scheduled as a public hearing on a redevelopment plan in the vicinity of Broadway and North Middle Street will also include an initial look at a second proposed project a few blocks away in the 800 block of Broadway.

The commission meeting is set for 4 p.m. Wednesday at the Osage Centre, beginning with the public hearing on The Rialto Retail and Residential development project and a decision by the commissioners whether to recommend the project to the Cape Girardeau City Council.

The Rialto Retail and Residential project is valued at nearly $5 million and would involve redevelopment of several vacant buildings at 418, 420 and 430 Broadway to accommodate restaurants, retails stores and apartments.

It would also include removal of a structure at 222 N. Middle St., renovation of a building at 260 N. Middle St. to accommodate a behavioral and therapeutic services company, creation of outdoor seating adjacent to 440 Broadway for use by one of the proposed restaurants at 430 Broadway, and addition of about 80 off-street parking spaces within the boundaries of the 1.73-acre redevelopment area.

All properties in The Rialto redevelopment plan area are owned by Rust Communications Inc., parent company of the Southeast Missourian. Rex Rust, managing member of The Rialto project and co-president of Rust Communications, has said renovations could begin almost immediately, pending city approval, and could be completed by early 2021.

A recent study by the Southeast Missouri Regional Planning and Economic Development Commission determined the parcels in the Rialto project area are “blighted,” which qualifies the project for TIF development funding.

TIF funding is used to facilitate redevelopment of properties that otherwise wouldn’t be improved by allowing project developers to capture incremental increases in property created by their investments and to recover some of their project expenses.

After dealing with the Rialto development project, the commission will hear an initial summary about a redevelopment proposal for a building at 811 Broadway, once the home of American Legion Post 63 and Pitter’s Cafe & Lounge.

Plywood is seen in the windows of 811 Broadway on Monday in Cape Girardeau. A discussion of a recently-submitted TIF application for the property will be held Wednesday.BEN MATTHEWS

The project was a last-minute addition to the commission agenda after TIF funding paperwork was filed with the city Monday morning.

“We’ll have a very brief introduction of the project Wednesday,” said Molly Mehner, Cape Girardeau’s assistant city manager.

The project, proposed by Restoreme LLC and Speakeasy Coffee Co., would create a half-dozen upscale apartments and two commercial spaces in the 12,000-square-foot building.

In her TIF funding application, Restoreme and Speakeasy Coffee owner Suzanne Hightower said the building is “in dire need” of renovation.

“The building has been empty and has been allowed to fall in disrepair even when a business was located there,” she said.

Hightower said the building’s “long and skinny” configuration “complicates the ability to use the space,” which, in turn, decreases its earning potential.

“Without the funds generated from sales tax and savings on property taxes, the owner will struggle to make enough income to cover the restoration costs,” she said in explaining why TIF funding is needed to fund the project, which has an estimated cost of just under $1.3 million.

In her TIF application, Hightower said the 97-year-old building was home to a “speak-easy” during the Prohibition era in the 1920s and was once visited by Elvis Presley.

Do you crave business news? Check out B Magazine, and the B Magazine email newsletter. Check it out at www.semissourian.com/newsletters to find out more.