BUYERS LOSE SEMINARY; VINCENTIANS REJECT OFFER OF $100,000 LESS THAN OWED

After more than a year of trying to pay off a note from the Vincentian Fathers, Colonial Cape Girardeau Foundation has ended its attempt to buy Old St. Vincent's Seminary.

At a Friday press conference on the seminary grounds, foundation attorney Kevin Spaeth said the Vincentians rejected an offer to take $530,000 as the payoff, about $100,000 less than the amount owed.

Full payment on the seminary property was due last year and the Vincentians threatened foreclosure on the property in early September.

Spaeth said foreclosure was delayed when the foundation board struck a deal: If they couldn't come up with the money within a certain time period, they would give the deed back and save the Vincentians the trouble of foreclosure.

The time was up on Thursday, and the foundation turned over its deed.

Several guarantors joined to secure the $530,000 total through Union Planters, First National and Boatmen's banks, Spaeth said, and foundation members still hope the Vincentians will change their minds and take the money.

"If a wrecking ball ever strikes this building, it is this community that suffers the loss," Spaeth said.

In a written statement from the Vincentians to the press, the Rev. F. Joseph Hess, provincial treasurer, and the Rev. William Hartenbach, provincial, said it saddened them to accept the deed.

They said their mission is preaching the gospel and teaching priests, and their resources must be used to further that mission. The seminary represents part of those resources.

"It is unfortunate that the efforts of both the Vincentian community and the people of Cape Girardeau have, up until now, not been able to produce a result that is satisfying to all the parties involved," the statement read.

Hartenbach said that Colonial Cape Girardeau Foundation would be welcome to try and buy the seminary again, but it would be considered a new deal.

Realtor Thomas L. Meyer, who was handling the sale, said he had a meeting scheduled with the Vincentians on Wednesday. The seminary property probably will be back on the open market late next week.

Meyer said there aren't any other offers on the seminary at this time, but he didn't advertise the property while awaiting the outcome of the Colonial Cape Girardeau Foundation agreement.

Earlier this year city officials said failure of Colonial Cape Girardeau Foundation to pay off their note would stall plans to put a park on the seminary grounds. If the foundation had purchased the property, the city may have bought a portion of it with a payment from Boyd Gaming Corp., which has announced a plan to put a riverboat casino in Cape Girardeau

Foundation President Mary Robertson said it would take a miracle for her organization to purchase the seminary. The foundation came together with the purchase as its main goal, and now the group's future is questionable.

"Maybe the community is not ready for a project like this to work," Robertson said.

She said those who scheduled future events at the seminary will have to consult with the Vincentian Fathers about their plans.

A HISTORY

-- 1838: The Rev. John M. Odin founded St. Vincent's Male Academy.

-- 1843: Cornerstone of first building was laid.

-- May 1844: Students at St. Mary's of the Barrens in Perryville were transferred to St. Vincent's College in Cape Girardeau.

-- 1847, Angelo Navarro of San Antonio, Texas, became college's first graduate.

-- 1849: The Seabird, a river boat loaded with gunpowder, exploded near the college. No injuries are reported, but the school was badly damaged.

-- 1850: Tornado ripped through the area and killed the school's gardener.

-- June 1859: St. Vincent's College stopped operating as a secular college.

-- September 1859: School began operating as a theological college.

-- 1865: St. Vincent's began accepting students for a classical education.

-- 1868: Students from the preparatory school at Perryville seminary were transferred to St. Vincent's.

-- 1893: Theological department was transferred to St. Louis.

-- 1893-1910: St. Vincent's offered both secular and theological courses.

-- 1910-1979: St. Vincent's was a minor seminary, offering a high-school course of study.

-- 1979: Last class graduated in May; seminary closed.

-- 1989: Provincial Administration of the Vincentian Fathers of St. Louis announced seminary was for sale.

-- 1991: Colonial Cape Girardeau Foundation formed.

-- 1993: Foundation made two offers to buy seminary but both were refused.

-- 1995: Colonial Cape Girardeau Foundation agreed to buy the seminary for $700,000.