Cape council may hire consultant to update downtown plan

The Cape Girardeau City Council will look to hire a St. Louis-based consultant today to update the downtown strategic plan.

The council will vote on a resolution authorizing a $66,800 agreement with Arcturis Inc.

A downtown development team has chosen that firm from among four proposals, said city development services director Alex McElroy.

Old Town Cape executive director Marla Mills, Cape Girardeau Area Chamber of Commerce president John Mehner, Southeast Missouri State University historic preservation program coordinator Steve Hoffman and McElroy comprised the development team.

The planning work will update the 2009 downtown strategic plan.

Like the original plan, it will assess existing conditions, establish goals and objectives and make recommendations to implement them, McElroy outlined in a report to the city council.

He said the new planning effort will build on recent downtown improvements and propose improvement projects for the next five to 10 years.

“There has been a lot of success that has occurred as a result of the plan,” McElroy said Friday, pointing out improvements to Broadway as one example.

Cape Girardeau has benefited from the state’s DREAM program, aka Downtown Revitalization and Economic Assistance for Missouri, since being designated a DREAM community in fall 2006, city officials said.

Since then, Cape Girardeau has received over $2.5 million in grants that have helped fund downtown improvements ranging from building renovations to street improvements, according to officials.

The proposed planning contract calls for a site analysis of everything from streets and pedestrian spaces to historical sites and vacant lots.

McElroy said the consulting firm also will seek public input on what future improvements are needed in downtown.

The consultant will use social media and public meetings during the planning process to solicit ideas and to obtain public comments on suggested projects to improve the downtown. The planning work also will look at residential housing needs.

The housing study is being financed with a $16,800 grant from the National Association of Realtors housing opportunity grant program. McElroy said. The city would not have expanded the study to include housing needs without the grant, he said.

The city will pay the remaining $50,000 cost of the strategic planning work, McElroy said.

McElroy said the planning is slated to take six months, with a final downtown plan expected to be adopted by February.

It is important to finish the work in a timely manner, he said.

“You don’t want to lose people’s interest,” he said.

mbliss@semissourian.com

(573) 388-3641

Pertinent address:

401 Independence St., Cape Girardeau, Mo.