Cape Girardeau big enough for major, small property owners

Southeast Missouri State University history professor Steven Hoffman said Cape Girardeau resembles a Monopoly board.

But unlike the game, in which one owner eventually buys all the land in the city, Hoffman said Cape Girardeau has several large land owners.

"What I see in Cape Girardeau is that while a few people own a large amount of property, it's spread around in different locations," Hoffman said. "Merriwether Investments has concentrated more downtown while the Drury family has chosen to relocate more toward the western part of the city.

"But what's surprising but not surprising is that fewer people got involved in purchasing that land early on," he said. "Once someone goes in and controls a lot of property, it's hard for others to move in and stake their claim."

Documents obtained from the Cape Girardeau County mapping and appraisal office found that four organizations own the most property along four of the city's most well-traveled roads of William Street, Broadway, Kingshighway and Main Street. Of the property on the four roadways, Drury Southwest owns the most with 19, followed by the city of Cape Girardeau with 15, Merriwether with 14 and MidAmerica Hotels with 14.

Drury Southwest, based at 101 S. Farrar Drive, specializes in convenience stores and hotels. Owned by Robert Drury, the company's properties include Pear Tree Inn at 3428 William St. and King's Center shopping plaza at 1131 N. Kingshighway.

The city's properties include mostly parks and buildings such as an annex office of Red Letter Communications at 100 Broadway.

Merriwether Investments, based at 400 Broadway, Suite 200, specializes mostly in the revitalization of historic buildings. Owned by John and Jerrianne Wyman, properties owned include the H&H Building at 400 Broadway, which houses the Cape Girardeau Convention and Visitors Bureau, and 46 N. Main St., which houses Cup 'N' Cork coffee shop.

MidAmerica Hotels Corp., based at 105 S. Mount Auburn Road, specializes in hotels and Burger Kings. Owned by the Jim Drury family, the company's properties include Burger King at 2346 Broadway and the Holiday Inn Express at 3253 William St.

The diversity in ownership reflects a broader picture of the city itself, according to broker Tom Kelsey.

A licensed real estate broker since 1974, Kelsey has been involved in the commercial real estate business for 15 years. While he has been involved in the sale of other properties within the city, Kelsey has dealt almost exclusively with Drury Southwest.

"Since no real entity is in control of ownership of the majority of the properties, it makes for a true free enterprise system for buyers, sellers and tenants," Kelsey said. "We have a number of commercial landlords and sellers who compete for the same buyers and tenants and when inventory is abundant, it makes for a competitive advantage for the buyer and tenant."

That competitive advantage is helping the city, according to Cape Girardeau Mayor Jay Knudtson.

Cape Girardeau is "experiencing a very healthy and balanced level of development," he said. "It is my goal to always have the same passion and enthusiasm for development in our older, core areas of our city that we have for development in the areas of the parameter of our city."

Marla Mills, executive director of Old Town Cape, said the city can sustain both the small business owner and the large corporations.

"We're big enough for the Drurys and the mom-and-pop shop," Mills said. "We constantly are maintaining relationships with all sizes of businesses, and all are important to the economy in Cape Girardeau."

To maintain a healthy economy, Mills said businesses must continue to reinvent themselves and that includes revitalization efforts in the downtown area through projects such as the Downtown Revitalization and Economic Assistance for Missouri, or DREAM, Initiative. Gov. Matt Blunt named the community as one of the first DREAM cities in 2006.

The three-year program's goal is to produce a detailed strategic plan for three downtown sections of the city.

When complete, Mills said, the initiative will have brought $185,000 in planning expertise and products, including a strategic downtown development plan. Already, the DREAM Initiative has brought in more than $2 million for the city's infrastructure.

Improvements have included funding to apply to the development of a north downtown parking lot with public restrooms, money to repair five homes in the DREAM boundaries and state and federal tax credits and grants to develop affordable senior housing.

"These improvements are important to the community and its citizens," Mills said. "The business community, both large and small, are making commitments to revitalize the downtown area, which I believe is the central hub of a lot of activity in this area."

Hoffman called that revitalization "the ultimate recycling."

"Anytime the businesses decide to remodel a building that's already there rather than spending the money and energy to build on a green space is positive," he said. "What we see here is the city making a commitment to a continuous sprawl of urban development while revitalizing the downtown area."

For Cape Girardeau to grow, John Mehner believes the city's businesses need to finding ways not only to attract new companies but also reinvest in its older buildings.

"Throughout the city we've seen new businesses come into the area, which is important, but businesses have also realized the importance of reinvesting in our infrastructure, particularly in the downtown area," said Mehner, president and chief executive officer of the Cape Girardeau Area Chamber of Commerce. "That's important because those different kinds of growth are key to the city's economic well-being."

Mitch Robinson, executive director of Cape Girardeau Area Magnet, believes the key for the four largest property owners and others to survive is increasing the number of upscale retail outlet stores in Cape Girardeau. Otherwise, shoppers from Cape Girardeau and surrounding areas will choose to buy in other communities such as St. Louis, Memphis, Tenn., Paducah, Ky., and Carbondale, Ill.

bblackwell@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 137

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