Cape trades land for straighter Kingsway

The dogleg turn in Kingsway Drive just south of Lexington Avenue is going to disappear this year.

The Cape Girardeau City Council, at its Jan. 22 meeting, gave initial approval to an agreement with Rhodes Development Co. The deal essentially trades more than two acres of undeveloped city land for the road improvement, which will include some landscaping work and a 20-space public parking lot near Cape LaCroix Trail. The land will give Rhodes a triangular parcel south of Lexington Avenue between Kingshighway and Kingsway Drive.

"It is a unique opportunity for a public-private exchange," said Ken Eftink, the city's director of development services.

The city's parcel of land was sandwiched between Kingshighway and a parcel owned by Rhodes, Eftink said.

Scott Rhodes, a Rhodes Group co-owner and member of the city's planning and zoning commission, estimated the cost of the work at about half a million dollars.

He said the deal has been in the works for nearly a year.

"We think it will be an awesome corner for a retail developer," he said, and confirmed that negotiations are underway with potential partners.

He said the current plan calls for the road reconstruction to take about six months.

The city will perform all mandated inspections, according to the agreement, but issue free construction permits, which Rhodes estimated would otherwise cost several thousand dollars.

"It's not an overwhelming amount of money, but I appreciate it," he said.

Eftink said similar improvements were made in 2005 when a crooked stretch of Kingsway Drive near Cape Rock Drive and St. Andrew Lutheran Church was reconfigured, creating a cul-de-sac and a right turn lane. That project was done using MoDOT funds.

The parking lot included in the new deal will be safer for people using Cape LaCroix Trail, Eftink said. Currently people park parallel to the road and are exposed to traffic.

pmcnichol@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 127