Cape's new city hall project update

This story is updated.

Any building project has unforeseen challenges and Cape Girardeau’s new City Hall project overlooking the Mississippi River is no exception.

A planned $12 million price tag is now estimated at approximately $12.5 million and completion is now planned for Oct. 1, about a month later than originally forecast.

Penzel Construction of Jackson, the design-build general contractor, is repurposing the old Carnegie Library and the former Common Pleas Courthouse and connecting them with a brand-new building.

The new structure will include a parking garage of 44 N. Lorimier Street.

Anna Kangas, left, City Hall project manager for the city of Cape Girardeau, and John Felter, right, a Penzel job superintendent, stand in front of the old Carnegie Library building in early January.Jeff Long

Delays to-date have come from unanticipated bedrock excavation and the coronavirus.

“We’ve had some men, some key guys, missing for a week or two here and there due to COVID and that’s pushed everything back about a month,” said Travis Roth, Penzel project manager, who had high praise for the cooperation the company has received from architectural firm TreanorHL and city of Cape officials.

“In addition to the bedrock excavation, what is also pushing the price higher than anticipated is a new generator,” said Mayor Bob Fox Wednesday.

“We had hoped to repurpose our generator at the current City Hall, but its age and parts availability made that an unwise decision,” said Fox, mayor since 2018.

“The extra funding for the new unit will not be taken from taxpayers but from extra casino available funds,” he added.

The second floor of the former Common Pleas Courthouse is in the process of being refurbished as part of the new Cape Girardeau City Hall project as seen on Tuesday.Sarah Yenesel

“Weather hasn’t been much of a factor until lately,” added Roth, who said inclement conditions in the past month have caused work to slow down some.

“We’re taking two non-A.D.A. (Americans with Disability Act) accessible historic structures with different floor elevations and putting a new building between them,” said Travis Roth, a project manager for Penzel Construction, the design-build general contractor.

“Nobody wanted ramps so we will have an elevator with five stops, which is kind of unusual,” Roth said.

Roth acknowledged a lot of effort has been made to match the original brickwork in the old library, built in 1922, and the antebellum courthouse, which dates to 1854.

“We had some brick left over from the Southeast Missourian project and we also had some left in our yard so we could supply Foeste Masonry with material,” he said.

The inside of the former Carnegie Library, part of the new Cape Girardeau City Hall project, as seen on Tuesday.Sarah Yenesel

“Foeste’s people really are artists and they’ve done a beautiful job with the brick,” said John Felter, a Penzel job superintendent.

“It’s really exciting and an honor to be part of this (project),” said Phil Penzel, Penzel Construction’s CEO.

Work was scheduled to begin Wednesday to install the structural steel for the new connecting building, a process Roth said could take up to a month to complete.

In concert with the new city hall project, $2.25 million in street and sewer improvements are also underway by Penzel with finish dates anticipated to coincide with the project’s completion.

“Redoing Spanish Street is part of the downtown plan and is being funded with riverfront funding already there from the casino,” said Fox, adding new steps in front of the new city hall will go down to a more modern Spanish, similar to upgrades previously made along Main Street, including streetlights.

The structure of the new building connecting the old Carnegie Library and the former Common Pleas Courthouse as seen in Cape Girardeau on Tuesday.Sarah Yenesel

“The stairs leading down from city hall have to line up with the street grade on Spanish,” said Anna Kangas, the city of Cape’s transformation manager and the city’s designated project manager for the project.

Needed sewer improvements are also included in the $2.25 million for upgrades along Lorimier, which Fox said will be paid for out of the city’s sewer fund.

“It just made sense, for financial and practical reasons, for Penzel to make these street and sewer improvements at the same time as the new city hall project, Kangas added.

The city of Cape Girardeau plans to sell the current city hall at 401 Independence Street once vacated, according to Mayor Bob Fox.

Kangas indicated the city will likely begin moving some furniture and equipment to the new site before Penzel is completely finished with the project.

Brickwork inside the former Common Pleas Courthouse, 44 N. Lorimier Street, as seen Jan. 4. The 1854 historical structure is being repurposed into the $12.5 million new City Hall project, expected to be complete by late October.Jeff Long