City council voices support for senior housing proposals

Resolutions of support for two separate developments of senior housing projects in Cape Girardeau were passed by the Cape Girardeau City Council on Monday.

Chad Hartle, president of RCH Development Inc., presented his plan for a senior housing development Monday and MACO Development Co. LLC on Aug. 5 presented its plan for Silver Springs Apartments senior housing, which would feature 40 units in the area of Silver Springs Road and Spruce Street.

Hartle proposed the construction of River Heritage Apartments, which would consist of 44 two-bedroom apartments housed in six buildings on five acres of land on North Clark Avenue behind the Cape Girardeau Public Library. The units would be available for individuals 55 years old and older to rent.

Hartle said the development would be similar to Jackson Senior Garden Apartments, which he developed and owns. Hartle owns other senior housing developments in Southeast Missouri, including in Perryville, Dexter and Farmington.

Cape Girardeau Mayor Harry Rediger discussed the concern of a floodplain being on the proposed property, which Hartle said would be relatively easy to fix, as the land is "just barely in the floodplain." Hartle said the land only had to be raised about 1 foot, and he would go ahead and do so.

Hartle also discussed three routes available for entering and exiting the property, which include using Walker Street, Woodlawn Avenue or Bingo World's south property line that connects to Clark Avenue. He said he would like to discuss the options with the Cape Girardeau fire chief before making a decision, but would go with "whichever one makes more sense."

Hartle and MACO sought backing from the city council for competitive low-income housing tax credits at the state and federal levels. Hartle said it always is competitive among developers to receive tax credits, and this year is no exception.

"There's a lot of demand; they're very popular," Hartle said of senior housing. "We could use a lot of these in Cape."

adowning@semissourian.com

388-3632

Pertinent address:

North Clark St., Cape Girardeau, Mo.

Silver Springs Road and Spruce Street, Cape Girardeau, Mo.