CITY TO TACKLE WHITE ELEPHANTS

Cape Girardeau city officials hope developers will renovate the old St. Francis Hospital and the Marquette Hotel.

But if that doesn't happen, the city may knock the buildings down.

City staff, for the first time, has earmarked $500,000 in use-tax revenue in the city budget to pay demolition costs, if it comes to that.

The funding is included in the proposed budget for the 1998-1999 fiscal year that begins July 1.

Mayor Al Spradling III and City Councilman Tom Neumeyer said the money could be used to raze one of the structures should preservation efforts fail.

Spradling said $500,000 isn't enough to demolish both buildings. It likely would cost twice that amount, he said Saturday.

Ultimately, the city would tax bill the owner in an effort to recover demolition costs.

Spradling said the city might have to foreclose on any tax bill and then try to sell the property.

But the mayor said he doubts the city would recover all of its demolition costs.

The former hospital likely would be torn down first if private development efforts fall apart, he said.

The old St. Francis Hospital is less historic than the hotel and plagued by vandalism, Spradling said.

"We have had so many complaints from people about both buildings," Spradling said.

"They are in terrible condition. They are safety hazards. They are health hazards. There has got to be something done with them," he said.

Neumeyer said, "We are not sure what is going to happen with both buildings. At this point, there are some possibilities that both of them will be renovated," he said.

A Springfield corporation headed by Trent Condellone recently bought the former hospital building.

Marquette Hotel owner Thad Bullock is shopping for a buyer for the vacant hotel on Broadway.

Bullock said Saturday that a Memphis firm has shown some interest in buying the Broadway landmark, as have two Houston, Texas, residents.

All of the possible buyers have considered reopening the building as a hotel.

Condellone, who filed for bankruptcy last year, currently is embroiled in a legal battle over ownership of two old hotels in Springfield.

One of those hotels was once owned by the same Marquette firm that once owned the old hotel in Cape Girardeau.

Cape Girardeau city officials are taking a wait-and-see attitude regarding the future of old St. Francis Hospital.

"We want to see how the dust settles with the current plans for his proposed work on the building," Neumeyer said of .

Under Condellone's ownership, the grounds have been cleaned up.

Condellone has talked about renovating the old hospital for use as a one-stop center for social service agencies.

"We want to get it occupied," said Neumeyer. If that doesn't happen, the building should be demolished to make room for future development in that area, the councilman said.

As to the Marquette Hotel, Neumeyer has talked to the potential developers from Texas. One of them has roots in this area, said Neumeyer.

Their goal, he said, is to renovate the Marquette and reopen it as a hotel.

"If they can succeed in buying it from Mr. Bullock, they want to put it on the National Historic Register and renovate it to its original greatness," Neumeyer said.

The five-story Spanish Revival-style hotel was completed in 1928. With 82 rooms -- 66 of them with private baths -- the hotel was once considered one of the finest in the Midwest.

Bullock purchased the hotel for $150,000 in 1969. Two years later, the state closed the doors for safety violations.

Since then, a number of developers have looked at restoring the old hotel. But none of those plans ever materialized.

Bullock wants to sell the hotel for about $500,000.

He said Saturday that a developer could receive a federal tax credit to restore the structure. He said the Memphis firm is interested in the 20 percent tax write-off.

The city staff is looking at possible local tax breaks regarding any effort to develop the old Marquette Hotel.

Both Spradling and Neumeyer said the tax breaks could involve setting up a tax increment financing district.

In such a district, the added tax revenue from improvements to the property can be used to retire bonds issued for water lines and other improvements needed for the particular project.

Spradling said such financing would require a formal agreement between the city and a developer.

He said the city is more interested in preserving the Marquette Hotel because is more historically significant in terms of architecture.

Neumeyer said tax breaks would be money well spent if the old hotel is put back into service.

"It is silly to tear anything down if it can be reused," he said.

But Spradling isn't sure that either building can be saved.

"I think there is a lot more hope than reality in this," he said.