CITY WANTS SEMINARY PROPERTY FOR PARK

The city of Cape Girardeau will seek a grant to buy 16 acres of the old St. Vincent's Seminary property and turn it into a park.

The move would aid the Colonial Cape Girardeau Foundation in its effort to turn the former Catholic school into a cultural center.

The City Council voted Monday night to apply for federal funds through the Missouri Highway and Transportation Department.

City Manager Michael Miller said the city would seek an estimated $440,000 in grant money. The city would have to provide a 20 percent match, amounting to about $110,000.

City officials haven't determined how the city would fund its share. Motel and restaurant tax money is one possibility, officials said.

If the city receives the grant, the city would buy tracts of land on both sides of the planned new Route 74. The property overlooks the Mississippi River.

The foundation would be left with about 2.5 acres, including the old seminary buildings and an approximately 1-acre tract south of the new bridge right of way and east of the railroad tracks.

"Everybody wins," said Councilman Tom Neumeyer. "The foundation wins; the city wins, and the people of the region win with the preservation of this site."

Foundation officials didn't attend the council meeting.

Reached at home, Mary Robertson, who chairs the foundation's board of directors, said: "This is just a dream come true."

She said the city's purchase of the land would allow the foundation to pay its debt to the Provincial Administration of Vincentian Fathers of St. Louis.

Last April, the foundation bought the property from the Vincentian Fathers. The Catholic organization loaned the foundation about $600,000.

Since then, the foundation has had difficulty raising money to retire the loan.

The foundation has been so strapped that it has eliminated its executive director position. Loretta Schneider, who had served as executive director, remains on the board.

"We haven't really been paying her for a few months," said Robertson.

The foundation hopes to start a fund-raising drive this spring.

She said the city's involvement should make it easier to raise money for the project.

Both Robertson and Neumeyer credited the city manager with putting together the grant proposal.

City officials said playground and picnic facilities could be developed, along with a scenic overlook and parking.

Neumeyer said the site will provide a beautiful entrance to the city once the new Mississippi River bridge is built.

He said the property could serve as the southern end of a hiking and biking trail that could be extended northward along the river side of the flood wall.

In the future, the city could acquire land to connect the seminary property to Ranney Park and Fort D, a few blocks to the south.

Miller said this would give the city a "county park-type entrance" on its east side.