DEMOLITION AT OLD ST. FRANCIS HOSPITAL SITE STILL PLANNED

It is a project more than eight years in the making, but there is an end in sight. The city plans to demolish the old St. Francis hospital.

Since 1991, the Cape Girardeau City Council has been in the process of condemning the old hospital at 801 Good Hope St.

During that time, various property owners have held up the process while waiting for paperwork and financing. The latest company to create a delay hopes to build apartments on the land.

Now that the Phillips Cos., based in Arkansas, owns the property, the city council has again extended the deadline for the demolition. The company has until March to knock it down.

"It is a slow, painful process," said Councilman Tom Neumeyer. "Everyone wishes that it would be faster, but we have to go through due process."

Neumeyer has led the charge to get buildings condemned because they are not only an eyesore, but they present safety problems to the community. But, he said, the old St. Francis property is in good hands, and the extension does not cause any safety problems.

"Now that we have a new property owner, things are going great," he said.

Stephen Williams, Cape Girardeau housing assistance coordinator, said the property is being maintained, is properly boarded up, and the city has not had any problems with the present owners.

Paperwork the company must complete for the state is causing the delay. The company wants to build affordable housing on the property and has to work with the state to get the project going.

Phillips representative Richard Pierce expects to have paperwork completed and approved by March.

The old St. Francis building is on a list of 23 condemned sites in Cape Girardeau. Some of the properties on the list are at various stages in the legal process. Williams said it usually takes about six months to complete the condemnation proceedings. Often those proceedings mean dealing with people who aren't willing to work with the city.

"You have some folks who understand and they do the work themselves," Williams said. For others, "the ordinance is there and you have to use the ordinance to make it work."

Williams said the goal is to make the property safe for residents.

Some buildings on the condemnation list have been burned or have inadequate fire escapes and become fire hazards. Others are just unsound and have been added to the list.

The city is willing to work with people to get them to either restore the buildings or tear them down, and the council was willing to give the extension to the Phillips Cos. because of the cooperation with the city, Williams said.

"We give the property owners time to get it done," Williams said. "We would much rather have the property owners take care of everything."

CAPE'S CONDEMNED PROPERTIES

The following are properties listed for condemnation within Cape Girardeau:

1. 218 S. Frederick St. (Charles Mosley, Sr. and Mary Scott)

2. 127 S. Frederick St. (Marceline and Catherine Masters)

3. 136 S. Henderson Ave.

4. 625 N. Spanish St. (Michael Lawrence)

5. 14 S. Frederick St. (Roger Friedrich)

6. 1209 William St. (C.S.M. Properties)

7. 214 S. Ellis St. (Shannon Mungle)

8. 103 S. Park Avenue (Jerrel Cooley)

9. 6 N. Sprigg St. (Vincent Kelley/Terrence Kelley)

10. 801 Good Hope St. (Phillips Companies)

11. 420 S. Benton St. (Charles Felter)

12. 1124 S. Kingshighway (Terry Owens)

13. 1118 S. Ranney Avenue (James King/Lillian Martin)

14. 200 Mason St. (William Patterson)

15. 216 Johnson St. (Mark Griffith)

16. 329 S. Sprigg St. (Larry McClellon)

17. 631 S. Sprigg St. (Gilbert Winschel)

18. 611 S. Sprigg St. (Wayne Nattier)

19. 629 Terry Lane (Kimberly Baker)

20. 225 S. Middle St. (S and S Investments)

21. 501 Olive St. (Clarence Dockery)

22. 414 Good Hope St. (Otto Windisch)

23. 545 Asher St. (garage) (Dave Evans)