Demolition begins inside old Cape police headquarters

Major renovations are underway at Cape Girardeau’s former police headquarters, which, by this time next year, will be the Community Partnership of Southeast Missouri’s new home.

Sledgehammers began swinging earlier this month inside the two-story, 13,800-square-foot building, which housed the Cape Girardeau Police Department from 1976 until 2018, when the department moved into its current location adjacent to Arena Park.

Work was delayed several months due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but Melissa Stickel, the Community Partnership’s executive director, says the $1.75 million project should still be completed by June 1, 2021.

“We’re trying to stick to the original timeline,” she said.

The repurposed police building at 40 S. Sprigg St. will give the organization much needed room for its staff, services and partner agencies. It currently owns office space in the former Medical Arts Building, 937 Broadway.

Community Partnership of Southeast Missouri executive director Melissa Stickel, left, and director of program advancement Tony Buehrle discuss the layout of the organization's future home Tuesday inside the former police station at 40 S. Sprigg St. in Cape Girardeau.BEN MATTHEWS

“We’re just out of room,” Stickel said. “It’s a significant issue for us as we continue to grow and add services, and our current space is not adequate for the needs of the organization.”

Community Partnership purchased the former police station from the city last year for $100,000.

The renovation and remodeling project will include roof replacement at an estimated cost of almost $200,000, new electrical, plumbing and HVAC systems, redesigned office spaces and construction of a 7,000-square-foot activity center in a space once occupied by a modular office structure that was just north of the main building.

Originally known as the Community Caring Council, the Community Partnership of Southeast Missouri was founded in 1989 by State Rep. Mary Kasten to encourage social service agencies and community organizations to collaborate and coordinate the delivery of services to individuals and families in need.

Last year, the organization served more than 9,000 families and individuals with services ranging from housing assistance and employment counseling to parenting mentorships and health services.

Community Partnership of Southeast Missouri director of program advancement Tony Buehrle looks over plans for the organization's future home Tuesday in Cape Girardeau.BEN MATTHEWS

“We work with over 35 other nonprofits in the community to provide services and work with folks,” said Tony Buehrle, the Community Partnership’s director of program advancement. The remodeled building will provide space for many of them to collaborate with each other. A portion of the building’s main level will be used for Workforce Development’s EDGE (Empowering Dads to Gain Employment) program as well as case management services.

A portion of the second-floor jail area will be converted into what Buehrle refers to as a “jail house cafe” for staff working in the building and will incorporate some of the cell bars and other jail fixtures.

Much of the project’s funding is coming from a $500,000 community development block grant awarded in March by the Missouri Department of Economic Development.

“We’ve also been awarded some neighborhood assistance program tax credits we’re going to hopefully sell between now and December,” Stickel said.

Those tax credits were awarded just in time, according to Buehrle.

Staff and board members of Community Partnership of Southeast Missouri prepare to swing sledgehammers inside the organization's future home, Cape Girardeau's former police headquarters, in this photo taken July 15.Photo Courtesy Dille Traxel Architecture

“The state has already informed us that we’re not going to have any tax incentives for projects like this next year,” he said. “They’ve been stopped because of COVID-19.”

Additional funding for the project and the Community Partnership’s operational expenses is generated through various fundraising events such as the organization’s annual Dancing With Show Me Stars program, it’s Giving Tuesday campaign and the sale of brick pavers.

“We’re also seeking corporate donors and then whatever gap financing we have to do will be done through a traditional loan through a local (financial) institution,” Stickel said.

When it was built in the 1970s, Sides Construction of Jackson was the project’s general contractor. Now, 45 years later, Sides Construction has been selected to be general contractor for the building’s renovation. Dille Traxel Architecture of Cape Girardeau and Poplar Bluff, Missouri, is the project’s architect.

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