DEMOLITION PLANS FOR OLD HOSPITAL, HOTEL ON HOLD

Demolition plans remain on hold for two of the city's largest condemned buildings: old St. Francis Hospital and Marquette Hotel.

The city hopes it won't have to take action on either of the deteriorating structures.

The three-story hospital building at Good Hope and Pacific streets has a new owner who plans to build an apartment complex on the site. The property is being maintained, and there have been no complaints against it, said Michael Miller, Cape Girardeau city manager.

Marquette Hotel in the 300 block of Broadway is under a purchase agreement contract until late December, and plans call for it to be restored as a hotel. The Phillips Cos. of Little Rock, Ark., plan to raze the hospital building and construct 48 multifamily rental apartments of one to three bedrooms. Phillips Cos., which purchased the property in April, have constructed more than 1,500 apartments in Missouri, Kentucky and Arkansas.

Richard Pierce of Phillips and Chester Phillips, founder, owner and chairman of the board of Phillips, have each visited Cape Girardeau. The company plans to build five building at the hospital site. The apartments would not be government subsidized but would lease for $225 to $365 per month. Phillips has contracted with a local company to remove debris and secure the building.

In addition, the Cape Girardeau City Council has approved a resolution authorizing an application for a community development block grant for the project, and the owners have applied to the state for tax credits, said Miller.

The hospital building, constructed in 1914, has been vacant for 14 years. It served as a hospital until 1976, when it was sold to Southeast Missouri State University, which used it for student housing until 1985. A Texas man purchased the building in 1988, but his plans for a senior housing center never materialized, and it was purchased by a Springfield, Mo., company before being sold to Phillips.

Eugene Davis of Houston, Texas, has held the purchasing option contract on the Marquette Hotel since last December. Davis has indicated he wants to renovate the six-story hotel, which was built in 1928. The hotel was shut down in 1971, but the owner of the building, the late Thad J. Bullock, operated a piano shop in the hotel lobby until 1991.