DEVELOPMENT PROGRESSES IN BUSINESS PARK

With the opening of Lowe's Home Center this month, and planning under way by Wal-Mart to open a Sam's Club store eventually, Cape West Business Park is emerging as a major commercial development area.

Initially, the site included about 160 acres of farmland acquired by the Drury family. It is located on the west side of Interstate 55 and runs from Route K to Bloomfield Road.

The business park is being developed by Drury Southwest, based in Cape Girardeau, and Druco, headquartered in St. Louis.

"The goal of this business park," explained Dennis Vollink, president of Drury Southwest, "is to build a first class environment for both retail space and an office/warehouse section with long term landscaping restrictions and things like tree-lined streets."

Vollink said the hope is by planting trees and having good landscaping, 10-15 years down the road as the buildings age, the park will look better.

The first major facility to open in the park was a Wal-Mart Super Center, with 160,000 square feet of space. Wal Mart opened early in 1992. An announcement should be coming soon on the timeframe for Wal-Mart to open a Sam's next to the super center.

Bluff City Beer moved its warehouse to the business park and last year a Stone Mountain Carpet outlet opened.

The site also includes a regional service center for the Post Office, which is a 37,600 square foot facility, and the D.I. Supply building.

Lowe's opens with about 110,000 square feet of retail space and a separate 40,000 square foot lawn and garden center. The $3.2 million store features lines of lawn and garden equipment, building materials, electrical, plumbing, and electors supplies, appliances, and many more items.

The firm, which operates more than 300 stores in 20 states, is a Fortune 500 company and one of the nation's top 50 retailers.

Also under construction in the business park, at the corner of Siemers and Campster Drives, is a new Drury Inn Motel, which will face I-55. The motel will include four meeting rooms, a five-story atrium, glass elevator and indoor pool.

Many other future developments are planned for the area, including several restaurants around the major retail stores that are opening.

"We should have some more announcements in the next couple of months," Vollink said. "Some fast food restaurants are planned, we will be opening some office and warehouse lease space, and some additional retail strip developments may take place in the future."

Additional infrastructure improvements are also planned.

Access to the area will be enhanced several years from now when construction of a new interstate highway interchange, just south of Bloomfield Road, is completed as part of the route to the new Mississippi River bridge.

The new interchange is 1500 feet south of Bloomfield, and Vollink points out that Siemers Drive will be extended to link the business park area.

Word on the Sam's Store could come this year.

Vollink said Wal Mart owns 18 acres where a Sam's Club store will be built at some point.

"It's still in their schedule, but it is in the development stage," said Vollink. Last year plans for several Sam's stores were re-designed, including this one.

"They have changed the concept for here, but I have heard no particulars recently," said Vollink. "Hopefully, construction will start this year."