Dobbins gets interest for River Campus hotel idea

Southeast Missouri State University president Dr. Ken Dobbins' River Campus hotel concept appears to be moving closer to reality.

Dobbins said that at least a half a dozen parties from the hospitality industry have shown interest in his plan to build a multistory hotel, which would double as student housing for River Campus students during the academic year.

He declined to divulge the names of the individuals who have called seeking information about the idea but did say they are potential investors from Cape Girardeau, St. Louis and elsewhere.

"We've had significant interest by hotel chains regarding the vision I outlined in the article," Dobbins said, referring to a Southeast Missourian story late last month. "We're planning to have individual meetings with those individuals. Then after we do that, they're going to learn about us, and we're going to learn about things we don't know, things I have not a clue when it comes to this kind of partnership. This is an out-of-the-box idea."

Here's his idea: The university partners with a developer and operator of a national hotel chain, like Embassy Suites. The developers build the hotel on the approximately three acres that the Southeast Missouri State University Foundation has purchased or received over the last decade -- including two acres on the west side of the Fountain Street extension, and more than an acre on the east side, near the River Campus.

Much of the hotel would serve leisure and business travelers. But during the school year, Dobbins said, the property would be home to dozens of visual and performing arts students -- basically built-in revenue.

"We'll guarantee 75 to 100 beds for nine months" a year, Dobbins said last month. "There are so many different possibilities; you could almost have a wing of students."

Meetings are tentatively slated to take place in May and June, Dobbins said, with requests for proposals issued as early as July. If all goes to plan, the River Campus hotel could be ready for business by fall semester 2013, he said.

"The time is now," Dobbins said. "I don't know how long it takes to build a hotel, probably between 16 to 18 months."

Southeast would not have a financial stake in the investment, he said, other than the residential commitment.

"I really think it is in play," he said. "To guarantee 80 to 100 students, 40 to 50 rooms, for nine months, and we would like to have other space."

Dobbins' vision is of a commercial and arts complex including hotel, classroom space, faculty offices, rehearsal halls and food service.

The River Campus, which opened in 2007, is home to a growing university and community cultural and arts scene. Bob Cerchio, assistant director of the River Campus, has said that it's becoming increasingly more difficult to book touring shows at the Bedell Performance Hall because of the active schedules of Southeast's Holland School of Visual and Performing Arts.

The department has doubled since the River Campus opened, from about 250 majors to 500, Dobbins said.

The hotel, he said, would be a draw for visitors coming to Cape Girardeau's revitalized and developing downtown.

"We want to explore partnerships," he said last month. "It's time to think about where we want to be in 2020, or sooner than that."

mkittle@semissourian.com

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