DOWNTOWN FLOURISHES WITH NEW BUSINESSES

Charles McGinty helped Loy Welker select a ring for Christmas at C.P. McGinty Jewelers on Main Street in downtown Cape Girardeau.

The Sunshine Herb Shop on Themis Street downtown is one of the recent additions to downtown shopping.

Much like the mundane floodwall was transformed into a colorful mural this summer, the Downtown Redevelopment Corporation revolutionized the shopping district almost 15 years ago.

While many downtown areas across the country have all but vanished, Cape Girardeau's downtown retail business flourished.

In the last year, several new specialty shops opened, a restaurant re-opened and a few businesses expanded, said Charlie Hutson, who heads the Cape Girardeau Redevelopment Corporation.

"The mural caused a lot of attention," he said, adding that despite the activity there are still vacant buildings. "There's a lot of attrition."

Downtown shopping districts never attract large chain stores, but Cape Girardeau does have a few anchors of its own -- churches, a television station, radio station and newspaper office. But specialty shops really are the popular attractions.

"That's where we shine," Hutson said. "In the fact that we have specialty shops. People like the smaller shops where they can get some specialized services."

Laura McGinty of C.P. McGinty Jewelers, said there's more heart in the downtown stores. "We love being downtown," she said. "Shop owners take pride in downtown."

Many customers shop downtown because they can find an item that was chosen with care and can only be found in a specialty shop, she said.

Even with the flair of specialty shops, the core of the downtown district is still intact, Hutson said. "We knew it couldn't be 100 percent retail."

So the corporation tried to create an area that would attract recreation and retail, as well as apartments and homes.

"We have some of the nicest restaurants in town, luxury apartments and several professionals," Hutson said, adding that downtown isn't just a two-block area of Main Street. Most people consider downtown to start at Broadway.

Teresa Pullum, owner of the Sunshine Company Herb Shop, said customers like the energy in her shop and she couldn't have found it anywhere but downtown.

"I got a great building with a lot of character," she said. "People always say they like the energy of the building."

While the character and energy attract some shoppers and owners to the downtown area, new roads could help persuade others.

Downtown merchants look forward to several new construction projects like the new Mississippi River bridge, the extension of Lexington Avenue and the development of the Boyd Gaming Co.

Much of the infrastructure improvements and development wouldn't have been possible if the area hadn't tried to remain viable, Hutson said. The area is also funded through a special business district tax, which the merchants themselves proposed years ago.

All the work is just one way to preserve the heritage and keep the downtown exciting, Hutson said.