Exactly where and when economic development at the new interchange will occur is in question

Area business and political leaders expect the new East Main Street/LaSalle Avenue interchange on Interstate 55 to spur an era of growth for Cape Girardeau County, one of the biggest since extensive work on Route K and Siemers Drive helped draw major development to that area in the 1990s.

But exactly when and where that growth will take place is being called into question, as is the source of millions of dollars of tax support that will be needed for the development. The area is being opened to development due to unprecedented cooperation between Jackson, Cape Girardeau, the county and Southeast Missouri State University. Now that the interchange is becoming a reality, that cooperation could become a thing of the past.

The land immediately adjacent to the new exits on the Cape Girardeau side is in the hands of the Southeast Missouri University Foundation. And the foundation is working with THF Realty, the St. Louis-based developer of major commercial complexes that has strong ties to Wal-Mart Stores Inc.

Wal-Mart recently announced it is scaling back its capital spending plans. And Cape Girardeau is still in the process of acquiring the land needed to build the road, LaSalle Avenue, that will connect the interchange to Route W and the rest of the city.

On the Jackson side of I-55, a portion of the land is also owned by the university foundation. But much of the land is in private hands -- Earl Norman owns about 77 acres on both sides of Main Street, and Cletus Reutzel owns another tract of about 50 acres.

Traffic moved along the bypass at the East Main Street and LaSalle Avenue interchange construction on Interstate 55. (Aaron Eisenhauer)

East Main Street is ready to connect to the interstate, water and sewer mains are in place to serve new development and city officials said they are building the electric transmission lines to power new homes and businesses.

In a series of recent interviews, the Southeast Missourian spoke to officials at the university, in city and county governments and leaders in the business community. Many have been briefed regularly, singly and in groups, about THF's plans for the university foundation's property, which has until now been operated as a research farm.

From their answers, the following picture emerged:

• THF proposes a major retail and entertainment complex in the northeast quadrant of the interchange. Up to three "big box" stores would be sought to anchor the development, which could also include a minor-league baseball stadium.
• A research park for business development for the southeast quadrant of the development.
• Housing, including an "active adult" community for the foundation's land on the Jackson side of I-55.
• There are no firm commitments from any retailers yet, including Wal-Mart, to locate at the development.
• THF is proposing that large amounts of tax money -- some sources said $85 million to $100 million -- be dedicated from the development to pay off the developer's bills for infrastructure and the ballpark.

At a meeting in mid-August, THF representative Alan Bornstein gave a presentation on the company's plans. He "laid out a proposal that is very broad in scope and very rich in demands," Cape Girardeau Mayor Jay Knudtson said. "It established a starting point from a discussion standpoint and started to put some of the pieces of the puzzle together."

But that was before Wal-Mart acted to calm fears on Wall Street that its stores were underperforming and its expansion plans were too ambitious. Wal-Mart did not respond Wednesday to requests that it explain its plans. Bornstein did not return a telephone message left at his office or an e-mail request for information.

THF has no contract with the foundation and can walk away from the project at any time with no consequences. The foundation board approved THF on Aug. 29, 2006, but decided not to seek a written agreement, said Wayne Smith, executive director of the foundation and vice president for university advancement.

"We continued to work with THF conceptually as the master developer," he said. "Beyond that, it has been an informal good old country handshake between the two of us."

Many, if not most, of THF's developments are anchored by Wal-Mart stores. Presiding Commissioner Gerald Jones said he understands now that major retail and commercial developments could be five or six years in the future, a time period he said is too long to wait.

Jones is also a member of the foundation's board of directors. "The university foundation has some awful valuable corners out there that something ought to happen on before five or six years go by," he said.

While the university foundation's farm property is still, for the most part, in its natural state, Norman has done extensive work to prepare his land, said Tim Goodman of Benton Hill Investments, one of Norman's companies.

Norman purchased 300,000 cubic yards of the material excavated to build the new interchange, raising the land in some places by as much as 15 feet, Goodman said.

Everything built on land immediately adjacent to the I-55 will be clearly visible from the highway, Goodman noted. "What we have is a really nice-looking piece of real estate," he said.

There will no time wasted looking for potential users of the land, Goodman said. "We don't necessarily want to sell our ground to Wal-Mart, but we'd love to be right next to a Wal-Mart."

Norman's work preparing the land gives Jackson a head start to landing businesses, said Mary Beth Williams, executive director of the Jackson Chamber of Commerce. "Now that things have developed and the streets are in, the people can see more what it looks like," she said. "It's easier to make those contacts when they know what it looks like and where the land's going to lay."

rkeller@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 126