FED BUILDING SITE STILL VAGUE

A public hearing next month could prompt the federal government to steer clear of historic homes in choosing a site for a U.S. courthouse in downtown Cape Girardeau.

Significant opposition from property owners and residents would lead the federal government to look at alternative sites downtown, said Jim Ogden of the General Services Administration's regional office in Kansas City.

Ogden said federal budget cuts could halt the project; however, an aide to U.S. Rep. Bill Emerson dismissed such speculation as the scare tactics of bureaucrats.

"In the scheme of things, it looks good right now," said the aide, Emerson chief of staff Lloyd Smith.

The site hearing will be held Nov. 16 at 6 p.m. at the Yacht Club in the Port Cape Girardeau restaurant. Several GSA officials will be at the hearing, including Tom Walker, assistant regional administrator, and Ogden.

Walker is in charge of the federal buildings in the region.

The hearing will focus on the two-block area behind the Federal Building. The area is bounded by Themis on the north, Middle on the west, Lorimier on the east and Independence on the south.

"If landowners aren't willing to sell, we can officially take those two sites out of the picture," Ogden said Monday.

In that case, among other sites the GSA would look at is a block-long area on the north side of Broadway across from the Federal Building. That area includes the vacant Marquette Hotel and the high-rise KFVS-TV building. The New Orleans restaurant probably wouldn't be touched, Ogden said.

"It might be expensive," said Ogden.

Ogden said the government wants to buy an entire city block from willing property owners.

He said some property owners in the two-block area south of the Federal Building are willing to sell while others aren't.

The city's Historic Preservation Commission opposes the idea because it would mean the destruction of historic homes.

If the GSA chooses a different site, it would then hold another public hearing.

Current plans call for the GSA to select a site for the five-story courthouse by April. The existing Federal Building would become a federal office building for non-judicial offices.