GRANT WILL HELP TEAR DOWN OLD ST. FRANCIS

The on-again, off-again plans for demolishing old St. Francis Hospital appear on again.

A $250,000 state grant will aid in tearing down of the abandoned building at Good Hope and Pacific streets.

The Missouri Department of Economic Development has awarded the grant to Cape Girardeau to remove asbestos and hazardous material Total cost of the razing is about $537,000, with the remaining cost of the actual demolition to be shared by the city and Phillips Cos., owner of the property.

The "innovative" grant is a new category grant funded through the Community Development Block Grant program, said Cape Girardeau City Manager Mike Miller.

"We applied for the grant and had the support of Cape Girardeau Family Resource Center Inc.," said Miller.

The Family Resource Center was founded during the past year to help develop services for people living in southeast Cape Girardeau.

Once the building is demolished, a 50-plus-unit apartment development for low- to moderate-income families will be constructed by Phillips Cos.

Phillips has applied for some tax credits for the apartment construction.

"The grant was part of our agreement," said Miller. "We agreed to apply for some grant money to help in the demolition, and Phillips Cos. applied for some types of tax credits for the project."

Phillips Cos. expects to hear on the tax credit requests by March or April.

Included in the new construction will be office space for the Family Resource Center.

Family resource centers have been developed throughout the nation to combine social, educational and recreational services for low-income people. The idea for the center here grew out of the Community Caring Council, a group founded 10 years ago by Missouri Rep. Mary Kasten, R-Cape Girardeau.

Sharland Reed is executive director of the center, which serves residents who live south of William Street and east of West End Boulevard.

The old hospital building represents a barrier to the community, which must be removed in order to satisfy housing demands, said Joseph L. Driskill, DED director. "We're pleased to assist in a project that eliminates a health and safety threat in order to revitalize the neighborhood and provide its residents with affordable housing.

Funds will be released to Cape Girardeau as certain requirements set forth by the CDBG program are met. The new category grant program provides grants to cities with populations under 50,000 and counties under 200,000.

The building was constructed in 1914 and has been vacant almost 15 years. Phillips is the third owner since Southeast Missouri State University sold the building.

Phillips Co. announced plans to build 48 to 50 multifamily rental apartments. Company officials said the apartments would not be government subsidized but would be affordable, ranging in price form $225 to $365 a month.

Phillips representative Richard Pierce, who has visited the area on occasion, expects construction to start in March or April.