HOLIGAN EXPLAINS INVESTMENT PLANS

Harold Holigan, president of Holigan Family Investments Inc., met this week with area realtors, homebuilders and bankers to discuss plans for Southeast Missouri.

"We can design and build any type home in any price range," said Holigan of Dallas, Texas. He is in Cape Girardeau to discuss his company's recent investments in the city and at Jackson, Fruitland and Sikeston.

Holigan Family Investments Inc. builds conventional houses from $79,900 up.

One of its expensive homes can be found near Puxico. It is a seven-bedroom, seven-bath mansion that replicates South Fork on the "Dallas" television series. Missouri's South Fork is owned by Holigan, who heads up the land-development and home-building company headquartered in Dallas.

"We won't be sending a lot of people into this area," said Holigan. "The jobs we create here will be for local people. We'll be using local realtors and local construction workers in our plans."

Holigan last week announced a multimillion dollar project for Southeast Missouri that included purchases of subdivisions in Cape Girardeau, Jackson and Fruitland and plans for a modular-home factory in Sikeston.

The Holigan company will be providing homes in a needed niche, he said.

"A survey of this area revealed a shortage of homes in the $80,000 to $110,000 range," he said. "We'll be providing a number of homes in that range."

The houses are quality-built with plenty of ceiling and wall insulation, he said.

"Things are moving well," said Holigan. "We've sold about 30 homes since the first of the year."

Holigan Investments, which has been in the home-building market since 1981, has compiled more than 4,000 different home plans.

Holigan doesn't limit its building to subdivisions. "We will build anywhere," said Holigan. "If a family has a three-acre spot somewhere, we'll build on it for them."

Holigan is looking to other Southeast Missouri communities, including Perryville, Sikeston and Poplar Bluff.

Redesign plans for Holigan's manufactured-home factory at Sikeston are about ready. The tentative startup date for the factory is June or July. The factory will open with about 50 workers.

"We'll add about 10 new workers each week up to about 200," said Holigan. "We could eventually get to 400."

The factory will produce about 1,200 homes a year. The factory will be in the old MRM building in west Sikeston. The property consists of 28 acres with a 110,000-square-foot building.

The homes made at Sikeston will be marketed by HFI in nine states -- Utah, Colorado, New Mexico, Texas, Tennessee, Missouri, Illinois and Georgia. The company also has one subdivision in Kalamazoo, Mich.