HOTEL HOPE: THE STANDOFF OVER MARQUETTE REPAIRS

The Marquette Hotel hasn't changed much in its year spent under the threat of condemnation and demolition.

The stately 72-year-old structure continues to age, vacant, on Broadway in downtown Cape Girardeau, reaching a level of deterioration that threatens pedestrians passing underneath, the city's building inspections director says.

The city council repeatedly has admonished Carol Bullock, whose elderly mother, Ruby, owns the building: Clean it up, sell it or it's coming down.

But it is unclear how city officials can force Bullock to do anything. Three councilmen say the city cannot come up with the $1 million needed for demolition. Meanwhile, Bullock and her three siblings, who represent their mother's business interests, are asking $700,000 for the Marquette, which Cape Girardeau County values for tax purposes at only $100,086.

That would make the market value $312,768, by the county's estimation.

Falling bricks

At Monday's council meeting, Cape Girardeau director of inspection services Tarryl Booker confirmed Mayor Al Spradling's reports of bricks, window panes and "concrete objects" falling or poised to fall from the hotel.

"I don't think the whole thing is going to collapse into the street," Booker said Wednesday. "But yes, there's the potential for falling objects."

In June, Booker ordered Bullock to repair or board up 48 broken or missing panes in the segmented windows that fill the hotel's four sides and two sides of the garage. Bullock arranged for the completion of all these requests, including reinforcing the panes with wooden flats. She also removed trash and two derelict vehicles from the hotel grounds.

Then the city set a March 21 deadline for Bullock to present either renovation plans or a potential buyer. On Monday, the council granted Bullock a 60-day extension and ordered Bullock to work with inspectors to prepare a plan on how to further "mothball" the building to eliminate any threat to the public.

Councilman Jay Purcell said demolition is a hollow threat, as the $1 million needed could not be drawn from the budget, which is being hammered out by city department heads now. Councilmen Frank Stoffregen and Tom Neumeyer later backed this claim.

"There is no $1 million of fat we can just pull out of the budget to tear down this landmark," said Neumeyer. "We're looking at a very limited budget for starting fiscal year July 1, 2001."

Hotel history

Built in 1928, the Marquette Hotel has been mostly vacant since 1981. Cape Girardeau resident Thaddeus Bullock, Carol's father, owned the building from 1969 until his death in 1999. He housed his piano studio there.

Neumeyer said the asking price for the hotel is too high and has limited buyers' interest. Councilman Hugh White said the cost of needed, extensive renovations could be millions of dollars.

Bullock's Realtor, Thomas M. Meyer of Cape Girardeau, explained that Bullock is respecting her late father's wishes in asking $635,000 for the property. But Jerry Bullock, Carol's brother, said the family actually is asking $700,000. The other figure is what a previous buyer was going to pay before backing out of the contract, he said.

"I know a woman who just sold a house for half a million dollars," he said. "That was in Washington, D.C., but I would rather live in Cape Girardeau."

However, he said "everything is negotiable."

New plans

Carol Bullock, who lives in Rockville, Md., told the council Monday that she has plans to renovate the first floor of the building herself, perhaps restoring the coffee shop. She was unavailable for comment Wednesday.

But her brother, who owns a retail piano business outside LaPlata, Md., said all his siblings support the renovations, although they haven't determined exactly what they'll do or how much they'll spend.

"We were not talking about getting into the millions in expenses," Jerry Bullock said. "There are four of us, and we are not insolvent."

He said he hopes the family's work on the building would attract the interest of prospective buyers. Bullock, 57, said his family has a strong attachment to the Marquette -- they grew up around the corner on North Fountain Street, musical performers from the Marquette sometimes stayed in their boarding house and he played the piano in the hotel lounge to earn money.

Meyer said he is currently investigating "more than one" prospective buyer, and remains optimistic that he can close a deal.

Managing editor Heidi Hall contributed to this report.