KASTEN SEEKS WAY TO REVAMP EYESORE

To the casual observer, old St. Francis Hospital is an aging, dilapidated building that serves as just another canvas for graffiti and vandalism.

But State Rep. Mary Kasten paints a much brighter picture. She and a local committee of social service representatives and interested citizens want to renovate the 83-year-old brick building for use as a family resource center.

The center would house various social service agencies under one roof, making it more efficient and convenient for those who need government assistance.

"This is a real good way to bring services in a coordinated way to people and also to be able to avoid duplication and better utilize all the services that are available out there," the Cape Girardeau Republican said.

The building, which fronts on Good Hope Street, also could house a satellite office of the Cape Girardeau Police Department. The department's community policing office could be headquartered there, Kasten and others have suggested.

At Kasten's request, a three-member team from the Missouri divisions of facilities management, and design and construction inspected the vacant building Wednesday.

The team will issue a report as to the structure's condition and what it might cost to renovate it.

Stan Paczkowski of the state's facilities management division was on the team that inspected the old hospital building. He said the report will be no more than three or four pages long and should be completed in about a week.

Paczkowski said the building appears structurally sound. "There are no cracks or settlements in the walls or things like that."

Asbestos insulation around pipes in the vacant building must be removed, he said. Asbestos removal is commonplace in old buildings and shouldn't pose an obstacle, he added.

The Haarig Area Development Association, composed of businessmen in the Good Hope and Sprigg streets area, would prefer to see the old hospital torn down and a new federal courthouse built on that block.

Association member Ted Coalter said a new courthouse would revitalize the entire neighborhood. But if the federal government rules out the block as the site for a new courthouse, the association will support the renovation project, Coalter said.

"All we want to see is improvements done to the area."

Coalter has personally pushed both projects.

"Right now, I am actively supporting both of them, hoping one of them will fly," he said.

Kasten said family resource centers have worked in other places. In St. Louis, an old hospital was turned into such a center.

The Cape Girardeau committee has been studying the idea for about a year. The committee hopes to secure state and possibly federal funding to buy or lease the building, and renovate it.

The committee was formed through the efforts of the Community Caring Council. Kasten helped found the council to improve communication and coordination among social service agencies.

City officials said the renovation project could benefit the community.

Councilman Tom Neumeyer said, "It would be good for the city in that we could reuse the building rather than use the headache ball and tear it down."

It also would be convenient. Many of the people who are served by the social service agencies live in the south side neighborhood, Neumeyer said.

The old hospital was built in 1913. It was used until St. Francis Medical Center opened in 1976.

Peter Kern of Denton, Texas, bought the building in 1988. He has since died and the property remains in his estate.