Marquette facing foreclosure

The Marquette Tower and Marquette Centre in Cape Girardeau, home to several state offices and the recipient of a taxpayer-supported makeover, faces foreclosure within three weeks.

In a legal notice printed Wednesday in the Southeast Missourian, SMF Registered Services Inc. announced that the buildings will go up for auction March 20 because of "default in the payment of debt and performance of obligations."

The Marquette Tower, 338 Broadway, is owned by Prost Builders of Jefferson City. The company purchased the historic former hotel in 2002 at a reported price of $350,000 and renovated it and the nearby Marquette Centre, 221 N. Fountain St., at a cost estimated at $6 million. The renovation was supported by a combination of state and federal tax credits for historic preservation and environmental remediation.

Prost has had the two buildings on the market since October. The company is asking $4.5 million for the Marquette Tower and $1.4 million for the Marquette Centre.

Cape Girardeau real estate broker Tom M. Meyer, who handles leasing and the sales listing for the buildings, said the notice of foreclosure was advertised "because the bank is wanting to make some adjustments and the developers are at odds with what their agreement would be."

If no agreement can be reached, the two properties will be sold in a foreclosure auction scheduled for March 20. Meyer said he expects an agreement to avoid foreclosure will be reached soon. Or, he said, the differences may become moot because of interest from potential purchasers, Meyer said. "We have a couple of buyers looking at it very seriously. They are in negotiation now."

A call to Vaughn Prost, president of Prost Builders Inc. was not immediately returned. Prost operates the Marquette properties under the company name Marquette Office Building LLC.

The constrction mortgage is held by Great Southern Bank of Springfield, Mo.

The Marquette Tower has 66,117 square feet, of which 30,844 square feet is leased directly to state agencies, with additional space leased by agencies contracting to support state functions. The ground floor also has an operating bar and restaurant.

The Marquette Centre is unoccupied. The 11,662-square-foot former Southeast Missouri State University printing plant was extensively renovated but not subdivided into individual offices.

For updates check back at www.semissourian.com or read Friday's Southeast Missourian.