MERCHANTS BACK FED BUILDING SITE

The 400 block on the north side of Broadway offers the best site for a new federal courthouse, a group of downtown merchants say.

The federal government's General Services Administration is looking for a site for a new federal courthouse, and it wants the new building to be in the downtown area of Cape Girardeau near the existing Federal Building in the 300 block of Broadway.

The GSA will hold a hearing Nov. 16 at Port Cape Girardeau restaurant to discuss a potential two-block site south of the Federal Building.

The site being promoted by the Greater Downtown Merchants Association is just northwest of the existing Federal Building and includes the Himmelberger-Harrison Building.

The block is bounded by Broadway on the south, Bellevue on the north, Middle on the west and Fountain Street on the east.

"I really believe that this is the best possible site," said Lynette Shirrell, a real estate agent who has been working with a three-member ad hoc committee of the downtown merchants group. The committee looked at four possible sites near the existing Federal Building.

The other three sites were the block immediately west of the Federal Building and south of Broadway, and the two blocks on the north side of Broadway directly north and east of the Federal Building.

Shirrell and committee members David Knight, John Boardman and Charles Hutson began investigating possible sites in late August.

They have recommended the Himmelberger-Harrison building site to GSA officials, who will decide where the new courthouse will be built.

Shirrell and Knight said the proposed site has a number of advantages over other blocks in downtown Cape Girardeau.

To begin with, it would meet size requirements. The government wants an entire city block of about 175,000 square feet in size.

The site, they said, also probably would be the most economical for the government to buy and develop. Because parking lots cover much of the site, development costs would be less because there would be fewer buildings to tear down.

There are a dozen pieces of property in the Himmelberger-Harrison Building block, including several major businesses.

Most of the property owners have indicated they are willing to sell.

They include Union Electric and the Oliver law firm, which own and have offices in the Himmelberger-Harrison Building at 400 Broadway. Concord Printing Services is at 430 Broadway.

Besides those businesses, the block houses a dentist's office, North Cape Church of Christ, the federal public defender's office, Southeast Missouri State University's printing service, two apartment buildings and four homes. The federal government rents the building that houses the public defender.

Unlike many of Cape's downtown blocks, there aren't any historically significant buildings in the block, Shirrell said.

Shirrell doesn't want to see Cape's historic buildings demolished. She is president of the local historical society, past president of the Downtown Neighborhood Association and a member of the city's Historic Preservation Commission.

She lives downtown in an old home near the Mississippi River Bridge.

The GSA has looked at a two-block neighborhood just south of the Federal Building as a possible location for the new courthouse. But the area contains some historic homes, and most property owners in that neighborhood don't want to sell.

GSA officials have said the government wants a site where there are willing sellers.

The government would not only buy property, but also would help move residents and businesses, Shirrell said.

The GSA has $3.8 million to spend on site acquisition and some design work.

The other three blocks studied by the committee had various drawbacks, Knight and Shirrell said.

GSA officials have said they want to build the courthouse near the Federal Building, which will continue to house federal offices.

The block that includes the Civic Center on the north side of Broadway is a block away from the Federal Building. The block includes several old homes along the east side of Lorimier.

Shirrell said it would be a shame to tear down those houses. It also could be costly, with one property owner unwilling to sell for less than $1 million.

"It wasn't feasible," she said.

The block west of the Federal Building is deemed too small for the government's needs.

The site in the 300 block of Broadway, across the street from the Federal Building, has location going for it. That block includes the vacant Marquette Hotel.

Julian Howes lives in that block, at 269 N. Lorimier. He also owns an adjacent apartment building.

Howes said he and most of his neighbors, including the owners of the KFVS television station and the KZIM radio station, are willing to sell.

But Knight said it would be costly to buy and develop that site.

Tearing down the Marquette Hotel alone would be expensive, he added.

The block includes the New Orleans Restaurant, housed in the city's historic opera house. Knight and others don't want to see the local landmark destroyed.