Nominations open for Endangered Buildings List

The Cape Girardeau Historic Preservation Commission is now accepting nominations for the 2022 Endangered Buildings list.

Commission members have produced the Endangered Buildings List since 2012 to raise awareness of meaningful structures at risk of deterioration in Cape Girardeau.

Members of the community can nominate buildings for the list through email or by visiting the Planning Services Division at Cape Girardeau City Hall at 44 N. Lorimier St.

Historic Preservation Commission vice chairwoman Bonnie Kipper has served on the commission for the past eight years.

"We're trying to make the public aware of the fact that these buildings need some attention," Kipper said. "If they don't get attention and are torn down, they're lost to us forever."

Structures included on the Endangered Buildings List may have historical or architectural value.

The 2021 Endangered Buildings List features 10 buildings within the City of Cape Girardeau's limits. Several have been on the list for multiple years.

The purpose of the list is to raise awareness of blighted buildings, not to shame property owners, city planner Ryan Shrimplin said.

"It's not a legal action," Shrimplin said. "No penalty will be imposed on the property owners."

Those interested in submitting a nomination may do so before March 11.

To obtain a nomination form, visit the Planning Services Division at City Hall or the city's website, www.cityofcapegirardeau.org/cms/one.aspx?pageId=5990643. Completed forms can be dropped off in-person or emailed to cityplanning@cityofcape.org.

The commission will review the nominations March 23. The list will be adopted April 20.