Philanthropy's makeover nearly complete

For the past six weeks, Philanthropy Fashion owner Bridgett Kielhofner has worried that people entering her Cape Girardeau store would get pelted with fallen stucco the minute they stepped inside.

The A.C. Vasterling building is seen to the right of the Idan-Ha Hotel at Broadway and Fountain Street in the 1950s. (Southeast Missourian archive)

The A.C. Vasterling building, home to Philanthropy, is being restored to its original facade to qualify for a historic tax credit.

Construction began around February 2013 when siblings Cara Naeger and R.J. Clements of Clemco Development in Ste. Genevieve, Missouri, began remodeling the upper floors and courtyard and turning them into Vasterling Suites luxury apartments.

Removing the stucco is the last of the renovations people are now seeing, with construction vehicles blocking the sidewalk along Broadway and causing pedestrians to weave into traffic to make it to Philanthropy's front door. Although it's a hassle, Kielhofner knows the construction ultimately will benefit her business, a boutique that donates 10 percent of each sale to charity.

"I'm very blessed to have a great loyal customer base here in Cape Girardeau and the surrounding area," she said. "It's such a wonderful project and it will be so great. I am so lucky to have such amazing landlords who are putting this much time, money and work into a business here in downtown that I know the benefit of it. But, I mean, it does affect my pocketbook."

Jay O’Neail with E.T. Masonry uses a saw Monday to grind out mortar for removing original limestone blocks above the doorway of Philanthropy, 407 Broadway.FRED LYNCHflynch@semissourian.com

But not for long, Kielhofner said. She was told that if the weather holds, construction should be concluded on Wednesday. Her awnings showcasing her store name in large white print will be restored on Thursday, and then things will return back to normal.

Kielhofner opened the first franchise of the clothing store Philanthropy in Cape Girardeau on June 22, 2012.

"Being downtown means you're proving that it's more than just sales. You're proving that you're there because you want to be a part of that community and those businesses," Kielhofner said. "What we're about is being a part of the history and the longevity of the community."

At the time the store opened, the building had just been bought from a bank, and little had been done to the former Idan-Ha Hotel in decades.

The Idan-Ha opened March 8, 1909, and in 1912 a five-story structure was added to its south side. In the early 1920s, the owner of the hotel purchased the A.C. Vasterling building next door, where Philanthropy is now. The owners built on another five-floor structure to the back and renovated Vasterling from two floors to three.

A crew from E.T. Masonry of Farmington, Missouri, removes original limestone blocks Monday above the doorway of Philanthropy, 407 Broadway, to finish installing a new decorative step-out across the front of the building. (Fred Lynch)

In 1968 the original Idan-Ha building was destroyed in a fire. Then, in 1989, the first addition to the hotel, which consisted of small apartment complexes in the back of the A.C. Vasterling building, also burned down. That left the Philanthropy building that stands today.

One of the requirements for the tax credit was to remove the stucco facade and restore the historic foundation that lies underneath. It came from the building's first remodel around 1923.

As grateful as Kielhofner was for her polite construction crews, she will not be sad to see them go. The resurfacing of the original limestone storefront was estimated to take three weeks, but this week will be the sixth that construction has blocked her store's sidewalk.

Things were delayed because of the state of the limestone behind the stucco, project architect Rebecca Ward said. After uncovering it, crews realized it was in worse condition than originally thought.

"It was a little more damaged than I had hoped for; they had knocked off the cornice work on the top and right above the storefront opening, and they did a lot of work to knock that stone out," Ward said. "That's what they're doing now, the masons are pulling out those broken pieces and replacing them with new pieces."

Replacing the stones promotes structural stability, Ward said.

Neither Kielhofner nor Ward knows why the original limestone was covered, but both mentioned it was rare for a building to have the stone covered up. Ward thought it was done many years ago to modernize the building.

Although business has slowed for Kielhofner, once construction is completed and approved, the A.C. Vasterling building will officially be able to be listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

smaue@semissourian.com

388-3644

Pertinent address:

407 Broadway St., Cape Girardeau, Missouri