PRESERVATION: GROUP HOPES BUILDING WILL BE SPARED

The Cape Girardeau Historic Preservation Commission last week passed a resolution opposing the Salvation Army's plans to demolish its building at 701 Good Hope to make room for a new facility.

The Salvation Army embarked last week on a $1 million capital campaign for the new structure, which will be constructed near the site of the current building at the South Sprigg-Good Hope intersection in Cape Girardeau.

But Art Mattingly, chairman of the city's Historic Preservation Commission, said Monday that the current Salvation Army building has historic value and the commission is against its demolition.

The building formerly housed the Farmers & Merchants Bank and is the only surviving bank building from its era in the city, Mattingly said.

"It's also architecturally important for this town," he said. "And it represents a part of the fabric of this community in terms of its cultural heritage."

Capt. Elmer Trapp of the Salvation Army said that the church initially wanted to renovate the building, but that the cost was excessive and that a survey of the community indicated residents favored a new structure.

He said structural engineers estimated that in order for the renovation to meet national building codes, it would cost $250,000.

"They also said that it would need a new roof within five years, which would be another $50,000," Trapp said. "Our board voted no, and we proceeded with a feasibility study for constructing a new building."

Trapp said the feasibility study took into account the historic importance of the building. He said the structure was built in 1932.

"When we had a feasibility study done, we asked people in the community, `Does this building have any sentimental value?' The answer was yes, but that it wasn't enough to justify putting a lot of money into an old building," he said.

"We feel like the message we got from the community is, `we want you to build a new building.'"

But Mattingly said the cultural importance of the former bank shouldn't be overlooked. He said the facility was a gathering spot for south-side residents and a symbol of security.

"Really, it represented a part of those people's lives," he said. "So it is culturally important."

Mattingly said there's little the commission can do to prevent the Salvation Army from razing the building, but that commissioners hope that some type of compromise can be reached. He said the commission hopes a new structure could be built on to the existing building.

"What we would like to see is a public dialogue go on with the people who want to keep this building that represents some of the history of this community," he said. "We aren't opposed to the Salvation Army in any way, and we're certainly not arguing against the Salvation Army and its work.

"What we are interested in is perhaps the Salvation Army and the people that represent it in this fund drive might try to incorporate this building in their construction of a new facility."

Mattingly said part of the commission's responsibilities include preservation and protection of historic structures. He said the resolution against the demolition of the Salvation Army building is simply a matter of carrying out that duty.

But Trapp said he was surprised to hear of the resolution now, more than a year after the Salvation Army stated its intentions to raze the site.

"We are going to communicate with the commission to see if they can come up with some options," he said. "But these plans are well thought out and something we've had for a good deal of time.

"We've been going at this for a year and a half now and all the sudden we're faced with this. We're kind of overwhelmed."

Construction on the new 17,200-square-foot building is expected to begin later this year. The current facility has more than 6,000 square feet, but only about 4,200 square feet is usable space for the Salvation Army, Trapp has said.