River Campus park project could be done this year

Southeast Missouri State University's proposed River Campus arts school could be home to hiking and biking trails later this year that would transform the tree-filled grounds of a former Catholic seminary into a park overlooking the Mississippi River.

The $319,000 project could begin this summer and be completed by November, said Al Stoverink, facilities management director at Southeast.

Stoverink discussed the project at a meeting with the River Campus Board of Managers on Friday. Development of the trails and a pavilion would mark the first construction at the site south of Morgan Oak Street where the university plans to develop a school for art, music, dance and theater.

The six-member board, appointed by the university's board of regents and the Cape Girardeau City Council, will oversee the operations of a proposed performance hall, as well as an art and regional history museum and the public grounds.

School officials announced in 2001 that the university had obtained a $255,634 federal grant from the Missouri Department of Transportation. The university would pay the remainder of the cost.

The park project includes:

Informational signs about the plant life and history of the site and benches for resting.

A pavilion overlooking the Mississippi River.

A parking lot for tourist buses and cars.

A state-champion beech tree will be preserved. The university plans to erect a trail sign with information about the tree, which has a trunk more than 16 feet in circumference. The tree is more than 160 years old.

The nearly $36 million project had been on hold while the university waited on design plans for the entire River Campus. The city council and the board of regents recently approved the design plans which include a visitors center that would be attached to the River Campus Museum.

Rather than a separate structure, the museum would be connected to the theater and arts school building. The new construction would connect to the L-shaped, four-story brick seminary whose oldest section dates back to 1843.

Focus on Lorimier

Dr. Stanley Grand, museum director, told the board of managers that the museum's regional history exhibits will include one that focuses heavily on Cape Girardeau's founder, French-Canadian trader Louis Lorimier.

Board member Dennis Vollink advised university officials to keep the board informed about plans for the River Campus. "It's probably more critical now than later," he said.

Stoverink said detailed design plans from Jacobs Facilities Inc., a worldwide architectural and engineering firm with a St. Louis office, could be presented to the board of managers next month.

mbliss@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 123