SEMINARY PURCHASE DELAYED; NEW DEADLINE END OF MONTH

The completion of the Colonial Cape Girardeau Foundation's purchase of St. Vincent's Seminary will be delayed until the end of April, foundation president Loretta Schneider said Thursday.

"Once again we're close," Schneider said, referring to the second two-week postponement of the closing date.

The foundation is attempting to buy the 20-acre seminary to create a museum and Civil War interpretive center.

The latest delay comes with the foundation eager to begin applying for grants that only are available if it owns the building.

"We're all getting a little frustrated," Schneider said. "We're anxious to get moving on the fund raising."

The delay is due in part to the recent absence of Kevin Spaeth, the foundation's attorney. Spaeth, who was out of town, is now drawing up the final documents.

The approaching Easter holiday will slow the process as well, Spaeth said.

The documents then must be circulated to all the principals. The seminary is owned by the Provincial Administration of Vincentian Fathers of St. Louis.

Schneider said buying the seminary isn't like buying a house.

"The Vincentians are not like a builder," she said. "They are a congregation of a mission, priests. ...It's not like I can call Fr. (John) Gagnepain and say, Is this OK with you?"

Gagnepain is in charge of the Vincentians' business dealings, but Cape Girardeau Realtor Thomas L. Meyer is his agent handling the sale. The foundation's agent is Mary Kistner.

The anticipated end-of-April closing would occur one month later than the original March 31 deadline. That date was set when the foundation announced its purchase of the seminary at a Jan. 14 press conference.

The purchase price was $700,000, with the foundation making a $50,000 down payment.

When "legal technicalities" prevented the closing from occurring March 31, Schneider predicted it would be accomplished within 10 days to two weeks.

She remains undaunted by the new delay.

"This project will be a reality," she said.