SITE PLAN FOR NEW MALL STORE GETS NOD; P&Z OKs NEW JUVENILE CENTER

A fourth major department store could be coming to West Park Mall.

Westfield Corporation Inc., the Australia-based company which recently acquired the mall, plans to build a two-level, 126,000-square-foot building for the new store. The addition would be at the main entrance on the mall's north side.

In another matter, the commission approved a special-use permit request for construction of a juvenile justice center in the 2100 block of Locust Street.

Jim Agliata, a St. Louis-based development director with Westfield, declined to name the potential West Park Mall tenant because negotiations with the store are not finalized.

The Cape Girardeau Planning and Zoning Commission endorsed the site plan for the proposed store by a 7-0 vote, with one abstention, during its Wednesday session at City Hall.

The Cape Girardeau City Council must still approve Westfield's request.

"It will add balance and strength to the mall," Agliata said during an appearance before the commission.

"Regional malls need that to be competitive."

He said no mall tenants have objected to the proposal.

JCPenney and Famous Barr are currently the main anchor stores at West Park Mall.

Shopko, a discount department store, is slated to become the mall's third anchor. It will open in February or March in the space formerly occupied by Venture, which closed earlier this year.

Westfield hopes to improve the overall quality of the shops at West Park Mall.

"With more department stores, you have the opportunity to add better tenants," Agliata said. "I think this will be very positive for us and for the community."

The new store is expected to employ about 300 people, Agliata said.

The vote on the juvenile justice center was 7-0, with one abstention. The matter will be forwarded for City Council consideration.

Randy Rhodes, the chief juvenile officer for the 32nd Judicial Circuit, spoke in support of the project.

The 32nd Judicial Circuit encompasses Cape Girardeau, Perry and Bollinger counties.

Rhodes said the new center, which would accommodate up to 40 youthful offenders, is needed to replace the juvenile detention center at 325 Merriwether.

"That facility was built is 1970, and its eight beds fit the needs of the community in 1970," Rhodes said. "But we find that with the current state of the juvenile justice system, more beds and services are needed."

Currently only juveniles accused of serious felonies are detained at the center. Rhodes said there simply isn't the room to hold juveniles charged with misdemeanors or drug possession.

The new center would combine a secure detention facility with a juvenile court, juvenile staff offices and an alternative education center.

Convicted juvenile offenders would not be housed at the center but only those awaiting court hearings. The average stay, Rhodes said, is seven days, though the typical stay is only two days.

Juveniles held at the existing facility have to be transported either to the Common Pleas Courthouse in Cape Girardeau or the County Courthouse in Jackson.

Housing the juvenile court with the detention facility would cut down on security and transportation problems, Rhodes said.

A site in Cape Girardeau was chosen, Rhodes said, because approximately 85 percent of juvenile referrals in the judicial circuit come from the city, even though the circuit serves a three-county region.

The alternative education center would serve juveniles expelled or suspended from public schools under the Safe Schools Act. Existing alternative schools serve primarily dropouts rather than students who committed criminal offenses, Rhodes said.

"I think it will be a tremendous asset to the community," said Planning and Zoning Commission member Harry Rediger.

CAPE GIRARDEAU PLANNING AND ZONING COMMISSION

Wednesday, Nov. 18

Applications

-- Approved request from West Park Partners, L.P., to amend the C-4 zoning site plan for the construction of a new anchor store at 3049 William St. (West Park Mall).

-- Approved request of Cape Retirement Company Inc., dba Chateau Girardeau, for a special use permit for an internal banking facility for Bank of Missouri at 3120 Independence St. in an R-4, multiple family residential district.

-- Approved request of James F. and Amy L. Stovall and Cape Girardeau County for a special use permit for a juvenile justice center in the 2100 block of Locust Street in an M-1, light industrial district.

-- Denied request of Bible Missionary Church for a special use permit for a double-wide manufactured home with attached garage and front porch at 2885 Hopper Road in an R-1, single family residential district.

-- Approved request of Ernest C. and Dorothy M. Collier for a special use permit for placement of a directional sign for the Cape Girardeau Church of God at 609 S. Ellis St. in an R-3, two-family residential district.

-- Approved request of Lee F. Ragland for nomination of the Steinbock-Brock House at 9 N. Fountain St. for a historic landmark zoning classification.

Subdivision plats

-- Approved record plat of West Park II subdivision.

-- Approved right-of-way dedication plat for Kell Farm Drive and Richmond Drive.

Other items

-- Approved consideration of an amendment to the Major Street Plan for the deletion of the streets Stag Pointe and Quail Run in the Clarkton Place subdivision as a through local street.