TAKING SHAPE: CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS ON THE MOVE

The on-again, off-again, Sam's Warehouse is on-again for Cape Girardeau -- maybe!

A set of plans for a $2.9 million, 114,000-square-foot Sam's Club is on file at the Cape Girardeau Inspection Service. The proposed site for the newest Sam's facility is between Wal-Mart and Lowe's Home Center.

But two previous sets of plans have been received by the inspection service over the past three years. And the latest report from the Bentonville, Ark., headquarters of Wal-Mart and Sam's, is that Sam's is still interested in Cape Girardeau, but that no plans were on the books for 1996. Next year is a possibility.

It was in September of 1992 that Sam's Club officials announced plans to build a 134,000-square-foot warehouse adjacent to the Wal-Mart Supercenter in Cape West Business Center near the Route K-Siemers Drive intersection.

A year later, the plans were placed on hold, with an expected 1994 start on a smaller scale, at 114,000 square feet. Those plans were also placed on hold.

It is hoped the third time will be charm, said one inspection service representative.

Project on definite 'go'

Meanwhile, a number of large retail and commercial projects are on a definite "go" in Cape Girardeau

-- Staples Inc., which has almost 500 office supply and equipment stores in 25 states, will enter the Missouri market this year at Cape Girardeau. The city has already issued a permit for a 25,000-square-foot Staples facility at 294 Siemers in Cape West Business Park.

-- K's Merchandise, a family-owned business with 13 sites in Illinois and Iowa, will come into Missouri this fall. K's, headquartered in Chicago, is no stranger to the Show-Me State. The company already operates Eldridge Fine Jewelry Stores in Missouri, Kansas and Florida.

When's K's opens in Cape Girardeau, the 85,000 square feet at Bloomfield and Broadview -- former Central Hardware building -- it will represent the largest operation in the chain.

-- West Park 4 Cine will become Cape West Business Park 14-Cine soon. A groundbreaking has tentatively been set next Monday for the area's largest cinema.

-- A $1.4 million permit has been issued for a 60,000-square-foot structure on Rust Avenue to house D&K Wholesale Drug Co., headquartered at St. Louis. The new facility will house the Cairo distribution center of D&K.

Owns 18.6-acre tract

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. has owned an 18.6-acre tract of land just south of the current Wal-Mart Supercenter since 1992, when it was purchased from Drury Inns Inc.

Sam's, a division of Wal-Mart Stores Inc. is the largest members-only buying club in the United States, providing name brand merchandise at warehouse prices to businesses and selected employment groups. Sam's Wholesale Clubs feature two prototype warehouses -- one of about 114,000 square feet and another of 135,000 square feet -- of no frills, cash-and-carry general merchandise.

The first Sam's Clubs opened in 1983 in three places. Since then, more than 200 of the clubs have cropped up.

Some 3,500 products are available at Sam's. Products include a complete line of food products; tires, batteries and other auto supplies; small building equipment and hardware; watches and jewelry; office supplies, computers and equipment; large and small appliances, including televisions, VCRs and camcorders; home furnishings; designer clothing; and sheets and towels.

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. operates Wal-Mart discount retail stores, Sam's Clubs, Wal-Mart Hypermart*USA units and 20 major distribution centers across the country. Company sales for the fiscal year ending Jan. 31 were $93.6 billion.

The company plans to open more than 100 new supercenters this year and five to 10 Sam's Clubs.

Staples here first in Missouri

Staples Inc., which hopes to open its first Missouri store here this fall, became only the sixth company in history to record $3 billion in annual sales within 10 years or less. The office products company, founded in May 1986, surpassed $3 billion in sales for fiscal 1995, which ended Feb. 3, up 53 percent from last year's $2 billion mark.

Staples operates 482 office products superstores in more than 100 markets across the United States and Canada, under the names of Staples, Staples Express, Business Depot and Bureau EnGros. In addition, Staples is a joint venture partner in start-up office supply store chains in the United Kingdom (Staples UK) and Germany (Maxi-Papier-Markt GmbH).

Staples, rated as "1995 Company of the Year" by the Boston Business Journal, employs more than 24,000 associates worldwide. The company has plans to add more than 100 U.S. stores this year.

Staples will serve as an anchor store for a strip shopping center planned by Druco. The new center, just south of Target on Siemers Drive, will include a number of retail businesses. Other retailers already signed for the center include A Factory Card outlet store to occupy 10,800 square feet and the Dollar Tree, 4,100 square feet."

K's looking to fall opening

K's Merchandise, a family-owned retail company based in Decatur, Ill., is also looking to a fall opening.

Remodeling construction is under way.

"We're looking at a September opening," said Don Ouellette, vice president of merchandising. "The new store here will be the largest store in the chain and the first K's Merchandise store in Missouri."

The Cape Girardeau store will employ more than 100 people, and will start interviewing for personnel this month.

K's Merchandise is a rapidly growing regional retailer.

"We offer the largest product selections available and a complete range of prices on all name brand merchandise," said Ouellette. K's Merchandise also offers bridal, gift and baby registries.

The new Cape Girardeau K's jewelry department will showcase some of the world's finest diamonds and precious stones, said Ouellette. "We'll have a full-time master jeweler in the store."

K's Merchandise was founded in 1957. K's now has 10 stores in Illinois and three in Iowa. The company also operates eight Eldridge Fine Jewelry Stores in Missouri, Kansas and Florida.

K's Merchandise opened its 13th store late last year in Carbondale's University Mall.

Wehrenberg expanding

When Wehrenberg Theatres Inc. opens its 14-screen cinema here, Cape Girardeau will have more movie screens than any city along or near Interstate 55 between St. Louis and Memphis and will more than double the 10 screens already in town, to a total of 24. Wehrenberg currently has a four-screen, 1,000-seat movie theater in an 11,800-square-foot area in West Park Mall.

Wehrenberg, headquartered in St. Louis, is observing its 90th anniversary this year and has opened or re-opened a number of theaters during its anniversary year, incuding the renovated Wesport Cine in St. Louis, a 16-plex at Springfield and a 10-cine in Prescott, Ariz.

A groundbreaking was held recently for a new Wehrenberg 20-plex at O'Fallon, to open later in the fall.

D&K looks to late '96 opening

D&K hopes to be in its new facility by Dec. 1.

"We're looking forward to our new facility and to moving to Cape Girardeau," said Jim Largent, division vice president of sales and general manager of the Cairo Distribution Center. "The new facility is a third larger than the facility at Cairo and will afford us required space to continue the rapid growth we have achieved in the past five years."

Largent and other D&K officials from the Cairo operation were on hand during a special groundbreaking ceremony last week at 1823 Rust Ave.

Also on hand were Larry L. Haertling, owner of Morhaert Development, which will lease the facility to D&K, and C.J. Morrill, president of Contrend Inc., which has worked with D&K in the design and planning for the facility.

"Our plans were to turn the building over to D&K Dec. 1," said Haertling. "And right now we're ahead of schedule. The foundation work is almost completed, and the structural steel is here."

The move to larger quarters will mean an additional 40 jobs for D&K, which employs 125 in its Cairo operation.

D&K was founded in Cairo in 1965 as Delta Wholesale Drug Inc. The company later became D&K Wholesale Drug Inc. and now serves independent and retail chain pharmacies, hospitals, managed-care facilities and other customers in 17 states throughout the Midwest and Mid-South. D&K has facilities at Cairo, Lexington, Ky., and Minneapolis.

Medical facility projects

Two medical facility projects are nearing completion.

The new lobby area is expected to open at Southeast Missouri Hospital in August. The project includes a 20,000-square-foot main lobby, with a mezzanine-level restaurant and exterior courtyard.

The 600-plus parking spaces at the St. Francis Medical Center parking garage will open soon, and construction is under way on the medical center's 100,000-square-foot medical office building. A $550,000 permit was issued in June for the shell of the new office medical building.