Texas corporation new owner of old Cape Girardeau federal building; Cape County silent

RDRH Holdings Inc., a corporation based in Austin, Texas, is the new owner of Cape Girardeau's former federal building, according to company president Majid Hemmasi.

The news broke Thursday morning after an official with U.S. Rep. Jo Ann Emerson's office pressed the General Services Administration to release the identity of the individual who finalized the purchase Tuesday.

The official said that RDRH Holdings Inc. was the new owner, which the company president confirmed from his office in Austin. The GSA confirmed the company's identity shortly after that.

Hemmasi, an architectural engineer, said his three-year-old corporation has bought government surplus property in the past. He also said he visited Cape Girardeau three months ago and had planned to be here Thursday, but he suffered a back injury that prohibited him from traveling.

The company holds real estate notes and owns other property, mostly in Texas. Hemmasi said he would be interested in leasing the building to someone in the private sector but he also acknowledged he would not be opposed to reselling the building at the right price.

Hemmasi's preference, he said, would be to sell it to a government entity, which he hinted could mean at a cheaper price than to anyone in the private sector.

"If the building is going to a public entity, we're not greedy," he said. "If it is going to a public entity, that would be one value. If it's another investor, it would cost more. We're a company that is trying to make money."

Hemmasi said he spoke to someone from the Cape Girardeau County Commission a few months ago and he does not oppose selling the building to the county.

"Absolutely," he said. "I absolutely would. Why not? I'd sit down and talk with them about it."

The name of the new owner came about 48 hours after the GSA confirmed that the building had been sold for a price of $325,015. The answer to the owner's identity raises another question: How long will RDRH own the building?

The county commission has long been interested in the two-story structure as a possible place to relocate certain government offices. The building would serve as a "stopgap" until a new consolidated courthouse could be built in Jackson.

The Southeast Missourian again on Thursday filed an open-records request to get closed-session minutes from meetings the commission has held on the subject of buying the federal building. The same answer was given by Presiding Commissioner Clint Tracy that was given Wednesday, via County Clerk Kara Clark Summers, the official custodian of records.

In an emailed response, Summers said Tracy informed her that the county has not "closed the proceedings of the federal building" and that they would respond to the request "in a timely manner" after the deed from the purchase has been filed.

Tracy, who was authorized by the commission to buy the building at the right price, reiterated his silence Thursday, saying he wasn't ready to say what level of interest the county has in buying the building.

But the rejection of the request for information, which can be done in this case because of possible land acquisition, seems to indicate the commission is about to re-enter negotiations.

Tracy wouldn't go that far.

"I haven't even spoken to him yet," Tracy said of the new owner. "We'll just have to see what happens. I won't know until I speak to him."

Commissioner Jay Purcell, an early proponent of building a new county courthouse, said that given that the new owner is interested in selling, he believes the county would entertain the possibility of buying it.

"But I think it would be appropriate not to comment further," Purcell said. "I want to make sure Commissioner Tracy has the latitude he needs to get a deal done."

The first online auction of 44-year-old building last year saw bids that reached close to the GSA's $750,000 asking price -- the high bid peaked at more than $600,000 -- but the top three bidders ended up backing out, two forfeiting $25,000 deposits.

The GSA scratched that auction and launched a second Nov. 9, which drew RDRH Holdings' winning bid.

smoyers@semissourian.com

388-3642

Pertinent address:

339 Broadway, Cape Girardeau, MO