Time runs out for Esquire project

A plan to renovate one of Cape Girardeau's historic theaters has apparently stalled now that a financing agreement for the project has expired.

Expiration of the tax increment financing (TIF) agreement Dec. 31 apparently leaves the project to renovate the deteriorating Esquire Theater, 824 Broadway, in limbo.

"We have such a love for this building, and we hated to see the expiration occur," said Cara Naeger of Bloomsdale, Missouri, who heads a development group that submitted plans to acquire and repurpose the vacant theater building into a concert venue for local and touring musical groups.

"We hated to see the expiration occur especially after all the hard work put forth from the city, the supporting organizations, banking institutions and our team who all shared the same passion of wanting to see this project move forward," she told the Missourian Friday. "But at the end of the day, the amount of capital outlay needed to execute (the project) through traditional financial options did not allow us to move forward even with the support of the TIF."

Naeger submitted a TIF application to the Cape Girardeau Tax Increment Financing Commission in May 2018 on behalf of TAG (Together Always Giving) Development LLC and Cape Theaters LLC. TAG Development's founding company is Clemco Development, created in 2007 by Naeger and her brother R.J. Clements.

A TIF allows a developer to receive certain tax benefits to help pay for various project development costs.

"It (renovations to the Esquire Theater) was going to be a very challenging project and would have required a significant investment," said Alex McElroy, Cape Girardeau's director of development services. "From the city's standpoint, we had established the TIF agreement, the project qualified for it and it was awarded. It stalled when we got to the funding portion."

Under the proposal from TAG Development and Cape Theaters LLC, the developers would have spent $227,000 to purchase the Esquire and former Broadway Theater, 805 Broadway, from owner Phillip Brinson. According to the proposal, an additional $2.5 million would have been necessary to repair, renovate the repurpose the Esquire into a concert venue.

The initial proposal called for reconstruction of the Esquire to be completed by late 2019.

Any renovations of the Broadway Theater, which city officials say is deteriorating even faster than the Esquire building, would have required a separate TIF application.

Both theaters have been vacant for decades, are on the National Register of Historic Places and the Cape Girardeau Historic Preservation Commission's endangered buildings list.

The Esquire opened in January 1947 and operated as a movie theater for more than 40 years. The Broadway Theater opened on Christmas Eve 1921 with a full stage and orchestra pit that allowed it to offer Vaudeville acts, musical productions and silent movies. It has been permanently closed since 1997.

"The Broadway Theater is in worse shape than the Esquire," Cape Girardeau Mayor Bob Fox said last week in discussing the future of the vacant theater buildings.

Fox said expiration of the TIF agreement with Naeger's group simply means "TIF financing is available for anybody else now."

Naeger said she and her development team remain interested in the Esquire project.

"We would love to restore the Esquire building," she said. "We have a strong design plan that would revitalize the building as well as continue the growth and revitalization of downtown. As a developer and one who enjoys the city of Cape and all it has to offer, we want to ensure the Esquire would be successful for years to come."

Naeger added "if an alternative financing option that would reduce the risk involved would become available, we would love to revisit."

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