Uptown Jackson prepares for renovation

~ However, work can't start until a few items fall into place.

If Jackson businessman R.A. Fulenwider were alive today, he'd be impressed with the plans for renovating the uptown business district.

About 30 years ago, Fulenwider suggested blocking off all traffic to South High Street and covering it with a giant tarp. Fulenwider, who owned a pharmacy in uptown Jackson, believed the district would thrive as a "walking mall," said Mayor Paul Sander.

"He was quite a visionary. Back then he was met with criticism, and a lot of people made jokes about it," Sander said. "Now that doesn't sound like such a wild proposal as it did back then."

Today Jackson's uptown is preparing for a new kind of transformation. In February, the district was listed on the National Register of Historic Places -- meaning merchants can start receiving state and federal tax credits if they renovate their historic buildings.

For more than two years, a historic-district committee has been meeting to discuss plans to renovate uptown Jackson.

The renovation brings a smile to Tom Strickland's face.

Recently, the chairman of the historic-district committee walked down the sidewalk on South High Street and pointed out where the historical lights will be installed.

Strickland discussed how several merchants plan on sprucing up their buildings. In fact, many merchants have already taken the initiative.

While Strickland walked down the sidewalk, he stopped in front Siemer's Best Brands Plus, at 113 S. High St. Owner John Siemer recently tore down sheet metal that covered the front of his building and replaced it with a more sturdy, concrete facade.

Siemer is in favor of the revitalization project in uptown Jackson. He hopes it will bring more business to his appliance store.

"I'm hoping it will bring back life to the uptown. You just don't see that many people anymore," Siemer said.

As Strickland walked further down South High Street, he measured off about three and a half feet of sidewalk that will be removed to widen the street. And he talked about the concrete street that's going to be torn out and replaced with cobblestone pavers. The additional 17 parking spaces that will be created along South High Street will also be a bonus.

But the renovation work can't start until a few items fall into place.

Traffic study

First, the results from a traffic engineers' study on the uptown streets must find that converting a block of South High Street from two-way to one-way won't cause any problems with traffic flow.

Next month a traffic engineer will begin studying traffic flow in and around uptown Jackson. Recently, the historic-district committee asked Jackson's Board of Aldermen to consider converting South High Street so that it fits into the committee's plan for refurbishing the uptown.

But the aldermen -- who support the committee's plan to bring a more historical feel to the uptown -- don't want to approve changing the street to one-way until the traffic study is complete in October. The aldermen are concerned the one-way street might create problems, especially because traffic flow conversions were recently made around the high school streets.

"With a high school campus that will be changing dramatically in the next few years, we need someone to say this is the right thing to do or this may cause some problems," Sander said.

Alderman Joe Bob Baker agrees.

"That has been a concern, but I'm definitely in favor of this change," Baker said. "We'll just have to wait to get the results from this traffic study before we can move forward."

The engineer doing the traffic study also compiled information for the city's comprehensive traffic study in 2001. The $11,350 study will partially be paid for by the Missouri Department of Transportation. The city will pay approximately $3,350 of the cost.

Strickland said it's crucial for the traffic consultant to approve the one-way street.

"If we can't go one-way, we won't be able to widen the street enough for the angled parking on both sides. We won't get the extra parking spaces," he said.

Uptown merchants like Jeff Moore, vice president of Ross Furniture, hopes the street is converted to one-way. "It's definitely going to be a big help with the extra parking," he said.

On March 27, Cape Girardeau's city council converted the one-way Main Street -- the equivalent to Jackson's South High Street -- to two-way. The council believed it would make it easier for visitors to find their way around town and slow traffic in the historic business district.

But that's not the case in Jackson.

South High Street has been an outlet for high school students exiting the campus. Merchants have complained that students race down the street when school is released. If the city converts the street to southbound one-way, students won't be able to travel down South High Street.

"We've gotten some comments about Cape going two-way, and we're wanting a one-way street. But we think this plan works best for us," said Rodney Bollinger, public works director.

The idea of a one-way High Street has been discussed several times at board meetings in the past. A public hearing was held in 2004, and no one spoke in opposition of the traffic flow change.

But back then, the board of aldermen, mayor, emergency officials and city staff were concerned about changing High Street to one-way. They said it might cause more traffic congestion near one of Jackson's busiest intersections at Hope and East Main streets, and funding for the project was an issue.

"Quite frankly, I was a bit skeptical back then. But in the past we weren't doing all this research, we were just going to change it to one way," Sander said. "The historic-district committee has really done their homework."

The committee has met for more than a year of planning and seeking out grants to fund the uptown revitalization project. The committee has laid out a multiphase plan to restore a historical look to Jackson's uptown. The project will be paid for by the city and several Missouri Department of Transportation grants.

In May, the city applied for a MoDOT community block grant to help fund various renovation projects. A large chunk of the cost-sharing grant -- $316,000 -- will be MoDOT funds; an additional $84,000 will come from the city. The city will learn if its grant application is approved sometime in September, but Sander said there's "no reason" why it shouldn't be.

The historic-district committee will be resubmitting grant applications each year to MoDOT to fund two more phases of the renovation project. The second phase will include installing historical lights along East Main Street. And the third phase will include converting the next block of South High Street, between Adams and Jefferson streets, to one-way.

Additional plans are in discussion to install historic lighting and additional sidewalks around the Cape Girardeau County courthouse.

Strickland believes that when the MoDOT grant is approved later this year, and after the traffic engineer presents the results of the traffic study, renovation work could start as early as next spring.

Businesses like Ross Furniture plan to wait until after South High Street is torn out and replaced before it goes through a renovation, Moore said.

"It will be like a domino effect with the uptown business. We really can't do much until the other things start happening," Moore said. "I already think the charm is here in the uptown. We just need to knock down some of the dust and cobwebs."

jfreeze@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 246