DREAM Initiative

Since the statewide DREAM Initiative was announced in 2006, various groups with a particular interest in Cape Girardeau's downtown (DREAM stands for Downtown Revitalization and Economic Assistance for Missouri) have worked to develop a plan that fulfills the objective of the program: develop imaginative ideas to assist future downtown development that can benefit from local and state resources.

This think-outside-the-box approach has resulted in the first completed DREAM plan of all the communities invited to participate. The Cape Girardeau plan has been endorsed by all the agencies that have an interest in the city's future development, including last week's adoption by the city council.

The plan offers a coordinated vision of what downtown Cape Girardeau can become for both the public and private sectors. Key components -- a downtown hotel, a revitalized Broadway, major improvements to Riverfront Park, the Fountain Street corridor, a major downtown attraction such as an aquarium -- are, as the initiative's name aptly suggests, dreams. Turning them into reality now has focus.

Updates will be provided as the DREAM plan unfolds. Many of the steps may be small. Taken together, they will represent giant strides toward a vibrant downtown.