There still might be hope for Marquette

More than a year has passed since the city condemned the old Marquette Hotel, and it appears the owner is no closer today to doing anything with the building than she was a year ago.

The 73-year-old structure has set idle in the heart of the Broadway business district for almost three decades and is in deteriorating condition. The city deems it unsafe.

Despite a number of interested buyers through the years, it seems no one wants the building, probably because of the huge expense of restoration or demolition.

The building at Broadway and North Fountain is owned by Ruby Bullock, widow of Thad Bullock, who operated a piano salon on its ground floor for years after the hotel closed. Thad Bullock tried to sell the building, and his widow has continued to try to sell it. Their daughter, Carol Bullock, who lives in Maryland, is handling matters pertaining to the building for her mother. The asking price is $700,000.

The city, which condemned the building in the summer of 2000, has been lenient with the Bullocks, but it is now pushing to get something done. The city granted the Bullocks time to come up with a plan for the building, but the deadline expired without a plan being submitted. Carol Bullock said she couldn't make an assessment to come up with a plan without electricity and water service to the building. The city denied her request to restore utilities in the interest of safety.

Having missed the deadline to present the city with a plan for the building, the Cape Girardeau City Council on Nov. 5 granted the owner yet another extension -- this time 60 days -- to come up with a plan. If none is submitted, the city now is prepared to take necessary steps to secure the building and then bill the owner for the expense.

Short of the building being sold, the city doesn't expect anything to be done with it.

Since it has been condemned, the city could have the building demolished and bill the owner for the expense. The estimated cost of demolition, however, is $1 million, an expense the city would not be able to recover because the owner could never pay it. Nor can the city bear the razing expense on its own.

Built in 1928, the hotel was a hub of activity in the city for nearly 50 years. The building is sound enough to be rehabilitated and put into use for some purpose. Its brightest future lies in it being sold to a developer and rehabilitated for living or office space.

If all else fails, the city could help make the building attractive to a buyer by providing tax and other financial incentives toward its restoration.

Another possibility might be that the city itself acquire the building and rehabilitate it through some sort of creative financing plan.

Finding a way to restore the building through some sort of innovative means is better than the enormous cost of tearing it down, which no one can afford.