Plans and more for new police substation in Midtown Cape

CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo., (KBSI)-  A local couple has plans to transform the long-neglected area of South Cape Girardeau — starting with a police substation.

FOX23’s Holly Brantley sat down with Scott Blank – the project developer, to look at the designs.

They call it Midtown Cape – a plan to restore an area near south Sprigg and Good Hope to its former glory.

“It’s a redevelopment project of an area that has a small commercial potential — lots of residential potential”

Scott Blank says his family has a long history in the Haarig district – an area connected to the river campus that used to be bustling with businesses, shops, a bank, bakeries, drug stores, and more. Now he and City leaders have a plan to make it that way again.

“In order to fuel that return of commercial and residential you have to have the river campus to build out and expand and thrive which it is doing.”

Plans have been in the works for more than 5 years, and in fact the Blank’s have already renovated some of the art buildings on the river campus. Now Blank says an additional 15-million-dollar project is one of the next steps to follow, and he’ll be asking the state for funding.

“This is showing the footprint for ceramics this is Frederick and this is Morgan Oak, and this is painting and this is the connecting piece we are hopeful to get started on.”

Plans are already in motion to break ground on the substation at 629 Good Hope Street, something the Blank’s are investing their own money into. That’s happening weeks away in July, then restoration on the building in the 300 block of South Sprigg will follow. That structure sits just adjacent to the substation property.

“Ultimately we want people to feel safe and secure, so we can hopefully recruit some restaurants to go in down there where people feel comfortable eating lunch taking in a workshop at the university, where they can park their car and walk to all this”

75-year-old photos show what the building on South Sprigg once looked like. Blank says he and his wife, Lisa plan to restore the buildings front elevation back to exactly the way it originally looked. He also showed us designs that include an area to establish connection between living space and businesses in the blocks that run from the Substation to the River Campus.

“We don’t want to see development go in that stagnates the river campus and growth with the success that they are having down there, our vision is development that compliments the River Campus, further the City has been very good at looking to upgrades to the streets the sidewalks the lighting so that this area once we start doing this can be the connecting piece with downtown”

Liz Haynes, Executive Director for Old Town Cape, believes the new district will connect and transform Old Town Cape.

“You know it takes a village it takes community leaders and developers that really want real change, and that are holding people accountable for change and that are doing the work,” Haynes says.

Blank is thankful for all the support and he is hoping for more. “I’ve had people tell me they can’t wait for this to take off”

Blank says the state put $11 Million in the 2025 budget to help revitalize the district.

He hopes that will stand.

As for the Substation, it will be staffed by two city officers. Groundbreaking is set for next month.