Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Thorngate plan approved, Commander Premier must pay rent

CAPE GIRARDEAU, MO (KRCU) - The Cape Girardeau City Council voted Tuesday night to approve the Thorngate Redevelopment Plan which will allow Blair Industries to expand operations to the currently empty building at 1507 Independence Street.

Blair Industries currently operates within the area and their expansion is something that mayor Harry Rediger believes is important.

“History has proven that the majority of new development and new jobs are created by our friends; existing businesses, existing industries, and existing manufacturers,” Rediger said.

The city will grant the business’s owner a real-estate tax abatement for 10 years as incentive to help alleviate start up costs of their expansion. The majority of the abatement will be from the school system, something that Rediger says will be outweighed by new jobs and new residents brought to the community.

The redevelopment should create more than 30 new jobs in Cape Girardeau.

It also appears that Commander Premier’s days at the Cape Girardeau Regional Airport could be numbered. City Manager Scott Meyer explained that the city has given the struggling aircraft manufacturer 60 days to pay the $1.2 million it owes the city in rent. Commander Premier has not made a rent payment for over three years. Failure to pay the rent will lead to eviction.

In other business, the council scheduled a sound experiment which will help them construct a new noise ordinance in downtown Cape Girardeau. Members of the council will review noise levels by placing sound systems in several downtown businesses to help decide the size and scale of the new ordinance.

The noise test will take place on the evening of March 8 in the downtown area.

Matthew Caldwell, KRCU

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