City of Cape Girardeau - DREAM Community

In the fall of 2006, Governor Blunt designated the City of Cape Girardeau as a DREAM community. Governor Blunt created the DREAM Initiative program (Downtown Revitalization and Economic Assistance for Missouri) to help communities strengthen their downtowns. Since the designation as a DREAM Community (2006) stakeholders of Old Town Cape Inc., Cape Girardeau Area Chamber of Commerce, and the City of Cape Girardeau along with Missouri Department of Economic Development, Missouri Department of Finance Board, the Missouri Housing Development Commission and consultants from PGAV (Peckham Guyton Albers &Viets, Inc.) have worked together on gathering information that will guide the development of a downtown strategic plan.

Since Cape’s designation in fall of 2006, the City of Cape Girardeau and Old Town Cape have adopted the Strategic Plan for downtown Cape Girardeau.

The goal of the DREAM Initiative was to identify the opportunities and constraints in the existing downtown and develop a plan for future improvements, growth and sustainability. The DREAM Initiative began with a wide-ranging assessment of existing conditions and functions of Downtown Cape Girardeau. The assessments were used as the basis for the various tasks of the plan, as listed below, and are what ultimately end with the Downtown Strategic Plan. The Downtown Strategic Plan serves as a supplement to the City of Cape Girardeau's adopted Comprehensive Plan.

Since the designation, Cape Girardeau’s downtown (Old Town Cape District) has seen an increase in State technical assistance and grant funds. The DREAM designation has brought in over 2.5 million in grants.

While the designation has been extremely beneficial to the downtown, it would not be possible without the partnership between Old Town Cape Inc., Cape Girardeau Area Chamber of Commerce, and the City of Cape Girardeau. By working collaboratively, these organizations have brought resources together to make the program successful. While work on the DREAM program is expected to result in a completed downtown strategic plan this summer (2009), the partnership plans to continue working together throughout the implantation phase in order to maintain the positive direction of downtown revitalization.

$400,000 – Community Block Grant Funds for Fountain Street Extension Project

$185,000 – MODOT Enhancement Funds for Fountain Street Extension Project

$250,000 – State tax credits for the Discovery Playhouse Children’s Museum

$102,000 – Home Repair Opportunity (HeRO) Program funds to repair 5 homes in the DREAM Initiative Boundaries

$5,000 – Missouri Arts Council Art Builds Communities Grant funds for Storytelling Festival (Money was specifically earmarked for DREAM communities)

$5,000 – Missouri Arts Council DREAM Art Builds Communities Grant funds for Tunes at Twilight

$600,000 – State and Federal tax credits from the Missouri Housing Development Commission for the private renovation of the Schultz School into affordable senior housing

$250,000 – Community Development Block Grant Funds for Schultz School into affordable senior housing

$70,000 – Missouri Heritage Properties Program grant funds to help replace the HVAC system in Common Pleas Courthouse

$370,800 – Community Development Block Grant Funds for Riverfront Parking and Public Restroom Facility

$126,235 – Preserve America Funds (although not DREAM funds, Federal designation in which DREAM was leveraged for grant funds)

$228,000 – Redevelopment planning funds for the entire DREAM process

Total $2,592,035 received for Projects