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Every Monday at 6:42 & 8:42 a.m. and 4:18 p.m., Rob Gilligan provides information on what's happening in the area of regional development in Southeast Missouri. Rob is the President and CEO of the Cape Chamber.Support for Let's Talk Business comes from Todt Roofing & Construction providing roofing and construction solutions for home exteriors with offices in Cape Girardeau, Poplar Bluff, and soon Southern Illinois. More information is at todtroofing.com.

Let's Talk Business: Construction and Growth Season

Spring is here and that means construction season is getting ready to move into full gear. With both private and public projects going on all around the region there is a lot of activity to watch for.

Driving around Cape Girardeau you can see many great development projects well underway. Two hotels, a new Fairfield Inn near I-55 and the Century Casino Hotel are quickly going up with goals of opening in the next 6 – 12 months. A third hotel project has also been announced for development near the sportsplex.

Building preservation and restoration projects in the downtown district continue to show progress, The Buckner-Ragsdale building is in the midst of a total remodel -- creating a couple new event spaces in the community. Additional projects like the Esquire Theatre are close to getting started.

From the public investment side, The City of Cape Girardeau recently broke ground on a new modern airport terminal, held a ribbon cutting at the new Jefferson Pool and have several street improvement projects slated for the summer. Cape County has recently awarded contracts for the jail expansion project, the emergency management center and roadwork projects.

As we look out across the region the new Ranken Training Facility in Perryville is almost finished, the Carlisle plant in Sikeston is nearing completion and some great downtown redevelopment projects in both communities are underway.

With so much construction and activity going on, the future seems bright for southeast Missouri.

Rob is the President and CEO of the Cape Chamber.