Southeast Missouri State University sold 247 acres of land to the city of Cape Girardeau on Wednesday for $6 million.The city plans to use the area as an industrial park.
The land at I-55 and LaSalle Avenue was originally slated to be the university’s technology village. But now houses Martin Farm and much of the university’s cattle.
At the news conference, university president Ken Dobbins announced that all proceeds from the sale would go to the agriculture department.
“The proceeds will be used for agriculture, to pay for the farm that we now have to replace, what is now the Martin Farm, and now is going to be part of the city,” Dobbins said. “Also, there will probably be about three or four million dollars that will be available to put into endowment for the operation of the [agriculture] department and for scholarships.”
Dobbins said the purchase could offer benefits for Southeast students in other departments.
“The businesses that are going to come and be attracted to this piece of property, hopefully we’re going to have agreements and relationships as a university for internships and also a place where our students, when they graduate, can go and work and stay in Cape Girardeau,” Dobbins said.
Cape Girardeau mayor Harry Rediger has expressed concern in the past that the city does not have suitable land for industry. He believes the city can now attract a variety of new businesses that will further promote regional economic development.
“It is ideally seated for larger acreage distribution centers with larger job creation,” Rediger said. “I can see the five to ten acre, a smaller business development. And then in the frontage row, probably some retail type opportunities.”
While there is currently no set timeline for the industrial park’s construction, Mayor Rediger expects to see interest from several businesses in the “very near future.”
The city will make annual payments on the land over the next twelve years using revenue from the Isle of Capri Casino.