Since 1937 the Campbell Mattress building has stood at 18 S. Hanover St. but due to the fact that it is now vacant and has fallen into disrepair Campbell Mattress has decided to move on and donate the lot to Cape Girardeau’s Community Counseling Center. The hope is with this donation the CCC can better help the community.
“The building is vacant and we don't want anyone breaking in and getting hurt and putting a lawsuit against the company. We decided to donate the building to someone who would put it to good use,” operation manager Fred Knox said.
The CCC is currently considering combining two of their facilities at the Campbell Mattress location. The Louis E. Masterman and Ridgeway Center are the two residential treatment facilities that will be integrated at the new location. Both the Louis E. Masterman Center and the Ridgeway Center are rehabilitation homes. Masterman is for men while the Ridgeway Center is for woman.
“We believe that this is going to sit very well with our plans to just kind of enhance the quality of services we provide. So we’re grateful to the community for their support and we’re certainly grateful to Campbell Mattress,” Community Counseling Center executive director John Hudak said.
According Hudak, an architect inspected the building and determined the structure would need to be demolished rather than working with what was already there. When the paperwork is finalized Hudak believes within 60 days the demolition will occur and then the process of mapping out a plan will begin.
The project carries an estimated cost of up to $1.5 million can could take up to a year before any sign of completion.
“The structure that’s currently in place and the buildings associated with that will be taken down, the lot cleared. And then for us to proceed there’s a whole variety of programs that we’re going to have to gain approval before we proceed,” Hudak said.