Latest local news, weather and high school sports for Tri-State area

HANNIBAL, MO -- Downtown revitalization is on most city's list of priorities.  Hannibal is no different. But as you walk through the downtown, you'll notice many storefronts are empty shells of businesses that have long since moved on.

We wondered why so much space was empty.

"Mainly because this is a snapshot in time," said George Walley, executive director of Northeast Missouri Development .  "Not only have times changed but one thing that hasn't changed is that business occupancies are cyclical. You have to separate the questions. Do you have a deteriorating block or deteriorating downtown or are you just experiencing business cycles?"

Walley says it's easy to be concerned while driving through town. But he believes Hannibal is in a positive business cycle right now. In fact, he says property values downtown are going up.

Walley says one of the best examples of this business cycle is what happened at the Huck Finn Shopping Center. Several years ago many of these storefronts were empty and now they are bustling with activity.

Should Hannibal residents be worried?

"No, they shouldn't," said Walley. "It's not a positive to have a vacant building but from a business cycle point of view, I'm not worried. That doesn't mean the merchant with a store next to a building who's concerned doesn't have a reason to be concerned, but what they don't see is these buildings are being inquired about."

Gary Broughton is a real estate broker whose company lists this old soda shop across from the Mark Twain Hotel. He says inquiries about old buildings like this are up as many people look to Hannibal to fill a niche market downtown. He says this is an especially exciting time for Hannibal as the Mark Twain Hotel reopens this spring as a senior housing complex.

Broughton said, "With the Mark Twain Hotel renovations project and with additional seniors, we're going to need new services downtown.  So what we see as empty storefronts, we see as opportunities."

While looking into this story, we heard about plans for a new restaurant and a couple specialty grocery stores to be located in some currently empty buildings in downtown Hannibal.

Another way Hannibal plans to keep its downtown alive is by utilizing Missouri Gov. Matt Blunt's DREAM initiative (Downtown Revitalization and Economic Assistance for Missouri).   Hannibal is one of only 10 communities chosen for DREAM. The program provides Hannibal with a professional planning team which evaluates the city's needs and untapped resources.  It also brings key state organizations together to help the city meet its goals. The state should be sending its recommendations to Hannibal in the next few weeks.