CHARTER FACILITY IN CAPE NEARS COMPLETION

Charter Communications continues to make a substantial investment in the Southeast Missouri area including a new facility in Six Thirty Industrial Park in Cape Girardeau.   The communication giant, owned by technology legend, Paul Allen is nearing completion of a new technical center that promises to upgrade the companies cable service.   The new signal processing will also allow Charter to enter into the high speed internet and eventually even local phone service business in the region. 

Tom Kelsey, broker for Lorimont Place, Ltd. who sold the acreage to the communication firm said the newest Six Thirty Industrial Park business is located west of the Dana Plant on Corporate Circle. The new operation, called in the industry as the "head end" would be used to receive digital communications and then re-distribute them throughout the entire Southeast Missouri region that the company services.

Charter Communications announced earlier this year that it will spend in excess of $3.5 billion to construct more than 500 buildings nationally that will serve as electronic nerve centers for Charter’s digital network. It appears as if Cape Girardeau will benefit from that expansion with the Charter’s project nearing completion here.

Charter purchased the former Falcon Cable network some time ago and has begun to upgrade the entire cable system to the newest digital technology. Kelsey said his real estate firm has also leased office and warehouse space to some of Charter’s contractors who are involved in the extensive upgrade projects in the area. Charter’s location in the industrial park will be the 18^th company to locate there.