The urban way of life may be coming to downtown Emporia, as developers announced this morning their intentions to build a three story, limestone and brick, mixed use building on the 1100 block of Commercial Street between Wheat State Pizza and the Quick Lube gas station. The Shepherd family, the French family and the Haag family have partnered to initiate the project.

“When people live there, have coffee, have breakfast… it’s (all) just right there – it’s exciting to think that this might be part of what’s coming back to Emporia,” said partner Joyce French.

The community initiated development has been in the works for more than a year and will consist of 10, one-bedroom apartments located on the top two floors, one ADA handicap unit and three to four possible commercial and retail areas on the ground floor.

The developers have met with engineers and architects and plan to remove a house that currently sits on the lot where the proposed building will be located. The building will occupy approximately 10,000 sq. feet, and a parking lot with 24 to 25 stalls will be located in the back for residential and commercial tenants. Partner Cory Haag said that the parking stalls along that block are currently parallel, but they will possibly change to angled parking.

“We’d like to get going and break ground in early spring (2011)… the city’s been very helpful in working with us so far, and we feel that that’s a doable time frame,” Haag said.

Haag said the project will probably be completed by March or April 2012.

But there remain a few key issues to be resolved before the development can get underway. Haag said the biggest concern that needs to be addressed is the dirt and gravel alley on the block, but the developers have asked the city to address the issue, since many of the alleys on Commercial Street are asphalt.

Another obstacle is the conditional use permit that will allow the ground floor ADA apartment. The developers will meet with the Emporia City Planning Commission at 7 p.m., Dec. 21 to seek the permit, and if approved, they will meet with the City Commission in January.

Emporia Main Street Director Casey Woods said the Main Street association fully supports the conditional use permit and the upgrades to the alley.

“We’re excited that we’ve got to this point – this will not only benefit just that area, but there is a tremendous amount of benefit here for ESU,” Woods said.

Woods said that a survey taken last year showed that housing was one aspect students and faculty would like to see more of in the downtown area near campus, and there has also been an interest in certain types of restaurants and retail, especially clothing retail.

Woods called the project a “marketer’s dream.”

Currently, the proposed name for the building is Kellogg Plaza & Lofts. Developer Harry Haag said that the idea was to illuminate the historical aspect of Emporia State, since Lyman Kellogg was the first president of the university, then called Kansas State Normal School.

Mary Shepherd said she has received an enthusiastic response from the Kellogg family.

“We’re excited to work with Cory again and to bring in other individuals (who) are doing fantastic things for the community and (who) recognize the opportunities downtown,” Woods said.

Kenzie Templeton/The Bulletin

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HAAG

For many Emporia State students, Cory Haag is the face of real estate.

Haag, who manages more than 20 apartment complexes here in Emporia, may be the first person students meet when they hunt for a place to live off-campus.

“We treat the place where someone lives as though we were going to live there ourselves,” Haag said. “Not only do we try to provide the highest quality rentals, but also the highest quality servicing. If a tenant does have an issue with anything within their apartment, neighbor issues, or anything like that, we try to handle it.”

Haag earned his bachelor’s degree in business management with a minor in economics from ESU in 2002. A native of Olpe, he has lived in Emporia for the last 15 years.

“Cory is my landlord over at Sundance Apartments and he’s been outstanding,” said Jason Bosch, associate director for student involvement in Greek Life. “He was a big help to me when I first moved here two years ago… I was trying to get into Sundance but it wasn’t open yet, and so he was really good at working with me and was able to get me in over at Prairie Sage Apartments for a couple months while they were finishing Sundance. He’s just been outstanding to work with.”

Haag, who said he inherited his trade from his father, comes from a family of ESU graduates.

“My dad is still heavily involved with me and works with me,” Haag said. “He was instrumental in teaching me (about real estate). He graduated from Emporia State, my mom did, my sister did… going to school here is kind of a family deal that we’re all part of. There’s a lot of pride in going to Emporia State, and you really see that in a lot of the small communities around Emporia.”

Haag said he believes ESU provides many opportunities for student and faculty interaction.

“Emporia State is a great learning environment, and I often see tenants say the same thing,” Haag said. “We like Emporia State because if you want to get involved, you can get involved, and if you need the one-on-one (interaction), you can have it… That is the case at bigger universities, but it is much harder when you’re dealing with large numbers of students per class. Emporia State is the perfect size. We’re all connected here at Emporia.”

Rob Catlett, assistant professor of economics and one of Haag’s former professors at ESU, said that Haag was a notable student.

“Cory was a student who took his education seriously,” Catlett said. “He was a student who came to class and worked hard and paid attention and applied himself, and it doesn’t surprise me a bit that he’s doing really well now. That look in his eyes that was there was not one of, ‘I wish I was somewhere else.’ He was actually absorbing what we were teaching and he really applied himself.”

Haag also said he is a firm believer in the value of multicultural experiences.

“The university has done a great job bringing in very diverse faculty members and bringing in students from Finland, from Japan, from Korea, from China, from Saudi Arabia,” Haag said. “And that’s really the most important thing in business these days – having a knowledge of what’s going on internationally. So that’s a neat thing to see, this bringing together of all these different people. It’s also neat to bring all these people together in apartments and have a diverse, eclectic group of tenants that get to know each other and learn from each other.”

Haag said that he employs many student workers who help him maintain his real estate business.

“A lot of the maintenance and upkeep of the properties is done by Emporia State students,” Haag said. “I have a couple of individuals that help me lease and show apartments … When a student comes here, they need school, but they also need to work and learn valuable skills. We’ve been fortunate to have all different majors working for us, but we’ve had a lot of business majors too, that can see how the business is run, and they’re able to take that knowledge to another level.

“It’s neat to see them work with me for three or four years and then go out and get the job.”

For Haag, the most challenging part of working in real estate is juggling the steady flow of incoming and outgoing tenants in the late spring and early summer.

“When you get into April, May, June, there’s just a lot of ‘shuffle’,” Haag said. “There’s a lot of tenants moving that don’t know what they’re doing or where they’re going to be moving and it just takes a lot of work to get everyone moved and to make sure that they’re happy when they move in.

“That’s probably the most challenging part, but it’s also very rewarding too – meeting all the new people and developing all the new friendships. That’s one of the fortunate things about being near a university like this. There’s never a dull moment.”

Like many other business owners, Haag said he has been affected by the economic recession.

“I think it affects everyone,” Haag said. “Even though we’re in the Midwest and people say, ‘oh, we don’t feel it as much,’ we all feel it, every business feels it to some degree… Business is a little bit slower. Some people aren’t sure if they have enough money to send their children to college.

“So instead of it being real busy this time of year, it’s a little bit slower. But there’s still a very big draw… When it’s all said and done, there’s still a lot of students coming to Emporia State.”

Haag said that attitude plays an important role in running a successful business during times of financial instability.

“There’s a lot of opportunities in markets like this,” Haag said. “Like anything else in life, it’s all in how you look at things. If everyone stays positive and works hard, good things will happen.”

Haag also has advice for students who want to pursue business opportunities of their own.

“In whatever you do, focus and work hard,” Haag said. “It takes a lot of work these days to get a job, keep a job, and be promoted up or rewarded for work… Even though things might be scary, whether it’s getting a new job or tackling a new task within your job, give it everything you have and you’ll come out stronger. Get out there, focus and try hard in everything you do. Give 110 percent in everything. It pays off.

Ali Nashatizadeh/The Bulletin

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