A search for tenants or buyers continues for a shopping center development approved earlier this year by the city commission. Meanwhile, the property remains for sale.
The Web site for Block and Company Inc., Realtors, of Kansas City, Mo., lists the property for sale for $9.3 million or $3.25 per square foot.
The land is located southwest of West 18th Avenue and Graphic Arts Road. The Kansas Turnpike, West Highway 50 and Interstate 35 lie to the west and south of the 71-acre tract.
The Emporia City Commission approved the development in a November meeting, on recommendation from the Emporia Lyon County Metropolitan Area Planning Commission. Owners of the property — Emporia DeBauge Family Investments, LP, and CSJD, LLC — requested zoning of the property be changed from A-L Agricultural District to C-3, General Commercial District.
At the planning commission meeting in October 2006, proponents said the property was a prime location for a shopping center, with about 70,000 vehicles passing daily on the turnpike.
“For this city to have that opportunity ... to be like flypaper to get people to stop in Emporia, spend the money, whether it’s on clothes or cars or lumber or gas... This town has a wonderful opportunity here,” Larry DeBauge said at the planning commission meeting. “I think we’ve got a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. We can double our retail sales if we do a good enough job and plan it right.”
The property remains under contract to developer Demetrios Dellaportas of Chicago and simultaneously is for sale.
Tony J. DeTommaso, sales agent with Block, explained that the nature of the development process, because of contractual requirements, typically involves offering property for sale throughout the development period.
“It’s always for sale,” DeTommaso said. “It was for sale before it went under contract with (Dellaportas).”
Dellaportas, as master developer for the site, will have to meet contractual requirements within stated periods of time.
“There’s all kinds of time frames within the contract,” DeTommaso said. “It has not closed, so therefore it has not been purchased. ... Everything has to fall into place. Something happens and this happens, or something in the contract is waived because this has happened.”
An environmental study will need to be done within a proscribed period of time, he said as an example.
“Once that time has gone, they can’t object to that,” he said.
DeTommaso said that some companies may want to lease space in the proposed shopping center; other companies may want to buy the “pad” of land that a store or restaurant will occupy.
“Those are the kind of people that we need to know about,” he said. “We are selling the land. The primary buyer for this land — and like 99 percent — will be Demetrios. Nobody else can really do anything right now.”
In the interim, everyone is working to get the property developed, he said, and it remains for sale.
“Nothing’s concrete until the sun is out and it’s baking,” DeTommaso said.
daveedailey (anonymous) says...
And just how much acerage are we talking? I doubt any one will buy because look at what they decided the Debauge land was worth!!
June 5, 2007 at 10:32 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Quack (anonymous) says...
Read the article-
#1 71 acres (Paragraph 3)
#2 This is the DeBauge Tract (Paragraph 4)
June 5, 2007 at 10:45 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
daveedailey (anonymous) says...
Sorry, I missed that part about the acreage. Yes, it makes me angry especiallly because of the settlement they got. It jacked the realestate prices up when there is nobody to buy or come in here. We want more shopping without having to give all newcomers tax breaks that we as Lyon county residents do not get! And the "this has to happen and that has to happen" is ridiculous. Wake up and read between the lines. Dah!!!!!!!!!
June 5, 2007 at 2:44 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )