The President of Emporia State University is receiving an early Christmas present as construction on the Breidenthal University House begins.
The house will be the residence of ESU’s current and future presidents. Shane Shivley, president of the ESU Foundation and vice president for University Advancement, says all Regents institutions need on-campus housing for their president. However, the previous house was not adequate to represent ESU and was in need of an upgrade.
Foundation board members then visited other Kansas universities, including Pittsburg State and Washburn, to study their presidential living arrangements.
The new Breidenthal House, named for the late George Breidenthal, an avid ESU supporter, will feature equal space for presidential living space and event hosting. Once built, it will be over 5,500 square feet and cost around $1.5 million. Another $300,000 has been built into the budget for ongoing maintenance. All funds come from private donations, none from the school itself.
Two Emporia companies are involved in the construction of Breidenthal House. Emporia architect Dave Emig and Mitchell-Markowitz Construction are vitally involved in the construction. Shivley expresses the importance of having local companies involved.
All funds were gathered by the end of July and site work for the project began just a few months ago. Construction is set to be finished one year from this time.
Shivley credited the Foundation Board of Trustees for taking a leading role in the research and planning for the new facility.
