The process for buying Plumb Place could resolve soon.
United Way of the Flint Hills Chief Executive Officer Mickey Edwards says a prospective buyer has stepped forward, and Emporia Zoning Administrator Justin Givens has confirmed Eli Fowler has requested a zoning change for the property at 224 East Sixth from high-density residential to commercial. If the sale is approved by the court and the zoning change is approved by the city, Givens says the current plan is to use part of the Plumb house as apartments and part of it as temperature-controlled storage.
Edwards says the Plumb Place Steering Committee is pleased the home could see a new use.
Lyon County District Court has to approve the sale, and any zoning change has to work through the Emporia-Lyon County Metropolitan Area Planning Commission. That process could well start later at the Planning Commission’s monthly meeting March 15.
Edwards says the building is also on the National Register of Historic Places, so there is a separate process involved if major changes are planned for a building’s appearance, either inside or outside.
Plumb Place has been in the process of rebooting its services for better than a year after the initial entity closed its doors at the end of 2020, following the alleged theft of over $50,000 between 2014 and April 2017. No arrests were ever made due to insufficient evidence. The Steering Committee led the reboot process for most of last year before the Plumb Place Board of Directors was named last October.
The board, meanwhile, is awaiting the court’s decision on the sale before finalizing its plans for services through the revived agency. For almost a century, Plumb Place was available for women in crisis situations. Talk has focused on new building space and also serving women with children.
