The final steps in the planning stages of bringing QuikTrip to Emporia are now complete.
As part of their regular action meeting Wednesday morning, Emporia City Commissioners adopted a series of resolutions approving various items related to the Flint Hills Crossings development in western Emporia. This included the final plat for the development, right-of-way easements, a nearly $2.7 million improvement contract for Bruce Davis Construction and $2 million in public infrastructure improvements which will be reimbursed through Community Improvement Development dollars once the QuikTrip facility is up and running.
Wednesday’s action has been nearly a year in the making and follows several hurdles namely concerns from the Kansas Department of Transportation regarding traffic flow around the development. City Manager Trey Cocking stated earlier this year that KDOT had developed new right-of-way rules that did not match up with the developer’s vision for the project.
Ultimately it was decided a new roundabout north of the US Highway 50 roundabout which Cocking expects will see high volumes of traffic given QuikTrip’s national reputation.
Work on the new roundabout is scheduled to begin in November with main site work to get underway once immediate infrastructure is in place. An exact timeline for the project is not currently available, however, the Emporia location is set to be one of the largest spanning around 8,200 square feet.
The Emporia store is of QuikTrip’s remote travel location program which has been underway for the last three years with 26 remote locations constructed across 17 states.
In other business Wednesday, commissioners also held a public hearing and later approved the issuance of $3.5 million worth of industrial revenue bonds (IRB) for the 502 Lofts project in downtown Emporia. The annexation of property along the Cottonwood River just south of Emporia and just west of Kansas Highway 99 and the appointments of Jessica Reth and Renee Hively to the city’s Homelessness Advisory Board also gained approval.
During their study session, commissioners held their latest round of discussions on the Vision First economic development study, details of which are online at KVOE.com.
The Emporia City Commission will next convene on Wednesday, November 6 at 11 am inside of the Municipal Courtroom at White Auditorium.
