The Regional Development Association of East Central Kansas will be recommending that a major development project in Emporia continue to move forward.
During the RDA Board of Directors monthly meeting Friday morning, the board unanimously approved a recommendation to the Emporia City Commission for the approval of incentives including Community Improvement District and Tax Increment Financing for the travel plaza near the roundabout connecting US Highway 50 to Interstate 35 and the Kansas Turnpike. The facility, proposed by Brown Stone 3 Development will be a nearly 35-acre project which may bring restaurants, hotels, an RV park and a strip mall to Emporia.
RDA Board Chairman Jon Geitz says the board’s action Friday will kickstart a roughly four-month process to continue the project’s progression.
Geitz went on to say incentives such as CID and TIF are fundamental pieces to ensuring success for development projects such as the travel plaza. Word on when the item will come before city commissioners for approval is pending.
In other business, the board also approved the RDA’s fiscal year 2022 budget request of $350,000. RDA President Kent Heerman says the request is flat from the 2021 allocation request.
The RDA board will reconvene for its monthly meeting in May inside the Trussler Business Center.
