PITTSBURG The names of doctors and other professionals who served Pittsburg in a bygone era still mark the frosted, textured glass panels on doors to upstairs rooms in the old National Bank Building at the intersection of Fourth and Broadway.
In August, Pittsburg State University students will claim the rooms behind those doors, merging a piece of history with their future and the future of the city and university.
The old bank building in downtown Pittsburg is one of four historic buildings being remodeled for student housing and commercial use. Called Block 22, the $18 million project is a joint effort between PSU, the City of Pitts-burg and a private developer.
Block 22 could become an example for other communities, like Iola, that seek creative partnerships to address concerns with housing shortages, business recruitment and dilapidated downtown buildings.
We wanted to create a model for town-gown relations, Shawn Naccarato, chief strategy officer for the University Strategic Initiatives department at PSU and one of the leaders on the project, said.
The university and the city need to act more like a married couple as opposed to roommates.
THE CITY and PSUs courtship dates back more than 100 years. After the city was platted and incorporated in 1879, four businessmen promised to each construct a building in Block 22 at Fourth and Broadway. The intersection became the economic backbone of the city.
In 1903, the city offered use of a former school building located just one block away, at Fifth and Pine, for the first classes of the institution that became Pittsburg State University.
Fast forward 100 years or so, to a 2012 partnership between the city and PSU to build a new indoor track facility. Led by Pittsburg City Administrator Daron Hall, the city invested $7 million into the $13 million project. The facility serves as both an athletic complex and a convention center.
Thats actually the fire through which that partnership was tested, Naccarato, who served as PSUs director of government communications at the time, said.
In 2015, city administrator Hall asked PSU administrators if they would be willing to take their relationship to a deeper level. Hall shared his concerns about downtown Pitts-burg, specifically four of its oldest buildings that were in varying degrees of disrepair.
If the buildings couldnt be saved, it not only would cost the city at least $1 million to demolish them, but also would leave a significant hole in downtown.
Enter developer Mat Burton, CEO of Vecino Group of Springfield, Mo.
Burton, a PSU graduate, helped city leaders and PSU officials envision a project that would provide small apartments in the upstairs areas of the buildings, with commercial space on the first floors.
Block 22 was born.
THE PROJECT encountered no problems, just opportunities, Naccarato joked. Certainly, there were many challenges in tackling such a unique renovation with three major investors.
Ive often said its strategic serendipity. Youll succeed if youre committed to the right things, if you want to grow and give access and hope, and if youre focused on the relationship in deliberate ways, Naccarato said.
