Fort Scott Properties, LLC to unveil new project

The owners of a Mound City-based property management company will show off the fruits of their labor later this month in Fort Scott.

Fort Scott Properties, LLC owners Pat Carney and Michael Wunsch have scheduled a ribbon cutting and open house for their recently renovated building on the northwest corner of Wall and Main streets. The event is open to the public, who will have a chance to view the building before tenants move into the apartments, Carney said.

"We want to get people excited about what we have right here in the downtown area, so they'll move here instead of somewhere else," he said.

Late last year, the company began hiring local professionals to gut and remodel the vacated building to transform it into apartments and business space. That process is still under way, but the job is closer to being completed, Carney said.

"We're moving right along," he said. "We're trying to pick up some steam here."

The ribbon cutting and open house are planned for the afternoon of March 30, although a time has not been set, Carney said. The first of six apartments on the building's third floor is slated to be completed and occupied by April 1, he said. The plan is to have at least two of the apartments ready for occupancy by April 15 and one apartment ready to rent every two weeks or so after that, Carney said.

The company's ultimate goal is to convert old buildings in the area into profitable facilities and places of interest to the community. The three businessmen share experience in home remodeling, and became friends through their interests in real estate. Carney owns a video production company in Lenexa.

They chose Fort Scott as the site of their development projects because of the town's close proximity to Mound City, because of the beauty of the downtown Fort Scott area, as Carney said, and because of Fort Scott's potential for expansion and growth.

Their first project is the old Citizens National Bank building in downtown Fort Scott, which is still in good condition. Over the last century or so, the building has also housed several other businesses, including a beauty salon, an attorney's office, and a gifts and cosmetics store.

Fort Scott city officials were helpful in getting the building inspected and in hiring local trade professionals to complete work inside the building, Carney said. Several area youth have also donated labor to the project. Carney and his associates are looking into possible state and federal grants that would help continue to finance the project.

The building's new apartments will contain several modern upgrades, including new appliances, new toilet fixtures, sinks and bathtubs. A new plumbing and smoke alarm system will be installed throughout the building. The second floor is being remodeled into office space, while the first floor will continue to be used for retail space. A couple of interested businesses have looked into moving their operations into the first floor, but that option has been "put on hold for now," Carney said.

The company is looking at remodeling other local buildings in the future, he said.