Burlington’s ‘Mr. Downtown’ sparks renovation renaissance
BURLINGTON — Gene Merry is a Renaissance man.
His strong hands hint of years handling lumber. The ease with which he speaks about financial transactions is evidence of his banking background. And as he walks along the streets of town with a wave here and a word there to passersby, he carries the air of being a friend — and a leader.
Merry came to this small Kansas town a little more than 30 years ago. Today, he’s the reason it’s thriving.
Merry has overseen the renovation of 26 downtown dwellings in Burlington. He’s sold 10 and has leases for the others.
“There’s not many left to do,” he said of the town’s 100-year-old buildings. “But I’ve got my eye on one or two more.”
The result is a bustling town of 3,000 whose buildings are occupied with vendors of goods and many services.
“The secret is to get people in the habit of coming to town for some kind of service such as a dentist appointment, a dance class or a haircut, and then they’ll stay for a while to shop,” Merry said from the comfy environs of Everything’s Fabulous, a downtown store that sells household and fashion items as well as sumptuous pumpkin cappuccinos from a cafe tucked in a corner.
The spacious store began as Haight’s True Value hardware. A balcony along two walls once stored inventory; today, it is display space.
THE CORE of downtown Burlington was built in the 1870s. In his more than 20 years of doing restoration, Merry has delighted in discoveries behind sagging wallpaper, yellowed linoleum and lowered ceilings.
As the “Pressed Metal Ceiling Capital in the World,” many of Burlington’s buildings have high, ornate ceilings. To restore them requires removing years of grime, filling cracks and seams, sealing the tiles and then painting them — always white. “I like the reflective nature of white,” Merry said, taking pride in the ceilings’ now pristine condition.
In the Avalon Salon the ceiling is bordered with a wheat shocker motif, the emblem of Wichita State University. The salon was originally a farmers’ produce company where eggs, milk and cream were sold. Theresa Biggs purchased the building from Merry in 2005.
Merry, 56, grew up in Olpe, one of three sons of a railroad worker who managed rental houses on the side.
“Every day Dad would leave a list of chores needed to be done on the houses as he left for his job at the Sante Fe Railway in Kansas City,” Merry said.
His older brother tended to electrical and plumbing duties; his younger did the carpentry work, “and I painted,” he said. The lessons in construction helped in a later career in the lumberyard as well as when assessing a building’s condition.
His biggest thrill in renovation is twofold. One is what it does for the buildings themselves.
“I can remember being able to see light through the roof of a building, it was so shot. Today it’s tight as a drum. To see such a transformation — that’s satisfying.”
The biggest satisfaction, however, is what the renovations have done for the community. “We’ve created and retained over 30 jobs downtown,” he said, including the locals he hires to help with restorations.
JONI AND VICKI Stiner are also beneficiaries of Merry’s efforts.
For seven years, the mother-daughter team operated Stiner Embroidery Works from Joni’s 1,200 square-foot basement.
The bulk of their work was large orders for city and state governments.
When Merry discovered their operation, “I was not going to leave their house until they took the key to a place I had. I just wanted them to tape out where they could put things.”
The Stiners went to what had originally had been a hardware store and saw how 2,500 feet could allow them to expand and also to market their wares locally.
“Our business has grown by at least 30 percent by having a downtown location,” Vicki Stiner said. And whereas before they concentrated on things like shirts for road construction workers and police departments, now they’re creating fun things like T-shirts with “bling,” zipper pulls and buttons. “About 50 percent of our business is now local,” Joni Stiner said.
PEOPLE doubted Merry’s efforts when he first began.
“Some people said I was crazy when I started doing this,” but, “I prefer to listen to those with a positive attitude.”
Merry is also a big believer in pay-it-forward. He often does the financing for potential buyers or those who want to rent. Eight years as a banker with Home Savings in Burlington laid the groundwork for such practices.
The bank initially brought Merry to Burlington. Over the years, he and his wife, Barabara, invested in real estate.
“We began in rentals, just like my dad,” Merry said.
Merry left the bank and purchased a lumberyard which worked in nicely with his goal to build multi-family dwellings. From there he branched into single-family homes before beginning on the downtown restorations. Along the way, he also began a mini-storage business.
All in all, he oversaw the development or renovation of 26 homes in Burlington, a number not lost on him in that it matches the current number of downtown buildings he has renovated.
Merry sold his lumberyard and stoarge business in the latter-1980s.
He created Merry Investments, which also deals in oil production in the LeRoy area. He also is an investor in three Sleep Inn motels in Kansas and Oklahoma.
He works out of an old Carnegie Library, which he also restored.
Having the wherewithal to act as private lender allows Merry to do a lot of business “by instinct,” he said. “I’m willing to take a chance on people.”
For those who lease his buildings, he prefers to go month by month.
“If someone wants out, that’s fine. I’ve got a waiting list of people who want in,” he said.
He frequently allows clients “to get in the door with a low down payment.” For some, he’s provided 100 percent financing.
One such person is Barbara Hoch with her rubber stamp and scrapbooking supply store, Creative Images.
“Over 10 years, she never missed a payment,” Merry said. Since that time Hoch has purchased the store, a former grocery store, from Merry and in fact, followed his lead and purchased a couple of buildings herself and had them renovated.
That’s exactly what Merry hopes will happen more and more.
“I’d like to sell to all the lessees,” he said. “I want them to stay in business. In return, I want that business loyalty to Burlington.”
He noted that in Burlington some young entrepreneurs, “in their 20s,” are also expressing interest in turning around older buildings in town. “That’s great,” he said. “My passion has been to save small town America.”
