Carrie Hansen knew she might be in trouble when a new bar opened across the street from her apartment building.

“I like to go out — that’s why I live so close to Welch. But now the bars are creeping closer and closer, which is a good thing. But it can be bad when I know I should be doing other things, like studying,” said Hansen, senior in finance, who lives at 313 Stanton Ave.

Club 8, 216 Stanton Ave., a new bar featuring various gaming options, is one of several businesses new to the area just east of the heart of Campustown that is being leased from Ev Cochrane and Associates.

Russ McCullough, a partner of Ev Cochrane and Associates and Gateway Real Estate and lecturer in economics, said the new businesses were always part of the plan.

“The buildings are part of the [Downtown Campustown Service Center] zoning plan; the commercial leases have been part of the plan of the area for the last 30 years,” McCullough said.

Katie Kriener, part owner of Club 8, said the location of the new establishment came before the decision of what kind of business it would be.

“We knew that we wanted to start something on Stanton; we just didn’t know whether we wanted to put in a coffee shop, a bar or a restaurant, but we finally decided on this,” said Kriener, who also works for Ev Cochrane and Associates.

She said that business at Club 8 has gone pretty much as she expected.

“We intended for Club 8 to be a place to meet friends before going out to places like Sips or Paddy’s. We have some slow nights, but, for the most part, I’ve been pretty happy,” Kriener said.

Lisa Porter, assistant manager at Lava Java coffee shop, 200 Stanton Ave., said she, too, has been happy with business so far.

“We started remodeling this summer and have been open for around three months,” Porter said. “Business had been pretty good, sometimes even overwhelming. We have our morning regulars, but business did go down quite a bit during Thanksgiving break, and we have hardly any business on Saturdays or Sundays.”

The newest Stanton Avenue business, Legend’s American Grill, is located on the seventh floor of Legacy Tower, 119 Stanton Ave.

McCullough said the idea for Legend’s came after seeing the view from the top of Legacy Tower and pursuing the idea of a business that could capitalize on the view of Iowa State.

Beth Kjergaard, senior in accounting, lives on the sixth floor of the building. She said the restaurant is a great addition.

“I love the fact that there is a restaurant and a bar within 20 feet of my apartment,” Kjergaard said.

In addition to the existing businesses of Lava Java, Club 8, and Legend’s, ICS Internet Consulting Services, 215 Stanton Ave., is also leased from Ev Cochrane and Associates, and a flower shop has just recently leased a space on the bottom floor of Legacy Tower, McCullough said.