Upon the death of his father, Ev Cochrane Jr. sees an uncertain future for the family-owned nature of the real estate empire his father built.

Ev Cochrane Sr., 75, died Aug. 10 of acute leukemia.

Cochrane was well-known throughout the community for decades since he established Ev Cochrane and Associates, a realty group that now owns and manages more than 700 units in the Ames area.

Cochrane Jr., is the current president of Ev Cochrane and Associates, 200 Stanton Ave. He said that in the future, the business may not stay in the family because his family is so small. However, Cochrane said he was confident in the staff the company has.

The death of the senior Cochrane will likely not affect the day-to-day operations of the company, Cochrane Jr. said.

With Russ McCullough, co-owner of the business and chief economist, as his right-hand man, the company is doing well, and a large staff has the business thriving, he said.

“Part of [Cochrane Sr.’s] talent was being able to build a great team to carry on the legacy and go on into the future,” McCullough said.

Jim Cornwell, co-owner of First Property Management, 258 Hyland Ave., said he was confident Ev Cochrane and Associates would continue its success.

“They’ve built up their assets, so they’ll keep it going,” Cornwell said.

Cochrane moved to Ames in the late 1960s and began selling insurance to students.

He bought land in west Ames and slowly started working himself into the real estate business.

In the early 1980s, Cochrane built the first four-bedroom apartments in Ames at 218 Stanton Ave., and the business took off.

“I remember stories of people saying, ‘He paid too much for that land,’ but then in the end it always seemed to work out for him,” Cornwell said. “He accomplished a lot.”

McCullough said Cochrane was a master negotiator and a visionary with the ability to anticipate where new growth in Ames would be. McCullough said he always respected Cochrane for his abilities to communicate and lead.

When Cochrane built Mortensen Manor and Celtic Manor near South Dakota Avenue it was a dirt road, McCullough said, and it’s now a well-developed area of the community.

Cochrane actively worked at the business he built until he no longer could because of his illness, McCullough said.

“He always talked about retiring but held his work to close to his heart to actually do it. It was his passion,” McCullough said.