Mr. M.K. Hage Jr.

Leader in education, real estate dies at 82 M.K. Hage Jr. 1925-2007

M.K. Hage Jr., an Austin community leader whose work in education and real estate have had an enduring impact on his hometown, suffered a heart attack Christmas night and died Thursday morning at Brackenridge Hospital. He was 82.

Hage, who was the principal at Mathews and Highland Park elementary schools, an Austin school board member and a real estate developer, was called a genius and a visionary by friends.

Hage developed the medical district around Seton Medical Center. His father, who immigrated to Austin from Lebanon, owned the property on Barton Springs Road where the iconic Armadillo World Headquarters held sway for a decade until M.K. Hage Jr. sold it in 1980. The sale ended an era in Austin music, but Armadillo founder Eddie Wilson credited Hage with helping the place survive as long as it did.

"M.K. can't help but go down as one of the major heroes in the Armadillo World Headquarters epic," Wilson said, adding that Hage's "tolerance in letting us get behind on the rent ... had an awful lot to do with us staying open."

But Hage also caused a furor in 1976 with a remark he made while serving as a founding board member of Austin Community College, prompting some minority groups to call for his ouster. He had said that an ACC committee should consist of a "black, a woman, a Mexican American and someone who knows what he's doing."

"He was a heck-raiser," said one of his daughters, Charlotte Hage Nacozy. Hage didn't worry about popularity, especially when he thought he was right, Nacozy and others said.

Hage opposed school desegregation, one of the more heated issues he faced during his 12 years on the Austin school board, which ended in 1980.

In 1973, he was among members who knocked on doors to win support to establish ACC.

"He used to call me at 6 in the morning when I was on the school board and he had some genius thought," said Carole Keeton Strayhorn, former state comptroller who served on both boards with Hage. "I had four little boys and was packing school lunches and he'd say, 'Turn off that disposal.' I had an extra long telephone cord because of M.K.

"He cared about every kid."

He donated money to the Seton Fund, the fundraising arm of the Seton Family of Hospitals.

"We call him the architect of the medical district," said Gene Attal, the fund's president.

Hage bought the land around 38th and 34th streets where the Seton Medical Center and office tower now sit. He built the tower in about 1970 and invited Seton, then located at 26th and Rio Grande streets, to move next door to the tower, Attal said. Hage also built Bailey Square day surgery center, one of the first of its kind in the nation, and the nearby Austin Doctor's Building, where he managed the property and worked until his death, Nacozy said.

"He was a big thinker," Attal said. "He came up with 10 terrible ideas, and the 11th one would be brilliant."

At the same time, "he was very humble and never tried to promote himself at all," said Dr. Bob Ellzey, a friend of Hage's and a retired radiologist who co-founded the Austin Radiological Association.

Hage loved riding horses and collecting art, some of which he donated to the University of Texas, where he earned a master's degree in educational administration, Nacozy said.

He also donated funds to UT to endow professorships in education and nursing.

His wife, Nettie Cecelia Shia Hage died in September 2006. In addition to Nacozy, he is survived by three other daughters, Patti Hage Hirsh of Austin, Robin Hage of Austin and Jennifer Hage Bond of Pacific Palisades, Calif.; and a sister, Christine Sidel of Santa Fe, N.M.

maroser@statesman.com; 445-3619

Additional material from staff writer W. Gardner Selby.