Local Trends

Predictions for 2012: Economy moving in a positive direction

By Dan Voorhis - The Wichita Eagle

Published Thursday, Dec. 29, 2011, at 7:37 a.m.

A year ago, forecasters called for slow economic improvement in the year to come. We got that, along with an incredibly bumpy ride.

Looking out over 2012, experts are again calling for slow improvement in the local, national and global economy, barring a major disaster.

What’s new and improved next year starts with housing.

Local economist Malcolm Harris, a professor at Friends University, sees a rebound in housing sales, prices and construction as key to every recovery.

“You can’t have robust growth without the housing sector growing, and that is about to change,” he said.

Other positive factors include the continued expansion of commercial aircraft production at Spirit AeroSystems and its suppliers.

The region will also start to feel a boost this year from the early stages of a boom in oil exploration, driven in part by several years of high oil prices. At the same time, natural gas prices will likely remain low, benefiting local consumers and industries.

Harris cited potential drags on the local economy as: falling military spending, new regulations from the Environmental Protection Agency, possible higher costs associated with the new health care law, and possible further government job losses.

For jobs, the recovery will continue, but slowly, said experts.

Wichita area employment and unemployment has steadily improved during 2011. In November, the unemployment rate was 7.1 percent, down from 8.4 percent a year ago, with about 7,000 more people working, according to the Kansas Department of Labor.

Wichita State University’s Center for Economic Development and Business Research in October forecast a gain of 3,800 jobs in 2012. But that was before Boeing, with its 2,100 employees, announced it might pull out of Wichita; Hawker Beechcraft announced 400 layoffs; KGB closed its call center and cut 150 jobs, and Coleman moved its senior executives out of state and cut 80 jobs.

“Those are things you can’t forecast from economic data,” said Jeremy Hill, the center’s director.

But, Hill said that the improving national economy would go a long way toward countering those job losses.

Nationally, three dozen private, corporate and academic economists surveyed earlier this month expect the national economy to grow 2.4 percent next year, an improvement over the less than 2 percent growth in 2011. The first quarter or two will be slower, with most of that growth in the second half.

Although 21 of the surveyed economists listed Europe as a threat to the U.S. economy next year, overall, they see only an 18 percent chance that Europe’s debt troubles will cause a recession in the United States.

They are calling for the country to create 177,000 jobs a month in 2012, up from an average of 132,000 jobs a month in 2011 But that’s still not enough to push the unemployment rate down much from its current 8.6 percent rate.

Harris said he’s more optimistic than he has been in years.

“I see the U.S. economy continuing to expand and the Wichita economy continuing to expand.”

Commercial real estate

What happened in 2011

There were several significant commercial deals in 2011, the year of yogurt, grocery stores and mattresses, despite the continued tightness of credit: the Cabela’s complex at 21st and Greenwich, Menards on both sides of Wichita, Walmart Neighborhood Markets across town, 56,000 new square feet at New Market Square, the Cargill Innovation Center and the new Ambassador Hotel project downtown, Jay Maxwell’s multi-use retail and office complex in south Wichita. Still, the market remains under a cloud of financial uncertainty, with credit tight and many notes for recent investments coming due with uncertain refinancing prospects.

Opportunities in 2012

A big one to watch is 21st and Greenwich, home of Cabela’s, which is poised to be the city’s next new major intersection.

“Cabela’s opening is already attracting the attention of national retailers not in the market yet,” said April Reed, a leasing agent for Slawson Cos.

Downtown remains a target for development, with several retail projects expected in 2012. The area also needs more Class A office space.

“Kind of all of the above,” said Jerry Gray, Weigand’s commercial general manager. “Downtown obviously has some momentum. There was some exciting news in 2011 we’ll see activity on in 2012. Cabela’s will draw a lot of traffic that creates more interest. I think we’ll see the national and regional retailers learn to add more sites.”

Challenges in 2012

Repositioning should continue due to the competitive pressures, Reed said, if prime space continues to open up. Deals may be slow until retailers and investors see who the next president is.

The bottom line

“A good analogy for development is seed, time and harvest,” Reed said. “I think this year we’re in between a seed and time period. ... This year, with some additional watering and the fact there has been so much absorption of space in the market, we could be in a harvest mode in 2013.”

- Dan Voorhis

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Wichita developers building Family Dollar store in Greensburg

Wichita Business Journal - by Emily Behlmann
Date: Tuesday, August 16, 2011, 10:49am CDT

Family Dollar's earnings jumped 6.5% in the latest quarter.

A group of Wichita developers and contractors is planning to build a new Family Dollar store in Greensburg.

Nick Esterline and Brad Saville, ofLandmark Commercial Real Estate , are the developers on the project. The pair also has brought a Family Dollar to the intersection of 13th and Broadway in Wichita.

Tom Schmeidler of SBA Construction Inc., Wichita, is the general contractor on the project.

Tim Austin of Poe and Associates Inc., Wichita, is the civil engineer, and Brad Haedt, ICS Designs, Wichita, is the architect.

Saville said in a news release that the 8,000-square-foot store should be open by Jan. 1.

Wichita-area contractors and developers have been a part of rebuilding in Greensburg since a tornado destroyed much of the town in 2005. Several local contractors with LEED certifications, in particular, have helped Greensburg with its green building efforts.

Loan consortium will 'jump start' downtown projects

BY JERRY SIEBENMARK

The Wichita Eagle, Posted on Thu, Jun. 30, 2011

It's a rare sight to see a number of presidents and chief executives of some of the city's biggest banks in one room together, but that was what happened at a news conference this morning announcing the formation of a downtown loan consortium.

The consortium of 12 banks has committed $8 million in private funds to a joint loan program for qualifying downtown Wichita projects.

"This is going to add an additional jump start" to several downtown development projects already underway, said Charlie Chandler, chairman and CEO of Intrust Bank, who formally announced the consortium. "And we want to see lots of projects."

Chandler was but one of the bank bosses in attendance at the conference, held at the Wichita Area Association of Realtors building downtown and attended by 50 people.

Other top executives from the banks participating in the consortium: Clark and Clay Bastian of Fidelity Bank, J.V. Lentell of Intrust Bank, Tom Page of Emprise Bank, John Clevenger of Commerce Bank, Jim Faith of Sunflower Bank, Trish Minard of Southwest National Bank, Drayton Alldritt of Equity Bank, John Boyer of Kanza Bank and Andrea Scarpelli of Simmons First National Bank.

Bank of Kansas, Community Bank of Wichita and Legacy Bank also are members of the consortium.

Projects must already have a primary lender and project equity before applying to the consortium. Projects will be routed through the Wichita Downtown Development Corp.'s design resource center at 507 E. Douglas.

As loans are repaid, those funds will be put back into the consortium to fund additional projects.

The Smooth Expansion from Apartments to Extended-Stay Hotels

Headline News, Midwest, Property Management, Today's Headlines Jun 7, 2011

By Barbra Murray, Contributing Editor

Wichita, Kan.-In the commercial real estate world, the multifamily market and the lodging market are essentially two different animals, but they don't have to be. Nick Esterline, a Wichita, Kan.-based real estate owner and developer, has found that there are similarities between apartments and extended-stay hotels, that can allow owners of the former property type to easily make a foray into the latter sector.

Presently, Esterline, who is also a sales associate with Landmark Commercial Real Estate Inc., owns an interest in over 210,000 square feet of office space, more than 700 apartment units and two Value Place Hotels with an aggregate 210 suites. It was back in 2007 when, armed with his extensive knowledge of the multifamily market, he decided to expand into extended-stay. He saw the similarities between the two sectors. Long-term stay hotel rooms are, essentially, short-term stay apartments. Both environments provide clients with the opportunity to set up a home-a kitchen area, laundry facilities, long-term self-parking. And in terms of operations, neither requires the staff that would be necessary at traditional hotels, where more services are provided to clients.

Esterline opened his first Value Place extended-stay hotel, built from the ground-up, in Asheville, N.C., in 2008. The property soon hit its stride, and in 2009, Esterline decided to buy an existing Value Place property. "The timing couldn't have been more perfect," he tells MHN, jokingly. The recession had firmly taken hold by that point. However, all sarcasm aside, he says taking on the second property in the midst of a full-blown national financial crisis had its advantages. "We got an attractive price from the previous owner's lender so it made all the sense in the world to buy it. It was 65 cents on the dollar compared to replacement cost, and the bank was able to finance it for us."

Additionally, while business travel plummeted with the economic downturn, the number of families in sudden need of a temporary residence increased. "The Value Place brand is built on a simple model that addresses a basic need for a safe, clean and affordable living environment," he notes. "And our business model is built on the idea that these accommodations are needed in good times and bad. It's very much like a liquor store: when times are good, people go get drinks to celebrate and when times are bad, they get drinks to commiserate."

For Esterline and his Value Stay properties, during the recession, there were fewer business travelers, but more people who just needed a place to live-and fast. These included people who lost their homes to foreclosure and didn't have the cash up front necessary to rent an apartment, people who were in town to look for work and/or people who were experiencing hardships. "The resident profile may change, but the need is always there," he says. "Value Place has a spot in pretty much any economic climate."

So, the market exists, and for those in the apartment industry, getting into the extended-stay game is a natural progression in terms of operations. "You can run it like an apartment because you don't turn over rooms nearly as often as you would with a traditional hotel," Esterline says. "Our average stay is usually about 60 days. Also, because you don't turn over rooms nightly, you can afford to run a shorter staffing model."

However, it's not all wine and roses, and the issue of staffing is one example. "You can have a small staff, but it's critical that you have top-notch people because you can't afford staffing turnover. It's not like a full-service hotel where you have enough people to cover for an employee who doesn't show up. You have to make sure you don't have people who are going to walk out on you."

And there are other factors to keep in mind when broadening a portfolio to include extended-stay hotels. "You have to make sure you understand the market you're going into," he points out. "A few years ago, financing was so readily available that people were throwing up hotels everywhere. You have to really know your audience and really understand the market before you pull the trigger. You have to know who your residents are going to be."

But it's not just a strong knowledge of the local hotel sector that is essential; a firm grasp of the ins and outs of the neighborhood apartment market is also of great importance, and that is an area in which multifamily property owners have a distinct advantage. "You have to be competitive with apartment buildings. With the extended-stay model, utilities are all inclusive; residents don't have to put down a deposit on utilities, and they don't have to sign a lease. If you can put that model in and beat apartment rates, you will be successful; if not, you're going to struggle," he says.

For apartment owners interested in expanding horizons by journeying into the extended-stay arena, it appears there's no time like the present. "An extended-stay hotel like Value Place is designed efficiently and they're easy to construct. Financing continues to be challenging, but construction costs remain low enough that it's still a good time to enter the market," says Esterline.

Current statistics support his assertion. In 2010, demand as determined by revenue per available room, or RevPAR, in this sub-sector of the hotel market experienced a year-over-year increase of 10.3 percent, according to hospitality consulting and research firm The Highland Group. Furthermore, as demand increased, new construction declined drastically for the second consecutive year. The gap between supply and demand is narrowing quickly.

Esterline is certainly moving forward. "We've been on the hunt for more acquisitions of Value Place properties for sale," he says. "That's been our focus. Financing has been dry for new construction, so we haven't pursued that route lately. For acquisitions, we'll look anywhere in the country where the model works and it works everywhere, it seems."

Commercial building beginning to blossom

Posted on Thu, Mar. 24, 2011

BY BILL WILSONThe Wichita Eagle

After two years of recession-induced paralysis, new commercial building is beginning to spring up around Wichita.

And more should be on the way, according to national and local analysts, who say the markets are thawing nationally and in Wichita.

The projects are varied: Cargill's $14.7 million Innovation Center in downtown Wichita; new Menards stores on the east and west sides; the new Cabela's store at K-96 and Webb Road; new hotels, downtown and in Maize; Walmart Neighborhood Markets; continued Dillons remodeling; QuikTrip remodels and growth; senior housing; new restaurants.

It's no surprise to the experts: Trillions in investment capital dollars are emerging from the sidelines in search of any kind of return. And lenders are willing to pry loose of some cash for good commercial projects.

"While real estate is always a matter of location, commercial real estate has become more of a national market where if you see something happen in Oregon, it's likely people in Kansas will experience similar things," said Mark Dotzour, a former Wichitan who heads the Real Estate Center at Texas A&M University.

"Financing is such an integral part of any kind of real estate, and it's purely in a national arena. That's why real estate behavior is looking so common from one state to another state, because of its tie to financing."

The money is there, Dotzour said: Investors have accumulated capital and lenders are ready to get back into the market for good deals.

"Money is available for good deals at a lower interest rate with a higher loan amount," he said.

Life insurance companies, traditionally a big lender in the commercial markets, are one example, Dotzour said.

"A year ago, they were requiring a 35 percent down payment, then six months ago they'd go 70 percent loan to value," he said.

"Just recently, I've heard quotes from them at 77 to 78 percent loan to value at a little over 5 percent. That's an example of the rapid strides the lending market is making."

Curtis Gibson, who analyzes commercial trends for Grubb & Ellis/Martens Commercial Group in Wichita, said national retailers like Menards are ready to jump back into an active post-recession competition for market share.

"I think the nationals have been strategic planning and looking at expanding for the last two or three years, and Wichita usually follows the national economy, which seems to be picking up," he said.

"There are good deals to be had out there and good strategic locations are available. The nationals are after market share, and they feel the economy is on the way back."

Two local commercial brokers say signs of stability in Wichita's aviation manufacturing market are driving the renewed interest in building.

"It's attitude, more than anything else," said Rod Stewart, a director with Keller Williams Signature Partners' commercial division. "First, it's springtime. Second, we saved Hawker and got the tanker contract. People are beginning to think again that there's a future in Wichita."

Marlin Penner, president of NAI John T. Arnold Associates in Wichita, said there is more confidence that the worst of the recession is in the past.

"And then, companies structured to grow are having some fatigue with the recession," he said. "They've got cash and they've not been able to do what they typically do - grow - so they're just going out and doing it."

A player in the market

Former commercial builder Pat Ayars, now a senior housing developer for Oxford Holdings, jumped into the Wichita market this month with a $12 million project at NewMarket Square.

Ayars said he made the move because there's an unfilled niche in the Wichita senior care market, because financing was available and building costs are good.

"It's a nice time from a construction standpoint," Ayars said. "The costs of materials and labor are down. The volume of work out there makes the contractor and subs aggressive, and we wanted to enjoy the fruits of that opportunity."

Lending is available for good deals, and Oxford is proof, Ayars said.

"Really, the environment has returned to the more fundamental lending done 10 or 15 years ago," he said, "where adequate equity was required with a proper debt structure.

"Five to eight years ago, you could get very aggressive 95 percent lending. Today, the number's closer to 65 to 70 percent with the balance being equity. If you can prove project merit, investor capital is going to be available."

Some of that pent-up capital is sniffing around downtown Wichita, where city officials say they've been pleasantly surprised by the level of serious interest in eight "catalyst" sites they put on the market in January.

"We really didn't know what to expect, in terms of the number of people who might respond," said Scott Knebel, the city's downtown revitalization manager.

"But I'd say it's been pretty good. We've had a dozen people or so who are asking specific questions about specific locations, with formal responses due by the end of April."

Developers are inquiring about residential and commercial builds across downtown, said Jeff Fluhr, president of the Wichita Downtown Development Corp.

"People are looking at opportunities again, and I do believe that there are financial resources people have held on to that they're now beginning to consider investing."

Again, it's about financing. Fluhr said work continues on a revolving downtown loan fund that would be operated by a consortium of local lenders.

"We have a lot of ground to cover to get back to old levels, but there are people with pent-up capital beginning to look at the opportunities we have," he said.

The future

One of the city's biggest commercial lenders is bullish on Wichita's future.

"A year and a half ago, nobody wanted to invest in anything because we were all so uncertain about the economy," said Gary Schmitt, who oversees commercial and residential lending for Intrust Bank.

"The fact is, we haven't had any large layoffs recently, and employment is the whole thing driving our economy.

"The aircraft industry continues to employ a lot of people, and we've had some recent good news there, including the other day with the tanker. Employment is the key that will drive everything in Wichita."

Schmitt expects a broad range of commercial building to develop, slowly, across the city.

"There will be activity in good locations, activity all across the board from retail to warehouse facilities," he said. "Some owner-occupied, some investment properties.

"We're not going back soon to what we saw in the 2006 to 2008 era. It's still slower than that, but there is activity."

Local demand drew Cabela's

By Bill Wilson, The Wichita Eagle, January 26th, 2011

Fifty years ago, Dick Cabela just wanted to sell a few fishing flies.

Today, the $2.65 billion company that grew out of his fly collection is planning an 80,000-square-foot store in the Regency Lakes Shopping Center at 21st and Greenwich.

The reason? Wichitans voted with their wallets, said Cabela's CEO Tommy Millner.

"We build our stores where our customers live," Millner said. "We rely on them to tell us, through their support, where to go in the future."

Specifically, catalog and Internet sales figures, along with the company's strong brand recognition in the Wichita area, played a major role in the decision to build the company's second Kansas store, company spokeswoman Kristin Lauver said.

"Our goal is to better serve our customers in the Wichita area by combining our catalog and Internet capabilities with our outstanding in-store experience," she said.

The company typically operates only one retail store per state, so the Wichita move was "quite a milestone," Millner said. Sixteen of the 22 states in which Cabela's operates have only one store.

The Wichita store is scheduled to open in spring 2012.

Regency Lakes was targeted because of its proximity to major highways, Lauver said.

"Historically, Cabela's stores have drawn a lot of traffic from major highways, so convenience for these people is a factor," she said. "The growth in the area is also a positive, as was the support and cooperation we received from the city and the developer."

Roots of the company

The 6,300-employee company got its start at Cabela's kitchen table in 1961, a family touch that Dick Cabela's brother, co-founder Jim Cabela, says has never wavered.

Dick Cabela bought a collection of fishing flies in Chicago, then placed an ad in a Casper, Wyo., newspaper to sell some of them.

He and his wife, Mary, filled enough fly orders from around their kitchen table that it piqued the entrepreneur's interest.

So Dick Cabela began stocking other outdoor recreational items and launched a direct-mail campaign, with his mimeographed product lists.

A year later, the inventory grew to the point that a backyard warehouse. By 1964, the Cabela brothers moved the operations into the basement of the family furniture store in Chappell, Neb.

A year later, the business was incorporated and made the first of two moves into bigger Chappell buildings.

And in 1969, the company moved into a vacant four-story John Deere building near downtown Sidney, Neb., where it now occupies a 250,000-square-foot headquarters.

There's no thought of moving, Jim Cabela said.

"Our roots run deep here. Though we've been courted by other communities, we have never seriously considered relocating the company headquarters," Jim Cabela, who is vice chairman of the company's board of directors, said in an e-mail.

"Sidney has been our home since we moved from Chappell. This is where we got our start, where we experienced tremendous growth, and we have an exceptional employee base here, a family of knowledgeable employees. We would be giving up a lot if we moved from Sidney."

Outdoors first

Cabela's business model has never wavered either, Lauver said. The focus remains on "customers of all ages who share a passion for outdoor recreation," she said.

"We want to be a part of family traditions and the passing down of a rich outdoor heritage to future generations," Lauver said.

That focus also drives the company's hiring and employee retention, Lauver said.

"Many employees are attracted to Cabela's because it's more than a job, it is a lifestyle, an active outdoor lifestyle of hunting, fishing, camping, hiking, boating, wildlife-watching and so on," she said.

"They are here because it is a lifestyle they want to live and they find they are joining a family of people with the same passions."

Today, the foundation of the company is its catalog business; Cabela's produces almost 100 catalogs a year that go into all 50 states and 125 countries.

Cabela's operates 31 retail stores, with plans to open stores in Allen, Texas; Springfield, Ore.; and Edmonton, Canada; in addition to Wichita.

The company also has announced plans to build another store in Canada in 2012, though the location has not been named.

Council adopts downtown plan

By Rick Plumlee, The Wichita Eagle December 15, 2010

The Wichita City Council added its stamp of approval Tuesday to Project Downtown, the master plan for downtown revitalization for up to the next 20 years.

By a unanimous vote, the council adopted the plan. Mayor Carl Brewer said the plan provides a path to a vibrant downtown, which is needed to make Wichita more competitive in attracting businesses.

"I think we're being presented with a reasonable plan that will provide us with opportunities," Brewer said. "It's a matter of what we do with those opportunities.

"Are we going to say, ‘We don't think we can use them, why don't you go to Tulsa or Kansas City?'

According to the plan put together by Boston-based consultant Goody Clancy, there is a potential market demand of $500million in projects from private investors. An additional $100æmillion would be in public money, projected to be spent on such public-use areas as parking garages, parks and street landscaping.

Several council members noted that the plan doesn't require that the city spend that $100æmillion. "We will evaluate as we go forward," council member Jeff Longwell said.

Investment by the public would be driven by the private sector, said Jeff Fluhr, president of the Wichita Downtown Development Corp.

"We wouldn't be out in front of the private sector," Fluhr said. "Market demand is driving the plan."

A few residents spoke against the plan at the meeting. Some didn't think enough Wichita residents had input on the plan.

But Goody Clancy's David Dixon, the lead developer, said 150 to 200 meetings were held with small groups to get input and another 10 citywide meetings or events were conducted to solicit ideas. Council member Paul Gray didn't necessarily disagree with the critics who suggested the input participation was limited.

"But that's always true," he said. "There's a small number of people who participate in anything, including elections."

He and other council members said their district advisory boards supported the plan.

The plan targets the Douglas corridor, and specifically Union Station, as the first stop for retail and entertainment development.

Goody Clancy was paid $500,000 to develop the plan over the past year. The city kicked in $225,000 of that fee with the rest split between the downtown development corporation and the private sector. In December 2008, the council unanimously agreed to begin a downtown master plan.

The plan's blueprint is built on a business plan for marketbased redevelopment, including strict guidelines for public investments downtown. Last month, the Wichita-Sedgwick County Metropolitan Planning Commission voted unanimously to adopt the plan. The Sedgwick County Commission is scheduled to take up the plan after the first of the year, probably in February.

Others endorsing the plan since early November include the Wichita Area Association of Realtors, the Wichita Metro Chamber of Commerce, Go Wichita, Visioneering Wichita, the Board of Park Commissioners, Wichita Transit Advisory Board and Young Professionals of Wichita.

Commercial Real Estate Market Looking Up

By Bill Wilson, Thu, Dec. 02, 2010

Cautious optimism exists for Wichita's commercial real estate market in 2011.

    Local brokers expect the upcoming year - driven at least in part by downtown redevelopment - to be slightly better than 2010.

    There are several factors that will affect how the year goes: federal tax policy, the economy and the availability of commercial credit.

    "Succinctly, if there's one thing lacking in the general marketplace, it's confidence, and unfortunately it's political confidence," said Nestor Weigand, chairman and chief executive of J.P. Weigand & Sons.

    "No one can plan next year until they know what's going to happen with the tax laws."

    Once those tax issues are resolved, perhaps this month, then Dan Unruh, a partner at Wichita's InSite Real Estate Group, expects a more disciplined commercial marketplace.

    "I think investors, lenders and users of commercial real estate will take a much more disciplined approach to the purchase decisions or movements they make," Unruh said.

    "Caution will enter into the commercial equation again, and rational, careful decisionmaking will return to the playbook after an absence of a few years."

    Money is available from lenders - under the old rules of engagement, said Steve Martens, president of Grubb & Ellis/Martens Commercial Group.

    "I continue to see credit being available for investment purchases and owneroccupied property," Martens said.

    "You still need equity to put into the deal, but that's always been the case - with the exception of the last few years when everybody went crazy on how much they could borrow.

    "Now, we've returned more to the normal market of 75 to 80æpercent loan to value."

    Wichitans should be able to see some progress on the downtown redevelopment front in 2011, Martens said.

    "Certainly, one of the markets we should watch is downtown," he said. "The Goody Clancy redevelopment plan has sparked some interest in several projects."

    Unruh and Martens are optimistic about 2011.

    "I think that we have been able to endure wave upon wave of disappointing results from our corporations and wave upon wave of discouraging news from the standpoint of layoffs and the economy, and we're still here," Unruh said.

    "The challenge right now is at what point does the economy start back up again. We typically lag behind the national economy."

    People are going to continue to look for valuebased opportunities, Martens said.

    "And no one is going to have any interest in paying anywhere near too high a price for a property, he aid.

    "But if you want to use a property for your own business or lease to someone, the return an investor can receive are some of the highest available and some of the most secure."

    The economy, though, is the one unpredictable variable, Unruh said.

    "A concern is the stability in the financial markets and the stability in interest rates," he said. "The ability for the Fed to balance stimulating the economy at the risk of introducing inflation into the mix. It's a big challenge and a big concern."

Reach Bill Wilson at 316-268-6290 or bwilson@wichitaeagle.com.

BY BILL WILSON The Wichita Eagle

Downtown, diversified: Consultants envision variety of niche districts

By Bill Wilson, The Wichita Eagle Thu, Apr. 29, 2010

Goody Clancy officials brought their plan to revitalize downtown into a little clearer focus Wednesday night before about 225 people at the Scottish Rite center.

The Boston-based consultants see Wichita's downtown not as one large unit, but as a collection of distinctly-designed districts that should be walkable and linked by a collection of retail, residential and entertainment development.

"Downtown is an unparalleled opportunity to leverage economic growth and diversify the economy," said David Dixon, Goody Clancy's principal in charge of planning and urban design, before the meeting.

The audience voted for the top downtown priorities before and during the meeting, then viewed a detailed map-based presentation, including key walking corridors and what the consultants call "a string of pearls" - landmarks like the Arkansas River, the city's museums and Lawrence-Dumont Stadium - that create themes of attraction.

The group will return with a draft plan for a June 14 public meeting with the final downtown redevelopment plan expected this fall.

The final fall plan will include recommendations to tie together what the consultants see as a downtown that's "the sum of its parts," Dixon said, a place that more than 3 million people visit annually.

Recommendations will range from business ideas to improved downtown transit, including a link from the governmental center on Main to Via Christi on St. Francis. An improved seven-day version of the city's Q transit bus system is one idea.

Identifying districts

The diverse downtown districts Goody Clancy identified include Old Town, Old Town South, Old Town West, the Arena, Commerce Street Arts, Renaissance Square, the governmental center, the core and the Arkansas River district.

Key centerpieces of the identified districts are the Main Street and Douglas corridors, the latter broken down into the historic district near Old Town; the core near Main; the river district; and the Delano district.

Douglas could be "transformed" by action on key downtown sites, said Goody Clancy's Ben Carlson, including the new city library, Century II and WaterWalk.

Carlson called for more effective use of the riverfront near WaterWalk through more activities and river access.

Goody Clancy sees a busy first 10 years of market-driven redevelopment in those districts, including the potential for:

* 1,500 to 1,600 housing units, 30 percent in rehabbed office or industrial buildings.

"There are all kinds of opportunities for housing downtown," Carlson said.

* Between 125,000 and 175,000 square feet of targeted niche retail stores.

* 400,000 to 480,000 square feet of office space in six to eight new buildings.

* 350 to 475 new hotel rooms, in one full-service hotel with a link to Century II and two smaller hotels, including Jim Korroch's planned Fairfield Inn.

All of the projected redevelopment has one goal, Dixon said: to diversify Wichita's economy by attracting residents who bring different professions and skill sets to downtown.

"The number one agenda item for every region is to diversify its economy," Dixon said Wednesday afternoon before the presentation.

"Economies are diversified around people in most cases. Retaining and attracting bright, educated people to make their economic lives in your region is critical."

Those people want to live, work and play in the same area, according to demographics, Dixon said.

And they want to live in "a region that allows them to live the kind of lifestyle that expresses who they are: lower-cost housing, places with a strong sense of community where people spend time with each other, places with many choices to shop, transit choices and a mix of other intellectually stimulating people to interact in the work they want to do," he said.

Those market-driven downtown specialty shops, Dixon said, will supplement Wichita's suburban retailers rather than supplant them, a fear of private Wichita developers.

"We're talking about a bunch of niches," he said. "There's no point in reproducing suburbia. We're adding to the region what suburbia doesn't provide."

Consultant Sarah Woodworth, an economics expert, told the audience that "not all downtown properties are going to be a good candidate for public-private financing." Governments must weigh the short-term and long-term impacts of their investments on the broader goals for downtown, she said.

'Key to the future'

It was a message that resonated with the crowd.

"I think it's all been positive, and I am glad that they're continually updating what they're working on based on input, feedback and ideas rather than just talking to civic leaders and, 'Surprise! Here it is,' " said Clayton Pearson of Wichita.

"They're showing the public their ideas as they develop instead of completely when they're done, and it makes it easier to absorb as they come up with the final plan."

Wichita banker Jim Faith said he was pleased to see downtown rise in importance to the public.

"I've been working in downtown Wichita for most of the last 26 years and over that time I've seen a steady decline in the vibrancy of the core area,'' said Faith, president of Sunflower Bank. "I am excited to see a coordinated effort between the government, the city and private business to focus on revitalizing the area.

"It's a key to the future for the city and the region."

Reach Bill Wilson at 316-268-6290 or bwilson@wichitaeagle.com.

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