Print edition: 
A prominent Wichita commercial developer has tied up a key piece of land near Mulvane’s Kansas Star Casino as his partnership group studies the land’s potential for casino-related business.
Colby Sandlian and his partners have put a contract on 15.25 acres of Kansas Turnpike frontage land on the east side of the highway just across from the casino site at Exit 33. The land once was held by Harrah’s as it planned a possible Sumner County casino. The amount of earnest money behind the contract and its duration were not disclosed.
Sandlian was noncommittal Wednesday about whether his group would actually close the deal, saying the contract “ties the land up so we can take a look at the possibilities there.” Possibilities include hotels, restaurants, retail and entertainment venues.
Sandlian, 80, is one of the city’s most accomplished real estate professionals. He is regarded as one of the founders of the self-storage industry and one of the city’s key West Kellogg developers.
“It’s an interest more than anything,” he said. “We’re gathering information and analyzing things.
“There’s a lot of research involved, and we’re going to sit and brainstorm what would fit on this land and who the people are who could get it done. … It has a nice feel to it, so we decided we’d tie the land up for a period of time.”
Officials at Peninsula Gaming, the Dubuque, Iowa-based company building the Kansas Star, said they welcome any and all developers in the region.
“We welcome it, and we expect an increase in service industry business around the casino because it becomes a destination,” said Carrie Tedore, a Peninsula spokeswoman. “Because of the hundreds of thousands of people we plan to draw, we know the casino helps support local businesses in Sumner and Sedgwick County. We have built rural projects before, and we do see businesses developing around the casino.”
Peninsula Gaming is building a $260 million ranch-style casino, events center and hotel complex just off the Kansas Turnpike, scheduled to open early next year.
