Wichita mayor in talks with at least three groups to move to former downtown library

Plans for Wichita’s longtime downtown library are far from finalized, but Mayor Jeff Longwell has been in talks with several organizations about possibly relocating there.

“We’re excited about the possibility,” said KPTS, Channel 8, president and CEO Victor Hogstrom. “It’s a beautiful building.”

Longwell also has talked with the Kansas African American Museum and the Museum of World Treasures about locating there.

“And I think he has some other ideas,” said John D’Angelo, the city’s manager of arts & cultural services.

“These are just preliminary discussions. . . . It’s really preliminary.”

Ted Ayres, president of the African American Museum’s board, said there have been only brief talks with the museum so far.

“We are, of course, very happy to be recognized as an important part of the community and that people are thinking about us and our future,” he said. “There’s just a lot of things that have to fall in place and a lot of information that has to be gathered.”

No one with the Museum of World Treasures could be reached for comment late Thursday afternoon.

Longwell didn’t return a call for comment.

“I think he’s just trying to get some ideas to move forward,” D’Angelo said.

The library was built in 1967 and received a national design award from the American Institute of Architects the next year..

It is known for its Brutalist style of Midcentury Modern design, which some laud and others don’t look on as fondly.

“Modern” in an architectural sense basically means “simple and open.” “Brutalist” is a style involving raw, exposed concrete in bold geometric shapes, often erected in the 1950s and 1960s.

The library closed last year when the new Advanced Learning Library — a $38 million downtown branch at Second and McLean Boulevard — opened in June.

D’Angelo said the old library remains “a great asset.”

“I haven’t heard anybody talk about wanting to tear it down at this point.”

He said what happens at the library depends a lot on community input and redevelopment at Century II and along the Arkansas River.

Repurposing or selling the building are options, D’Angelo said.

“It’s probably too early for that decision to be made.”

Still, there’s a lot of possible plans already for KPTS locating on the third floor of the building.

Hogstrom said Longwell contacted him a couple of times about the public television station moving from its 10,000 square feet on 21st Street just east of Waco to the third floor’s approximately 38,000 square feet.

“We need more space to grow,” Hogstrom said. The new space would allow for “some wonderful and exciting services for the community.”

That includes a large new studio.

“In the studio, we want to have live audiences for certain programs and specials,” Hogstrom said. “We want to be able to invite the community for town hall televised meetings on important topics.”

He wants new programming for children, too.

“I’d also like to see a kids arts and talent program. You know, something like ‘American Idol’ but for central Kansas.”

Hogstrom said he has another meeting with Longwell scheduled for next week.

D’Angelo said there are numerous factors to consider, including the cost of repurposing the building. That would include factoring in possible asbestos abatement and complying with current ADA codes, the cost of which has not been determined.

But none of that dampens Hogstrom’s enthusiasm for a move to the space.

He said KPTS has had three moves in its 49-year history.

“This time if we were to move, it would be the last time for a long, long time,” he said. “If we were to get it, the goal is to be there for at least 100 years.”

Contributing: Tim Potter

This story was originally published March 1, 2019 at 5:00 AM.