A company that has long done business in Wichita now will have an office here, too

UPDATED — Great Bend-based Benefit Management LLC is once again opening a Wichita office, but this time it will have much more of a presence in the community.

The company, which is a health plan administrator, previously had an office near 21st and Tyler for employees only.

The new office will be in the former RSM Marketing space at 400 S. Commerce — kind of the entrance to the Commerce Street Arts District.

RSM has moved to the nearby FireWorx building at 500 S. Topeka, which RSM partners Bruce Rowley and Mike Snyder are also partners in.

Benefit Management president Dallas Scrip said the Commerce building, which is known for its shipping containers that make private meeting spaces, works on a lot of levels for the company.

He said he likes that it’s centrally located and has easy access to the airport.

Scrip said it will be a place for clients, vendors and consulting partners to meet as well as a space for remote employees to gather and collaborate. Some of those workers are out of state, and Wichita is a closer driver than Great Bend.

As the world gets ready to move to a post-pandemic working atmosphere, Scrip said the ability for employees to collaborate will be important, and the new space is a great environment in which to do that.

“That location was designed perfectly for that,” Scrip said. “I’m a fan of it. I like the eclectic, industrial feel of it.”

Grant Glasgow of NAI Martens handled the deal for the space.

The 26-year-old Benefit Management also has a Leawood office that opened in 2015.

Scrip said in each of the cities where the company has offices, being part of the communities, particularly from a philanthropic standpoint, is important.

He said he’s especially impressed with Wichita’s development efforts and its cleanliness and amenities.

“Being in the middle of all of that was definitely enticing for us.”

This story was originally published January 20, 2021 at 1:29 PM.