There’s a new tenant for the Icehouse, and it’s a familiar one to downtown Wichita

Sunflower Bank regional president Mark Stauffer has been wanting to enhance the bank’s presence in Wichita, and he thinks he’s found a way to do that with a move to the Icehouse.

That’s Occidental Management’s 1901 building at 155 and 165 S. Rock Island between Union Station and the Cargill building.

The 27,000-square-foot building, which Occidental expanded by another 12,000 square feet, most recently has been used for storage. It started as a hardware warehouse and then in 1909 began storing ice, too.

Stauffer said the historical nature of the Icehouse fits the bank, which started in Salina in 1892, with a nod to its history.

Also, Stauffer said, “It reflects who we are today with the more modernized look of that building.”

He said the move, which will happen in July, also is a reflection of the bank’s growth in the market.

“That’s a really, really exciting thing for us.”

The bank, which also is in New Mexico, Colorado, Texas, Missouri and Arizona, has $5 billion in assets.

It merged with Colorado-based Strategic Growth Bank in 2017 and moved its headquarters to Denver, though the majority of its operational team is still in Salina and Overland Park.

Sunflower Bank’s main Wichita branch has been at 201 N. Main St. The retail portion of the branch is closing this week. Customers will have to use branches in northeast and southeast Wichita for traditional retail locations.

Stauffer said with an enhanced online platform during the pandemic, “People got used to doing online banking more than coming into our banks . . . so we saw a lot less traffic like a lot of banks in the market.”

The main branch has had a commercial focus, and that division is what is moving to the Icehouse. It will remain open on Main Street until the move.

Along with commercial banking, there will be wealth management services, including appointment-only private banking.

In 2020, Sunflower Bank had the largest amount of SBA 7(a) loans in the Kansas District. It was second in the El Paso District, fourth in the Arizona District and ninth in the Colorado District.

The bank is taking just over 4,000 square feet at the Icehouse.

There’s about 6,000 square feet left to lease on the first floor and about 4,500 on the second floor.

Alloy Architecture, which redesigned the building, is taking part of the second-floor space.

Occidental president Chad Stafford said the firm plans to take the third floor for its new headquarters but is open to someone else taking it if anyone is interested.

Stafford, who handled the Sunflower deal, said the move will help the bank reposition itself in the market.

He said companies trying to attract and retain employees look for the best environments for them to work.

However, Stafford said that “without question” the pandemic affected leasing at the Icehouse as it did at most other buildings in Wichita and elsewhere.

“I think I speak . . . for any landlord in this city that had deals rolling in one form or another.”

He said things are gearing up again, and there’s light at the end of the pandemic tunnel.

Though he’s feeling positive, Stafford said, “Lets pray it’s not a train”

This story was originally published April 6, 2021 at 4:47 AM.