Two Wichita business fixtures make ‘very significant’ move to new downtown space

Billionaire Phil Ruffin already is a client of the Law Co. construction firm, which is building his Golden Circle casino, and now the Law Co. and its subsidiary, LK Architecture, are his clients as well.

After four decades in a building they designed and built, the companies are moving to new space at the Ruffin Building downtown at Douglas and Broadway.

“Phil is very, very excited about it,” said Jon Cyphert, who represents Ruffin. “They’re a great tenant, and they’re doing a great job for him over at the casino.”

Law Co. chairman Rich Kerschen said he appreciated Ruffin’s interest in the deal and Cyphert’s work on it.

“The thing that really impressed us is they really wanted us over there,” he said.

“They’ve been really great to work with.”

The companies will have just over 36,000 square feet. The Law Co. is taking space on the seventh floor, and LK Architecture will be on the eighth floor.

The Law Co., founded in 1959, just celebrated its 65th anniversary.

LK Architecture began around 1968.

Both companies have had some name changes along the way.

They designed and built the Riverview building at 345 N. Riverview St. in the early 1980s, then sold it nine years ago and have been leasing space since then.

In hindsight, Kerschen said, “It was probably the right time to sell it.”

He said the firms considered designing and building again, but he said, “It just doesn’t make economical sense now.”

Construction costs are so high, Kerschen said, they’d probably have to pay $10 more per square foot than what they’ll be paying at the Ruffin building.

He said there are a lot of perks for employees with the move.

“For our employees, it’s going to be nicer,” Kerschen said.

At the Ruffin building, there’s a gym, a restaurant, covered parking and a lot of restaurants and things happening close enough for employees to walk to.

Steve Martens of NAI Martens, who represented Law Co. and LK Architecture in the deal, said there is so much activity near the building, particularly with the Wichita Biomedical Campus coming in and everything that it is attracting.

“We looked at a lot of space across the city, but their hope was to stay downtown,” Martens said.

“We’ve always been downtown,” Kerschen said. “We’re supporters of the downtown area.”

Currently, LK Architecture is spread across four floors at the Riverview building, and Kerschen said there will be new efficiencies with the firm being on one floor at the new space.

Remodeling has started at the new building, and the firms should move in by the end of the year.

The Law Co. and LK Architecture “are two very solid, longtime business fixtures in the Wichita community, and to be at a location in a building they built, I think the move is very significant,” Martens said.

There is one little issue, though, and that’s that — like many people — Kerschen keeps calling the Ruffin Building the Bank IV building. That’s the business that the building was built for in 1974.

“Yeah, I do,” Kerschen said.

He said he’s working on it.

“I’ve been trying to intentionally call it the Ruffin Building.”