Despite ‘bump in the road,’ Park City’s $500M Champtown is ‘full speed ahead’

Part of the $500 million Champtown development in Park City has hit what developer Matt Baty called a “bump in the road,” but he said that won’t affect its success over the next three years.

“This project is full speed ahead.”

There are plenty of signs that point to that being the case:

The state is finalizing potentially more than $150 million in Sales Tax and Revenue, or STAR, bonds to bolster the development, which it and developers predict will bring in more than two million visitors annually.

Construction of the first two almost-10,000-square-foot retail centers within the development is scheduled to begin in the next 30 days.

And Champtown developers have an agreement with an Arizona partner to operate a multimillion-dollar aquarium within a sprawling boardwalk entertainment district.

However, residents of Park City and beyond couldn’t be blamed if they might be skeptical. After all, Champtown sits at the former Echo Hills Golf Course site where other developers previously were unsuccessful at establishing retail and entertainment to transform the corridor.

It’s also not far down I-135 from the failed Wild West World theme park that went bankrupt shortly after opening in 2007.

Now, the main financier of eight baseball and softball fields adjacent to Champtown has pulled out of project. Though separate developments, the Champtown partners are behind the fields and expect them to be a chief driver for people to visit the area and patronize Champtown.

Also, the Texas company that already started building the fields has filed an almost $4 million lien against the Champtown partners for unpaid work, and the work has stopped.

Baty said it’s not an insurmountable situation. In fact, he said there are some benefits that come with the delay.

“There’s been a bump in the road as far as a delay in the timeline,” he said of building the fields.

“Obviously, our goal when we set out was to try to get the complex open by May (or) June of this year.”

He said a delay of at least a couple of months due to winter weather already meant that wasn’t going to happen.

“It’s allowed us to refocus and not be rushed on a timeline.”

Park City administrator Sean Fox also mentioned the weather and said he’s not concerned about the delay.

“We already knew that it was going to be a very aggressive schedule.”

Fox said he was not aware of the lien but that he is fully confident in the project.

“Everything is on track as proposed but just not as planned.”

Critical property

Several years ago, Lange Real Estate represented someone who wanted to sell the former Echo Hills land.

The company approached Fox with some ideas for the land, including industrial uses and some more typical retail suggestions.

“It certainly wasn’t instantly what it has become,” said Jeff Lange, managing partner at Lange Cos.

“As we talked to Sean about this listing . . . he then expressed to us how critical the property is.”

Lange began bringing in partners with expertise in various areas.

Initially, there were six partners. Now there are four: Baty; Ryan Mills, Lange’s son-in-law and a developer for Lange Real Estate; Sean Crawford, a young entrepreneur and private developer; and Lange Real Estate as a minority partner.

The idea of STAR bonds eventually came up.

STAR bonds are issued through a state program meant to be used for tourist attractions that draw new money to Kansas.

When STAR bonds projects work as intended, the new sales tax revenue generated by a development allows cities to make annual payments to the state and retire debt over the life of the bonds. Basically, it’s a way for cities to get new attractions without asking taxpayers to pay for them up front.

Baty pointed to the STAR bonds district at K-96 and Greenwich, which helped fund the Stryker Sports Complex and the successful Greenwich Place development across the street.

That development has attracted local and national retailers and restaurants — some, such as REI and Dave & Buster’s, that hadn’t been in the market previously — and is home to the Wichita Sports Forum that Baty manages.

There’s consistent traffic in the area due to sports, Baty said, which has helped drive more traffic with the retailers and restaurants at Greenwich Place.

The Champtown development is a roughly 160-acre property bounded by 53rd Street North on the south end, 61st Street North on the north end, I-135 on the east side and Chisholm Creek on the west.

Prior to a public forum on the STAR bonds in early 2023, Baty and Fox both cautioned that it’s a long process to create a STAR bonds district.

A couple of Goddard officials appeared at the meeting to express their concerns that a new Park City development could hurt the existing STAR bonds district in Goddard, which includes ball fields.

The Park City Council voted unanimously to approve the district.

Baty said the state should have an update on the bonds in the next 30 to 60 days.

Lange said the state is “really excited about what we’re doing here as it will be one of their premier STAR bonds projects ultimately.”

‘A massive project’

In addition to navigating politics — “You’ve got to have some thick skin,” Baty said — it’s an understatement to say the size of the development is daunting.

“It’s a massive project,” he said.

Still, Baty said, “We’re limited on the amount of square footage there, so we’ve got to get it right from the get-go.”

He said some attractions, such as the aquarium, a Butterfly Wonderland and a multicombat sports facility, are certain to be part of the development even as all of their details still are being worked out.

Other things, such as a bowling alley, also still will be part of Champtown, though developers are now in negotiations with a Missouri company on a larger entertainment complex than simply the bowling alley that Baty’s father, Ray Baty, had planned.

Ray Baty still will be involved, but with a possible larger deal, bowling could be part of a larger indoor-outdoor complex similar to something like Chicken N Pickle — minus the pickleball.

Then there are other ideas, including possible theaters and rides such as a Ferris wheel and a carousel, that are possibilities but remain far from certain.

So how do the Champtown partners proceed with so many facets of the project at once?

“First of all, it starts with a great partner in the city of Park City,” Baty said. “They’ve rolled out the red carpet and made things really easy.”

He compared development to a game of dominoes.

“You have to line that domino up. One falls, they all fall.”

The ball fields collectively are the first domino, Baty said.

“It’s crucial for us to get that off the ground and rolling.”

Play ball?

So what happened with the backer behind the ball fields?

Baty said the person is someone who used to have ties with Hellas Construction, a Texas company with deep experience in building ball fields and other athletic surfaces.

“They started the project in good faith because they believe in the project as well,” Baty said.

He said the backer had his reasons for dropping out, but Baty said it has nothing to do with the viability of the $30 million project, which is predicted to bring in more than 1.2 million visitors annually.

Baty said there will be all kinds of amenities for fans, including shade, electronic statistics to see, say, how hard a pitcher is throwing, and cameras to show the action to fans who can’t attend.

“I don’t think there’s anything like it, certainly in the Midwest,” Baty said.

He said each field is designed to account for Kansas wind and sun.

“Sometimes fields are more cookie-cutter.”

Hellas filed a lien for the dirt work it already had done, and Baty said it will pick the work back up again when negotiations are finalized for a new backer.

He said there are “several proposals and options in front of us right now.”

“Our goal is to try to hit 2025 fall ball if everything falls in line with the financing,” Baty said. “Spring 2026 would be the worst-case scenario.”

No one with Hellas returned a call for comment.

Lange said what’s happening with the ball fields is “not terribly impactful.”

“There’s always a Plan A, B and C, and so we’re just moving on to plan B.”

Baty said Hellas filed the lien to make sure the company is first in line to get paid.

“They’re still going to be a great partner for the project.”

The national Prep Baseball Report is the third-party operator for the fields and is still on board, Baty said.

He said PBR is known for its focus on student athletes looking to play at a higher level.

“Most A-level teams here have to travel outside of Wichita to get equal games,” Baty said.

Now, he said, the fields “can host regional- and national-type exposure right in our backyard, which hasn’t been the case for quite some time.”

Sparking interest

As Lange pointed out, a lot of work has already happened, even if it’s not obvious to everyone who passes by Champtown.

Dirt work has taken place for the development.

“That was really making the phone ring,” Lange said of other interested parties. “So much of the landscape was changed dramatically.”

Also, there are two new access roads by Park City Arena and Champtown.

“Those were two major accomplishments just to help traffic flow happen,” Lange said.

And shortly, there will be a flurry of retail and restaurant announcements.

“So many things don’t start rising out of the ground until after they’re planned and put together,” Lange said.

Two retail centers, each 9,800 square feet, will be built in front of Atwoods facing I-135.

“It’s going to be a really good mix,” Baty said of what’s going in the centers.

There’s a deal for a fast food restaurant and a fast-casual restaurant so far, though Baty said he can’t name them yet.

He said he also has a nondisclosure agreement with a build-to-suit national retailer — one that’s already in the Wichita area — to open further south within Champtown near 53rd Street North. Baty expects to break ground on that within a couple of months.

He said he’s also in talks with a grocer — again, one that’s already in the Wichita market — though they’re not as far along.

Just as Champtown needs the ball fields to drive traffic, Baty said retail and restaurants are essential to the development.

“Ultimately, that’s what funds STAR bonds.”

‘Big plans’

The initial designs for the aquarium have been completed, but there are a lot of decisions left to be made, such as what the aquarium’s theme will be and what types of sea life it will have.

The aquarium operator is Scottsdale-based OdySea Aquarium.

“That was very crucial for us,” Baty said. “They have big plans for this market.”

Lange said the heart of Champtown is the aquarium.

“This is not going to be a typical aquarium. It’s so much more than that.”

By selecting OdySea, he said, Champtown isn’t simply checking a box to have an aquarium.

“They think about the way they do additional features in the aquarium.”

That includes the Butterfly Wonderland and a boardwalk with other businesses.

“It’s not a single thing,” Lange said. “It’s much more than that. That’s one of the things that makes them extra special.”

Wichita’s Shelden Architecture is working with Massachusetts-based CambridgeSeven, which helped design Equity Bank Park’s museum, on the aquarium and boardwalk design.

“It’s been a yearlong process for us,” Baty said.

Designs include how different attractions will flow along the boardwalk.

“Shelden has been a huge piece of the pie for us,” Baty said.

Baty wants to see the aquarium happen in three years. Lange said four years is a conservative estimate.

The Butterfly Wonderland and combat sports facility will be ready before then, Baty said.

He said the overall idea is to appeal to a variety of visitors, including individuals, groups, parties and corporate events.

“We’re looking at ways to take our concepts of what we have . . . and really put in on steroids.”

Coming together

Sometimes when Baty wakes up to begin work for the day, he said everything is rosy.

Sometimes, he said he wakes up to a four-alarm fire.

Development is “not for the faint of heart,” he said.

“Everything has to come together.”

Though it may not look like it to the average passerby, he said it is coming together.

“Everything is in full tilt there. Full gear”

Lange agreed.

“It’s going to be quite a transformation for the north side of Wichita and for Park City and Sedgwick County and beyond.”

Along with new housing and two new casinos in the area, Baty said there’s no question “that Park City is going to be put on the map for a destination location.”