Looking for a new warehouse, Ted Farha ended up with a new division of his business

Ted Farha was looking for what he called a quick-ship steel building to add to his Farha Construction property near downtown, but instead, he wound up with a new division of his business selling the buildings.

“You can use them for everything,” he said. “We’re using one for a warehouse.”

That almost 3,000-square-foot building was the first one he built, behind his office at 924 N. Main St.

Then Farha built one to be an activity center for the Girl Scouts of Kansas Heartland, which will store cookies during cookie-selling season and then serve as an activity center the rest of the year.

The buildings can be insulated, heated and cooled if customers want. Bathrooms and kitchens are options, too.

For the Girl Scouts, Farha built a porch on the building, which is about 6,000 square feet. He said it’s not fancy, but it provides shade on one side.

Farha Construction also can build the foundation for a building or extras on it, such as a porch or awning.

Farha said the buildings can serve as mechanic shops, man caves, storage, tiny homes or anything a customer wants.

Basically, he said, “You’re buying steel.”

He said customers can design the buildings themselves on the company’s website and get a price within a couple of days.

Then the cold-form steel is delivered quickly.

“The two that we built arrived on site before we were ready for them,” Farha said.

That’s due to required permitting and engineering. At least that’s the case for jobs in the city. In the county, Farha said construction can move more quickly.

Farha said it’s a “very much-needed” product that’s reasonably priced.

“And that’s hard to do in today’s economy.”

Farha Construction has been in a lot of different locations through the years.

“Too many,” Farha said.

In fact, it likely is the most peripatetic business in Wichita.

Farha started the business in his house in 1978 and then has gone through various periods of renting and owning properties. Once, Farha said, he purchased property on North Woodlawn and sold it before ever moving in.

Sometimes, the company has moved into buildings that clients owned before renovating the spaces for them.

Farha thinks he’s found a place to stay, at least for now.

“It’s a really cool brutalist-style building,” he said of the Main Street property.

“We bought it, so we’re going to be there for a while.”

This story was originally published June 11, 2025 at 11:18 AM.