AGH renews Epic Center lease, takes additional space

Nearly two weeks after a major tenant of the state’s tallest office building said it was leaving, another long-time tenant announced it is staying – and leasing more space.

Wichita-based accounting firm Allen, Gibbs & Houlik has renewed its lease at the 23-story Epic Center, and plans to undertake a $500,000 remodeling and lease additional space.

AGH, which employs 125 people, said with the lease renewal it expects to remain at the building at 301 N. Main for another decade.

It occupies 29,000 square feet on the fifth and 17th floors, and will take an additional 4,000 square feet on the 15th floor. The firm also has remodeled its new space on the 15th floor and will take on a major update of its 17th floor offices.

AGH’s lease renewal and expansion follows Hinkle Law Firm’s announcement in late August that it would leave floors 20 through 22 at the Epic Center – and 1 1/2 floors in the Wilson Estates Office Park at 21st and Rock – for a seven-story, 80,000-square-foot building under construction at the Waterfront at 13th and Webb. That move is expected to happen next year.

Chief executive officer Paul Allen said Tuesday that AGH had looked hard at other office space knowing that its Epic Center lease was ending. But the central location of downtown, the building’s attached parking garage and the “very strong support” of the firm’s younger staff to remain downtown led firm officials to renew its lease and remain in the building it has occupied since 1989.

“We just think it’s the place to be for us and, again, we’ve been a downtown firm throughout our history,” Allen said.

Allen said the additional space on the 15th floor will house its wealth management unit, employees of which “are a little spread out now.” And the space freed up by those employees will ease cramped quarters for its other employees.

“We’re pretty full right now,” he said. “We’re feeling a little bit of the stress.

“And we’re going to have to play a little bit of musical chairs on the 17th floor with a pretty extensive remodel.”

He said remodeling of the 17th floor is expected to begin this fall.

Spangenberg Phillips Tice is the architect for the remodel. Selection of a general contractor is pending. Patrick Ahern of NAI Martens represented the landlord on the lease.

Allen said the fact that the Epic Center’s owner – BACM 2005-3 Main Woodlawn LLC – has the building up for sale didn’t dissuade him and the firm from renewing its lease.

He said over the years Epic Center has had a number of owners. But all have been good to work with, he said, as have the firms they have used to manage the building. Epic’s current building manager is Weigand-Omega.

“We knew that (a sale) was likely to happen and that didn’t really affect us much, to be candid,” he said.

Jason Gregory, executive vice president at the Wichita Downtown Development Corp., said AGH’s decision to stay bolsters the current downtown revitalization effort.

“I hope more people take note and realize they’ve made the decision to keep downtown their home,” Gregory said.

This story was originally published September 8, 2015 at 10:40 AM with the headline "AGH renews Epic Center lease, takes additional space."