City asks for development proposals for former Finney State Office building

Wichita has issued a request for developer qualifications and initial development proposals for the former Finney State Office Building in downtown.

The nearly 200,000-square-foot joined building, at 230 E. William and 130 S. Market, is considered a critical project for the redevelopment of the downtown because of its size. It sits on Market a block south of Douglas.

The building, owned by the city of Wichita Public Building Commission, was occupied by the state of Kansas from 1992 to 2015, when its biggest tenant was the Department for Children and Families. The state gave notice to the city and county in June 2013 that nine state agencies and more than 700 employees – including about 550 at the DCF – would be leaving the Finney building.

City officials tried to keep the agencies by lobbying DCF officials and the governor, but the state said the building didn’t fit the DCF’s needs any longer. The office moved to 2601 S. Oliver, just north of Spirit AeroSystems.

The building is part of the core area revitalization effort known as Project Downtown: The Masterplan for Wichita.

“The Property represents an outstanding opportunity for a mutually-beneficial development partnership to help achieve the vision for downtown,” said Scot Rigby, the city’s Assistant City Manager and Director of the Office of Urban Development.

Requests for Qualifications have been mailed to local developers, regional developers and listed on the Urban Land Institute marketplace. Rigby said that adding the national exposure is expected to bring new ideas to downtown Wichita.

This story was originally published March 11, 2016 at 12:56 PM with the headline "City asks for development proposals for former Finney State Office building."