Maize officials hope new art district will help forge identity

Plug “downtown Maize” into Google and the search engine returns a map of the entire town.

There’s a reason for that: Maize doesn’t have a downtown. Other than being known for excellent schools, the suburb doesn’t have much of an identity either.

But city leaders want to change that.

On Tuesday night, they’re holding an open house to begin gathering input on what residents want to feature in the new Academy Arts District, which will run along Park and Academy avenues.

“This is something we are incredibly excited about,” said Jolene Graham, an executive assistant in the city’s administration. “It really gives the people of Maize the opportunity to realize the spirit of their home, to bring it to life ...”

Because Maize doesn’t have a traditional downtown any more, Graham and others say, creating the arts district is particularly important in forging an identity for the longtime bedroom community.

“The people will say, ‘This is who we are,’” Graham said. “It’s a self-discovery process.”

The open house will start at 6 p.m. Tuesday at City Hall. A number of focus groups are being conducted this week as well.

Park Avenue stretching south from 53rd Street was essentially the heart of what was once Maize’s longtime business district. There are still a couple of old, structurally sound buildings along the street, but it’s now filled with empty spaces that could be redeveloped.

What was once known as Central in Maize has been redubbed Academy Avenue so first responders know to go to Maize rather than downtown Wichita. The new name is a nod to the schools that bracket the street on Maize’s west end.

MOXI Junction, a coffee house and art gallery on the corner of Academy and Park, serves as an unofficial fulcrum for the district.

When Maize native Glenn Alexander returned home to perform a concert with his band Shadowland last fall, an accompanying art crawl provided a platform featuring local artists and musicians.

City officials hope the district’s master plan will include a variety of ways for the arts to be on display in Maize.

Joanna Kilgore, who owns MOXI Junction, said the district “will give Maize their own personality. It would build on what they’ve already got going.

“If you don’t have a downtown, you need something. And that something could be something so cool that nobody else has that draws in people.”

Residents have already begun making changes: artists painted a mural in the crosswalk next to MOXI Junction, and there’s talk of an amphitheater to hold outdoor concerts and ballet performances in the city park.

The arts district isn’t just a vanity project for Maize, officials say. What once was a sleepy lower-middle class suburb has exploded in growth over the past 25 years and has added a second high school.

It now spans 10 square miles, five times its longtime boundaries. Maize’s assessed valuation has grown from $7.8 million in 2000 to $49.5 million in June of this year.

The town’s population increased from 2,571 in 2000 to 4,557 in 2017. Maize already has reached its annual average for new housing permits, Graham said, and the 268-unit Watercress apartments that opened less than a year ago is at 96 percent occupancy.

While young millennials are drawn to vibrant downtowns, studies have shown that, like their generational predecessors, they look to residential areas or appealing suburbs once they marry and want to start a family.

“We want to distinguish ourselves” from other parts of the Wichita metropolitan area, Graham said, and the arts district is seen as a key way to do that.

Richie Rathbun, a barista at MOXI Junction, called the arts district “a great idea.”

While the new splash pad for children and a renovated city park have been welcome changes, he said, there isn’t much yet in Maize that caters to adults.

“There’s not some big major thing that says ‘This is Maize,’” Rathbun said.

A key part of the project, officials say, is making Maize friendlier to walkers and bicyclists. Maize doesn’t have dedicated bike lanes or even a reliable network of sidewalks.

Academy, one of the town’s busiest routes, doesn’t have sidewalks on every block, meaning children and mothers pushing strollers sometimes have to walk in the street.

Consultants plan to take public input on the district and use it to fashion design concepts that they’ll bring back for consideration early next year, Graham said.

This story was originally published August 20, 2018 at 2:00 PM.