Here’s the latest on the new Comcare crisis center construction
Another piece of Sedgwick County and the city of Wichita’s plan to help address mental health and substance use issues in the community is moving forward.
Construction is set to begin soon on the Comcare Community Crisis Center expansion, which will sit next door to the downtown Biomedical Campus that’s currently being built.
“What you’re going to find at this facility are people that are in need of help,” Commissioner Ryan Baty said at a groundbreaking event Monday. “Someone’s mom or dad, brothers, sisters, friends, neighbors — real people needing real crisis intervention.”
The new center, at 235 S. Topeka, will house a number of services, including the county’s crisis intervention center, an observation unit, substance use detox services, and the 988 crisis line center.
The center will also likely have medical detox beds for under or uninsured patients, a critical need for people seeking substance use treatment in the county, a report earlier this year said.
Once the biomedical campus is also complete and classes begin, students will be able to get clinical mental health training.
“It’s an investment in people, our neighbors, our families, our friends who deserve access to care in the moment of their greatest need,” Comcare crisis director Jennifer Wilson said.
The project was initially approved in 2022 with a $15.4 million price tag. Now with inflation, that figure is expected to rise to $18 to $20 million, according to Baty.
“The county is committed to this project,” Baty said in an interview with reporters, “and we will see this through and make sure it’s efficient, make sure it’s cost effective, and, most importantly, make sure it’s on time for this community.”
The state of Kansas and Sedgwick County also recently began construction on the state’s new mental health hospital, a 104-bed facility at MacArthur and Meridian.
“Think about everything that’s going on at the $100 million mental health hospital that’ll be coming, and then everything that’s going on at SecondLight and the Biomed School, which is adjacent to this facility, this is an entire ecosystem working together to meet needs of this community.”
The county is unsure of what it will do with Comcare’s current building on Main Street, according to Baty.
“That’s a community asset owned by the taxpayer,” Baty said, “and we’ll make sure it’s put to good use for the taxpayer.”
Construction on the new building is expected to be completed by late 2026, with services beginning the following year.
The biomedical campus is also set to finish construction around the same time.
This story was originally published October 20, 2025 at 1:44 PM.