Wichita State gets state approval to lease all of private complex

Wichita State University will pay a base rent of $1 million to lease a privately built apartment complex on the Innovation Campus.

It could pay additional rent on 50 of the bedrooms with the revenue it receives from those who stay there this school year.

That’s according to a July 31 letter from Kansas Board of Regents President and CEO Blake Flanders to University President John Bardo.

WSU announced on July 14 it would close Fairmount Towers, moving about 315 Fairmount Towers students to The Flats, a privately built apartment building that will now run like a dorm. Fairmount Towers students will join about 48 students who signed on to live at The Flats before WSU’s announcement.

Every bedroom suite will feature a kitchen, a washer/dryer, a furnished common area and a bathroom and closet.

Here are some of the terms of the lease, based on Flanders’ approval and information provided by WSU:

▪ The lease agreement will run from August 1 to May 31, 2018.

▪ The lease can’t be extended without full Board of Regents approval.

▪ WSU will lease the entire building except the parking lots.

▪ WSU has the right to use 40 spaces in an underground parking lot for tenants, employees and guests.

▪ WSU’s base rent is $1,000,160. If it subleases more than 235 of the 286 bedrooms, it will pay additional rent “equaling the gross revenue received for those subleases.”

▪ WSU Housing and Residence Life will manage the apartments. WSU will market them to students as well.

▪ WSU Parking will sell the parking permits at The Flats. Students will be eligible for a parking pass for any green or green/yellow lot on campus.

▪ Rooms and suites at The Flats “may also be used to house guests, such as visiting scholars, parents, recruits, etc. and for other education-related uses.”

Flanders asked Bardo to let him know if “any of these planned arrangements change or if the terms of the agreement change in any way.”

The letter represents formal approval from the state board of regents for an agreement between WSU, The Flats and MWCB, LLC, a partnership of Wichita businessmen David Murfin, Nestor Weigand Jr., Ivan Crossland Jr. and Steve Barrett who developed The Flats.

KBOR policy allows Flanders to approve private housing agreements shorter than a year in length on behalf of the full Board of Regents.

WSU had made and announced its decision to close Fairmount Towers, move those students in The Flats and lease space at the complex before it formally asked the regents for approval on July 20.

WSU Vice President of Strategic Communications Lou Heldman said the university has remained in regular communication with KBOR.

“They completely understand and support the university’s strategy to enhance student experience,” Heldman said. “It’s no surprise this plan would be approved.”

Heldman said concerns about the timing of the announcement and approval from KBOR were “a view that the world works through documents.”

“Decisions are made and decisions are reached before the paperwork is completed,” he said. “We think we’re doing the right thing for the students and the university.”

Regents spokeswoman Breeze Richardson said there were some missteps and misunderstandings about whether an agreement for The Flats fell under board policy for private or university housing.

“That doesn’t change the Board’s understanding of what President Bardo is attempting to accomplish at Wichita State University,” Richardson said of the Innovation Campus. “Running an executive team that is trying to be innovative isn’t always easy.”

This story was originally published August 1, 2017 at 12:51 PM with the headline "Wichita State gets state approval to lease all of private complex."