Wichita’s downtown riverfront completely transformed in $1 billion plan

The Riverfront Legacy Master Plan coalition doubled down on its plan to raze most of the buildings — including Century II — near the Hyatt Regency hotel and start fresh.

Under the plan, Wichita’s downtown could get new parks, a new performing arts center and a new convention center, parking garages and a boardwalk. Downtown Wichita riverfront designers say Wichita could be the next Oklahoma City if its city leaders can convince taxpayers to pay for it.

The total price tag on the project is estimated at $1 billion-$1.2 billion. Design consultants recommend about half of the funding should come from a city- or county-wide sales tax. A new sales tax would require a public vote.

The rest of the project would be funded with a mix of public and private dollars, including almost every financing tool available to local governments.

Supporters of the plan say it will “activate” the 55 acres of city-owned land east of the Arkansas River to Main from Douglas to Kellogg.

“It’s thrilling,” said restaurateur Jon Rolph. “Wichita is really at a crossroads moment. You feel all this energy and civic pride about where we’re going and what we can be and how we might want to invest in ourselves.

“And this, I think, paints a really beautiful picture of what the future could look like,” Rolph said.

The plan calls for a new, $1 billion-plus performing arts and convention center campus that turns the Century II Performing Arts and Convention Center site into Century Park, an open green space with a “transformable plaza” that could feature an ice rink in the winter and fountains in the summer.

With the help of Populous, an international design consultant, a group of downtown booster organizations has been working on the plan since April and made its final recommendation to the public Tuesday evening. The coalition will refine its plan based on community feedback before asking the city council to adopt the plan.

The plan has been divisive, prompting an initiative petition drive by a group of local activists who want to save Century II and the former Central Library building.

The group, which needs more than 12,500 signatures to force the initiative onto a ballot, started gathering signatures Monday. The group sold out of yard signs in a single afternoon, and Tuesday its downtown headquarters were swamped by people who want to save the iconic buildings, according to former Sedgwick County Commissioner Karl Peterjohn, one of the petition organizers.

The latest iteration calls for demolishing Century II, the former Central Library, the Wichita Boathouse and the Gander Mountain building in the next 15 years.

Rolph, a member of the coalition, said public investment is justified because it will help recruit businesses and prospective workers to move to Wichita.

“We can’t afford to do nothing,” Rolph said. “We either have to invest in the Century II complex to the tune of more than $100 million just to maintain it where it can be used for something else or we can take a look comprehensively at this entire campus to know what is possible for this community.”

New parks, a boardwalk and a grocery store

West of Century Park, where Century II now stands, would be Riverfront Park. Plans show a a cement-terraced river-facing park that includes a dock on the Arkansas River and a rectangular boardwalk that encloses a large, river-water swimming hole.

Rolph said plans aren’t final and that is only one example of how the river could be activated.

The two parks would be separated by an extended Waco Street that would connect with Waterman. Another park could occupy the area south of the Hyatt, further activating the river by adding landscaping, terraces, tables and pavement.

The parks would have paved walkways to encourage walkers and bikers to use the area.

Green space is estimated to cost $330 million, including a new pedestrian bridge connecting the complex to the new baseball stadium on the west bank.

“After all of this upfront cost, which is a lot, you could imagine this being a more usable public space then the river is now,” Amber Luther of Populous said. “The reality is you have some sidewalks and some lights. Nobody’s going down there (as it is).”

Plans also show a grocery store south of the Hyatt. Luther said the market would support a grocery store in that location if an interested retailer could be found.

A new, $421 million convention center would be built over the Century II surface parking lot, putting it at the corner of Main and William. The new performing arts center would be built along Main where the library building is now.

Besides a sales tax, the rest of the project would be financed through other taxes, including the city’s hotel tax revenue, diverted sales and property taxes in the area and an extra 2% sales tax on purchases in the area.

Other sources of revenue to pay for the project could be state and federal grants and city or county general obligation bonds. Private money could come in through philanthropy or lease agreements with private developers, based on the Populous recommendation.

In total, the plan could take about 15 years to complete and includes 17 capital projects.

The next step is putting the final touches on the plan before asking the City Council to adopt — and fund — the plan.

Project costs

▪ Convention Center — $421 million

▪ Green Space — $330 million

▪ Infrastructure — $220 million

▪ Performing Arts Center — $187 million

This story was originally published January 14, 2020 at 5:30 PM.