See details of a new $400M riverbank proposal that saves Century II, former library

Wichita has a new plan to redevelop the east bank of the Arkansas River downtown that would save Century II and the former downtown library while expanding convention center space for less than half the cost of the $1 billion Riverfront Legacy Master Plan.

“This is the most excited I’ve been about the future of conventions and this complex,” City Manager Robert Layton told The Eagle. “I just finally think we hit it.”

For an estimated $400 million, the city of Wichita would transform the east bank to a “new heart of the city,” Layton said.

Officials have not yet decided how the project could be funded, though some Tuesday said one option might be asking voters to approve a possible sales tax.

The largest cost is a $170 million expansion of the Bob Brown Convention Center. The plan also calls for investing $55 million in the iconic blue-domed Century II building and $15 million in the neighboring former library building.

Additional site development, parking, landscaping and riverfront improvements — including a pedestrian bridge spanning the Arkansas River — would cost $160 million.

The plan does not include a new performing arts center, but Layton said that is in the works.

“It may be a separate decision, depending on how it’s to be funded going forward,” he said. “But we will not move on any of this until we have the performing arts piece because we don’t want anyone to sacrifice seasons and programs.”

The City Council received the new plan Tuesday afternoon and is expected to provide guidance to Layton on funding and next steps.

Under the plan, Century II would be repurposed. The southern half of the building would be converted to a 30,000-square-foot ballroom connected to the expanded convention center by an underground walkway. A commercial-sized kitchen would also be added to the blue dome. The northern half of the building would be upgraded.

“The other half of the building is not programmed at this point,” Layton said. “But one of the things we’ve thought about and it’s included in the budget is just upgrading of the space and possibly its utilization for community events and community organizations that are looking for space but they can’t afford what the normal rate would be (at the Bob Brown convention center).”

Architectural renderings show the pedestrian footbridge connecting the Riverfront Stadium district and Delano on the west bank to Century II and the new convention center. The footbridge path would continue on an elevated walkway that invites visitors to explore, tying green space along the river to the downtown district.

The plan cuts down on surface parking lots and replaces them with green space while actually adding parking spaces, which will be integrated into the Bob Brown Convention Center building, Layton said.

“Maybe unlike a few other things that happened in the past, this is intended to build on everything that was done before,” Layton said. “This is a culmination of all the work that went into it. Where I think maybe some of the other studies maybe were a little more standalone, and with this one, we’re trying to respect everything that came not just from consultants but all of that community engagement that we’ve received.”

Susie Santo, president of Visit Wichita, said she’s thrilled by the new plan, which was developed by Populous, the same firm that developed the Riverfront Legacy Master Plan in 2020 that called for demolishing Century II and library building and replacing them with new convention and performing arts buildings.

Santo said the new convention center would meet “all of the needs that we’ve talked about.”

“When we think about the opportunity, an industry standard facility means about $45 million annually in economic output for the community,” Santo said. “And every year we don’t have one, we’re missing out. So this new facility meets the needs of Wichita.”

Layton said other parts of the plan are not fully developed at this time and will change as the city hears back from the community and council members. There is no firm timeline on when the project would be completed.

“This is the 30,000-foot view of a lot of concepts, and I’m sure that as we look at the different design elements that would be considered there,” Layton said. “If you do it, you want to do it right, and you want to be respectful of trying to do the right kind of green space along the river.”

“It’s a bold vision, but I think it will put us on the map to be a destination for meetings and conventions, and a place that all of us can really be proud of. And it will be a place when visitors come down, you’re going to take them down to the river,” Santo said.

Adam Paulitsch, a Populous architect, told the City Council on Tuesday that public opinion shifted the priorities for the east bank development. Paulitsch appeared much more appreciative of the architecture than Amber Luther, the previous Populous architect who put together the Riverfront Legacy Master Plan.

“I’m not going to lie, Century II commands a lot of attention,” Paultisch said. “The blue roof is iconic. It’s part of all of your imagery when you just Google Wichita on the internet. We have heard loud and clear that this civic icon deserves to stay and it deserves to be a beautiful piece of architecture that can live on for the next generation.”

Paulitsch said the downtown library building, which the Riverfront Legacy Master Plan would have demolished by 2025, is now a high priority.

“Just by happenstance, the public library, we were walking the site last December — did not know the public library was vacant. I had not been here in a few years, and we all immediately said, ‘Holy cow, this building.’ It’s very unique. It has great presence. It has great bones. It’s an asset on site that should not be torn down. It’s something that we should actually use to our advantage and give it back to the community.”

Celeste Racette, founder of the Save Century II group that opposed the Riverfront Legacy Master Plan and candidate for mayor, successfully registered the buildings on the state and local historic registries in 2021 despite opposition by city officials. She said she’s glad the city and Populous are changing course.

“I’m so thrilled they finally — last December — saw the empty building and realized how beautiful the library was,” Racette said. “And also they now realize how beloved Century II is. They could have done that the first time around. I’m trying not to be negative, but the city makes it really hard to trust development plans with the current track record. Look no further than the $100 million of public money we sank into the ballpark district across the river has yielded no private development.”

Sales tax could fund project

Mayor Brandon Whipple said the new plan more accurately reflects what the public wants than the Riverfront Legacy Master Plan, which he said was more tailored to special interest groups.

“Basically, we know that a lot of people had different feedback than the last plan that was proposed,” Whipple said. “Seeing that feedback actually result in the type of plan that was put forward today is encouraging. It means that we’re listening to folks and we want to respond with a plan that can be supported by those folks.”

Whipple said he supports putting the question on a ballot — but not in November, when the city is set to elect a mayor and three council members.

“I don’t think this November we’re going to see any movement when it comes to price tags,” Whipple said. “Having a clear path for our performing arts community is going to be very important before we move forward with this, so this is going to take some time. However, I think something like this is going to require a vote from the public.”

Whipple said outside of a sales tax initiative, the city could look for other ways to invest in the project. It has $18 million budgeted for Century II over the next ten years.

“If we were trying to redirect CIP funds into the old library, frankly, I would have to look and see what do we cut. For me to get roads paved throughout the more historical areas of our core, we had to cut a luxury lake project. So what do we have to cut in order to make sure we can utilize this money as we move forward?”

Council member Bryan Frye, who is also running for mayor, indicated it was too early to say how it would be paid for.

“I think we have to look at all financing options,” Frye said. “This is a very big project. Whether we do it all at once or in phases, I think we’ve seen projects with a sales tax work in this community, with the Intrust Bank Arena, we’ve seen it work in neighboring cities. But it has to be right-sized for this community. So is that one big sales tax or is that phased in over time? I think we have to look at all options. It’s a very big price tag.”

City Council member Brandon Johnson said he would support putting a sales tax question on the ballot for voters to decide whether to fund all or some of the $400 million plan. But he said there should be more public engagement about what should be funded by an added sales tax before putting it up for a vote.

“I would be in favor of taking steps like Oklahoma City did with their MAPS program which would allow greater community feedback and that would allow people to vote on whether or not they want to pay the 1-cent sales tax,” Johnson said. “I think something like that is probably necessary for the riverfront or future developments downtown like that.”

This story was originally published February 28, 2023 at 12:11 PM.