Sedgwick County ends years-long search for new admin building

Sedgwick County’s search for a new administrative building is over.

After a several-year search, the county has officially purchased the downtown Envision building at 610 N. Main for $12.25 million.

A due diligence period that allowed the county to inspect the property before its purchase expired in mid-September.

The County Commission is expected to approve an architect for the building’s design in the coming weeks.

“The plan is to bring on an architect to begin design work at Envision in the next 2-3 weeks,” county spokesperson Brandon Zenner said in an email to the Eagle.

Remodeling the building would bring the total cost for the offices to $26.54 million.

It would house nine of the county’s departments, including the county commission, county clerk, county counselor, county manager, finance, human resources, register of deeds, county treasurer, and facilities departments.

Commissioners saw the building as a cost-effective option. The price tag for finding a new administrative office has grown since their search began in 2017.

“This is the taxpayer … paying more because … we have waited to not pull the trigger,” Commission Chair Ryan Baty said at a commission meeting in August.

The county previously also approved a lease-back option that would allow $300,000 to go toward the purchase of the building so Envision, a nonprofit that serves blind and visually impaired people, could occupy the first two floors for at least a year.

Previously, the county considered purchasing Murfin Plaza, but the commission voted that proposal down in 2023.

The county also considered developing a new building on the southwest corner of Third and Main with either a three-story or four-story building.

Those options would have cost the county $26.7 million for a three-story building and $32.3 million for the four-story building.

The county currently leases space in the Ruffin Building downtown for administrative offices. That lease is set to expire in 2028. The county can end the lease by 2027 with a 90-day notice.

This story was originally published October 21, 2025 at 6:34 PM.