Sedgwick County Commission votes 3-2 to support Union Station TIF

Sedgwick County commissioners voted 3-2 Wednesday to support a tax-increment financing district for Union Station in downtown Wichita.

The city of Wichita already approved the district, which would capture future taxes to be used for a proposed $54 million renovation of the property, which has been vacant for about seven years.

Dave Unruh, Tim Norton and Jim Skelton voted in favor of the TIF district. Karl Peterjohn and Richard Ranzau voted against.

Developer Gary Oborny with Occidental Management has said he hopes to begin construction on phase one of the project by the end of the year, particularly since 2014 is the 100-year anniversary of Union Station.

The project calls for retail, offices and restaurants in the space and a plaza in front that could be used to host musical events, street performers, food vendors and farmers markets.

This story was originally published October 22, 2014 at 10:54 AM with the headline "Sedgwick County Commission votes 3-2 to support Union Station TIF."