HEARTLAND SNAPSHOT, FEBRUARY 2005

Wichita, Kansas

Wichita has a strong and viable industrial/warehouse market, but it is the region’s retail and office markets that are in the midst of a major expansion, according to Steve Martens, president of Wichita-based Grubb & Ellis|Martens Commercial Group. While growth in these markets is occurring in all areas of the city, including the central business district (CBD) and the northwest, the greatest amount of activity is concentrated in the northeast sector where major office building and lifestyle retail developments are dotting the landscape.

Of the planned developments in the northeast, Wichita-based Slawson Companies is developing Oak Creek, a 160-acre master planned community located at East 21st Street and Greenwich Road. The project will feature a mix of upscale retail, office and an array of multi- and single family residences. Construction of the project’s waterways and infrastructure is set to begin in the first quarter of 2005. Pre-leasing is underway on the lifestyle retail center’s 150,000-square-foot first phase, which is scheduled to open in 2006.

At the same intersection, Slawson also is developing a 60-acre project with frontage along the K-96 Expressway. This development, named Cross Pointe, received zoning approval for Phase I, a 166,000-square-foot open-air retail center. Slawson also recently announced the sale of a pad site to Granite City Food & Brewery at its Tallgrass Town Center, which is located at 21st Street and Webb Road. Granite City will open this June.

Wichitia’s office market spans approximately 8 million square feet, and of the projects currently leasing, the Waterfront continues to attract much of Wichita’s new office development. This 160-acre mixed-use development is a joint project between long time Wichita developers Steve Clark and Johnny Stevens. The 125,000-square-foot Commerce Bank facility will open this spring, and both Delta Dental and Murfin Drilling have announced plans to relocate to the Waterfront. These two buildings will have a combined square footage of more than 100,000 square feet. Bachrodt Development has broken ground on the Executive Offices at the Waterfront, a 15-building professional office park. Phase I of the Waterfront retail is in place, and the 40,000-square-foot Phase II will open this fall

Wichita-based Laham Development has been active with its Plazzio Development at 13th Street and Greenwich Road, as well as its Super Target-anchored Regency Lakes at K-96 Expressway and Greenwich Road. At Plazzio, the 62,000-square-foot Indoor Entertainment Center has opened and the existing 12-screen Warren Theatre recently began an 8-screen, $10 million expansion. In addition, a 92-room Residence Inn by Marriott, as well as a B.G. Bolton’s Restaurant, will open in August.

In downtown Wichita, talk centers around the Water Walk project on the banks of the Arkansas River, according to Martens. This public-private effort, which is being headed by Water Walk Developers, has announced its anchor tenant, the Minneapolis-based outdoor outfitter Gander Mountain. The 99,000-square-foot anchor facility also will host restaurant space. In addition, two other major buildings will start construction this year: a three-story Class A office building with approximately 60,000 square feet and a 100-unit residential facility with 30,000 square feet of retail and office space. Public infrastructure work has started, and ground breaking for the three buildings is anticipated for the first quarter of this year.

“The other breaking story in downtown is the 15,000-seat arena that is expected to start construction late this year,” Martens says. Voters approved a sales tax initiative in the fall, and design and infrastructure consideration has started. “This project, which would be south of the highly successful Old Town area, is viewed as a tremendous boost to Wichita’s tourism and convention efforts,” he says.

Much of the development on the northeast side is a continuation of development caused by the K-96 Expressway. With Oak Creek and Plazzio, the development within the K-96 Expressway will be complete. New projects underway outside the belt include J.V. Johnston’s Collective, which is an upscale retail and office development project. Johnston’s Clothiers will relocate and anchor the center, which will be open by this summer. Immediately south of the Collective is the Wichita Clinic’s new day surgery center, which will open late 2005. The office and commercial development is supported by significant upscale residential development surrounding the project.

Active developers in Wichita include Slawson Companies, Laham Development, Ritchie Associates, Anderson Management Company and Water Walk Developers.

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