City of Wichita, Wichita Downtown Development Corporation, Greater Wichita Partnership, Wichita, KS
Goody Clancy united diverse stakeholders around a vision for a thriving city center that celebrates Wichita’s rich history and progressive spirit. Rapid revitalization followed, with a new focus on the riverfront.
Close collaboration with the City, Wichita Downtown Development Corporation (WDDC), and Greater Wichita Partnership over ten years has empowered ongoing public-private partnerships that are transforming downtown and helping reposition Wichita’s economy for the future.
This plan’s foundation in market-driven real estate potential has sparked significant economic development through coordinated public and private investment. A housing-market analysis revealed unrecognized demand for nearly 1,000 units of new downtown housing—a potent force to drive downtown Wichita’s resurgence, and one that has grown as downtown has established itself as a place to live. The plan also focuses office, retail and hotel development where it will have greatest synergy with housing and public places, and embraces Wichita’s underutilized riverfront as a signature public-space amenity.
As prioritized by the plan, river views and access are being leveraged in new housing development and the reconstruction of Wichita’s convention center. Goody Clancy worked with the client team in 2016 and 2018-19 on detailed river district plans that integrate a new baseball stadium with privately-led development and new public spaces, now in development.
To support the plan’s core strategy of focusing reinvestment around the most walkable areas within the large downtown, the team developed a set of tools—urban design guidelines; streetscape enhancements; and strategic siting of parking, stores, and other street-level activities—to connect existing walkable nodes and foster new ones.
IMPLEMENTATION
- 1,228 housing units completed since 2010, with potential for 2,000 more over 5 years
- Over $650 million in private-sector real-estate investment over 10 years
- Over 2,700 downtown residents—84% new since 2010
- Learn more about Wichita’s remarkable progress at https://downtownwichita.org/development/state-of-downtown
