General News in the 316

[SubGod22]

Here's an FYI should you be traveling in north Wichita this weekend.

KSN - I-135 to close temporarily this weekend in north Wichita

Drivers will have to take a detour if they try to use Interstate 135 in north Wichita this weekend, Nov. 18-19.

The Kansas Department of Transportation is closing southbound I-135 on Saturday and northbound I-135 on Sunday. Both closures are expected to last about eight hours, from 6:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Road construction crews will be removing forms from a new overhead bridge.

[SubGod22]

Broadway World - Disney's FROZEN Comes to Music Theatre Wichita in 2024

Disney’s Frozen comes to Music Theatre Wichita next summer. Performances run July 5-7 & 10-14, 2024 at Century II Concert Hall.

Experience the enchantment of Disney’s Frozen live on stage, where the classic tale of love, friendship, and discovery comes to life. Join Anna, Elsa, Olaf, and their friends in a visually stunning production filled with iconic music, amazing sets, and must-see costumes. Feel the magic of Frozen and create cherished memories with your loved ones at the regional premiere of this global sensation.

Full-length matinees on Saturday, July 13 and Sunday, July 14 at 2:00 PM will be open to all patrons aged 3 and up.

[SubGod22]

The trend continues to grow.

KAKE - Crews break ground on nearly 100 upscale 'garage condos' in Derby

Like many Derby residents, Bill Boyer wonders what construction crews are building in Derby just north of Lowe's at K-15 and Patriot after excavators and dump trucks showed up last week.

"I'm not really sure how, I don't have a positive feeling in learning this," he said.

This was Boyer's reaction hearing that the answer is nearly 96 condo garages.

Jay Ablah is one of the owners of the Wichita-based startup "My Extra Garage." He says the majority of residents are excited, and people like Boyer have nothing to worry about.

"It's very well-lit. It's got a homeowner's association that's going to keep the property up and the values up and continue to make it look beautiful," said Ablah.

Prices will range from around $74k to $180k.

[SubGod22]

I love these events and what they could potentially lead to down the road.

WBJ - 11 Wichita-area startups show off their goods at the Wichita StartUp event

From blade sharpening to hemp building materials, more than a dozen startups pitched their ideas to onlookers, investors and businesses during the Wichita Startup 2023 NXTSTAGE Enterprise Engagement Series event on Wednesday afternoon at Cargill. The 19 Kansas startups were part of an incubator group that learned from established business leaders how to turn an idea into a viable company.

Startups from across Kansas, including 11 from the Wichita area, presented 30-minute elevator speeches, trying to entice people to want to know more about their company. The event is part of Wichita Startup Week, sponsored by Koch Industries, which features a week of events for startups, mostly taking place through Friday at Groover Labs.

"This is a celebration of entrepreneurs," said Amber Dunn, program manager of NXTUS. "This event provides them with access to community, capital and customers."

A lot of variety

Powerwashing
Blade Sharpening
Flavored Popcorn
Composting
Hemp Building Materials
Cybersecurity

and others.

Not knowing much in the way of specifics it's hard to know what businesses might have to offer, but I'm big on the potential of Hemp building products and have been for years. Cybersecurity is always an area that has a lot of potential.

[SubGod22]

Apparently we have another arena football team that played last year and will again this year.

JC Post - Saline Liberty AFL Matchups Unveiled

While exact dates and times for the upcoming 2024 Arena Football League remain to be determined, the matchups, including those for the Salina Liberty have officially been announced.
The full slate of games for the Liberty can be found below
Week One: vs. SWKS Storm
Week Two: at Wichita Regulators
Week Three: at Oregon Blackbears
Week Four: at Iowa Rampage
Week Five: vs. Rapid City Marshalls
Week Six: at SWKS Storm
Week Seven: vs. Iowa Rampage
Week Eight: vs. Washington Wolfpack
Week Nine: at Rapid City Marshalls
Week Ten: vs. Wichita Regulators

I can't find much information. It also looks like an odd organization with mostly Kansas and Iowa teams and then a Washington and Oregon team thrown in. I know Arena/Indoor football has had a rough go nationally for a while, which I find sad. I loved watching the AFL on ESPN back in the day and was pretty stoked when Wichita got into AF2 years ago. Then Wichita started bouncing around leagues and then different ownership with different names and it got pretty hard to keep track of. From what I can recall we've been the Warlords, Stealth, Wild, Force and now Regulators and I think I may be missing one or two. No consistency in league or name makes it really hard to get staying power.

[SubGod22]

Another win.

KSN - Wichita to host 2024 USA Lacrosse National Championship

Visit Wichita is hosting the USA Lacrosse Women’s Collegiate Lacrosse Associates (WCLA) national championship in 2024. It will be the championship’s first-ever appearance in Kansas.

The 2024 WCLA Division I and II National Championships will be played from May 7 through May 10 at SCHEELS Stryker Sports Complex, 2999 N. Greenwich Rd.

“We’re so pleased to be moving this special event to a new venue like the SCHEELS Stryker Sports Complex and being able to bring a fresh vibe to the WCLA National Championship,” said Kristy Nutt, director of events at USA Lacrosse. “This brand new facility sets the stage for fierce competition and memorable experiences for all of the participating players. Additionally, the central location in Wichita ensures seamless travel for all the teams and puts the focus on the game.”

[SubGod22]

Another pickleball restaurant coming to northeast Wichita in '24.

KAKE - New indoor pickleball facility coming to Wichita summer of 2024

Two Kansas natives and pickleball fanatics are opening a brand new pickleball facility next summer in northeast Wichita in order to help grow the sport and give people a place to play together and relax.

Right now there's a large empty field with nothing but grass next to the Aloft hotel at K96 and Oliver, but in less than a year it will be the site of Tap N Paddles, a brand new pickleball facility featuring 12 professional level courts, a full restaurant and bar, an indoor event space, and more.

"It can't come fast enough on one level. On another level we've got a lot of work to do to get it open," said co-owner Mike Ventling.

He and his wife Kelli fell in love with playing pickleball about three years ago and since then they have wanted to build their own place where players can join together. Thursday afternoon Ventling walked around the big empty field talking to a developer as that dream is becoming a reality.

He said he hopes to be able to open it by mid summer of next year if weather allows. His and his wife's goal is to give players of any age and skill level the best experience so they're paying attention to every little detail.

[SubGod22]

WBJ - Wichita homebuilder announces new luxury development in northeast Wichita

For the second time in as many years, Nies Homes is launching a new luxury residential development in the northeast Wichita area.

It's called The Croft, the company announced, and is located on the northwest corner of 29th and 127th.

The project is especially exclusive in nature — with only 10 estate home sites.

"We didn't want to create this massive community," Nies Homes president Nick Cowgill said. "We wanted it to be small and close-knit."

Four of the sites are already reserved.

"There's been a lot of demand for it," said Cowgill, who added the goal is for construction on the first home to start around the first of the year.

Lot prices begin at $400,000 and the homes themselves will start around $1.5 million.

Hell, if I'm spending $2M+ for a home I don't want a ton of neighbors either.

I don't have $2M+ to spend on a home for the record.

[Veritas]

Another pickleball restaurant coming to northeast Wichita in '24.

KAKE - New indoor pickleball facility coming to Wichita summer of 2024

The plan for a central gathering place though seems a little incongruous with the intent of a larger lots and privacy

From the WBJ:

"The vision and the dream really was around centralized community spaces — a gathering table really — where friends, family and neighbors can gather together and break bread and really get to the heart of what a true community is," Cowgill said. "And that was kind of the driving force behind this whole community."

[SubGod22]

WBJ - Contractor chooses Wichita-based Perfekta for space and defense parts

Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) is ready to open more opportunities for partnerships in Wichita. This time, for both defense and space.

On Tuesday, Lockheed Martin, the largest aerospace and defense contractor in the U.S., visited Perfekta, a division of Cadence Aerospace, to celebrate/on the heels of hiring/ the Wichita-based company supply the spaceship Orion with parts. Perfekta will also supply a portion of defense components to Lockheed Martin, as well.

While Perfekta is located in Kansas, its parent company, Cadence Aerospace, has headquarters in Anaheim, Cali.

"With the onset of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, we've seen some fragility in the supply base, and so the opportunity for us to come here and see the capabilities in Wichita worked," said Robert Lightfoot, executive vice president of Lockheed Martin Space. "Sometimes I think we think space is a little special, and it is, but the way we put our hardware together is no different than the way we put the hardware together for airplanes and other activities that we do."

[SubGod22]

WBJ - Wichita City Council to consider ballpark area updates as developer requests $11.3-million incentive

While a new agreement aimed at delivering promised mixed-use development next to Riverfront Stadium already received approval in August, a Wichita City Council vote on Tuesday will determine whether the $110-million project can start becoming a reality.

The Council will decide whether to OK an amendment to the Delano and stadium project plan and adopt a new stadium hotel project plan for the West Bank Redevelopment District to align with the proposed development's new scope.

Approval means developer EPC Real Estate Group can be reimbursed for up to $11.3 million in tax increment financing (TIF) funds — more than $2.5 million higher than what had been projected in 2022.

It's an incentive the Overland Park-based firm has said is crucial to it proceeding with a planned hotel, apartment complex, retail space and parking garage.

"This is a good project for so many different reasons," assistant city manager Troy Anderson told the WBJ in a Friday interview. "And the items that are going before City Council on Tuesday are just another step in the development timeline and are routine actions that City Council has approved in the past."

Bradley said Tuesday's vote is a "big hurdle." If cleared, the developer plans on construction beginning early in 2024's third quarter.

He highlighted that while EPC's incentive request has increased, it's projected level of investment — going from $77 million to $110 million — has gone up substantially.

"That's a huge, huge deal," said Bradley, in an interview following the open house.

Specific to debt servicing, a Council meeting agenda report states more than $3.3 million in additional TIF funds — beyond the $11.3 million cap for EPC — will be available for paying off debt tied to Riverfront Stadium's construction. The city says that's higher than the $919,253 projected in 2019.

As he did in October, Anderson said the city is anticipating $39.9 million in net benefit from the ballpark area development, and if EPC is not able to proceed, that creates challenges with tackling debt from stadium construction.

I always understand concern or skepticism when it comes to public funds and whatnot. However, diverting some upfront TIF money to assist with getting this project financed and built will only help the long-term impact for the area and the amount of money that will be generated by the new development within the district should substantially improve the overall ability to pay down the construction debts for Riverfront.

[SubGod22]

KAKE - Johnson Controls receives grant bringing hundreds of jobs to Wichita

The U.S. Department of Energy awarded Johnson Controls a $33 million grant to help the company increase its domestic production by expanding three of its U.S-based locations including the one in Wichita.

The expansion will also hundreds of new jobs here in the air capital.

Chief Sustainability Officer Katie McGinty said, “Our team in Wichita is making the best home heat pumps, residential heat pumps in the country if not the world and the market is taking off.”

McGinty added these heat pumps are cutting edge and she said Johnson Controls wants Wichita to be in front of this trend.

[SubGod22]

Audacy - City of Wichita approves amendment to Stadium, Hotel project plans

The council amended the TIF district due to changes in the original project. It now proposes to build a 150-unit apartment complex instead of office space, a public parking garage instead of a private one and a 155-key hotel. Housing, parking and hotel rooms are all much-needed in the downtown and surrounding area.

Assistant City Manager Troy Anderson told council members that if the plan wasn't approved, the project would be at risk. With no hotel, retail space or apartments, there is no property generating taxes to pay down the stadium debt.

EPC Real Estate Group plans to invest roughly $110 million in the project, up from $77 million in the original plan from 2022. TIF funds will pay for sitework, infrastructure, riverfront improvements, and parking and will be used to reimburse the developer up to $11.3 million. Any additional TIF funds can be used to pay other TIF eligible costs incurred by the City, including debt.

This was the right move.

[SubGod22]

Wichita by EB - Frozen Sing-Along at Exploration Place is the experience Frozen fans will love

My daughter is a huge Frozen fan; it’s a soundtrack we often listen to in the car. When Exploration Place announced an interactive theater experience called Frozen Sing-Along, it was a no-brainer that my daughter had to go.

With Frozen Sing-Along, kids step into the enchanting world of Arendelle for an experience filled with music, laughter and the heartwarming tale of sisters Elsa and Anna. It includes watching the beloved film Frozen on the big screen in Kemper theater at Exploration Place

The interactive experience takes place on select Sundays and Thursdays in November and December, and the first Thursday and Sunday in January. Tickets, which can be purchased here, are $18 per person ($15 for members).

Frozen Sing-Along started with some face painting along with a special appearance by Olaf.

If you have a kid or grandkid who are big Frozen fans, this might be an event to check out. Eddy makes it sound like it's well done and should be a wonderful experience for the kids. And he makes it sound like he had a pretty good time too.

[WuDrWu]

The trend continues to grow.

KAKE - Crews break ground on nearly 100 upscale 'garage condos' in Derby



Prices will range from around $74k to $180k.

What trend is this continuing? Strip malls?