General News in the 316

[SubGod22]

KSN - Minimal damage after Paul Mills at Chester's Chopouse

A restaurant in east Wichita received minimal damage after a dumpster fire Monday. Around 5:15 p.m., the Wichita Fire Department received multiple calls reporting a fire at Chester’s Chophouse near 13th Street and Webb Road.

According to Stefecia Mayhood, the manager and bartender/server at Chester’s, their general manager had come to Chester’s to drop off an item. After he dropped it off, he went back outside and noticed smoke coming from the building. He then ran back inside and told Mayhood to call 911.

Upon arrival, crews found fire showing from the exterior underneath a canopy where trash was being stored. Firefighters were able to remove the dumpster and extinguish the fire.

[shocktown]

KSN - Minimal damage after Paul Mills at Chester's Chopouse

Well played!!!

[SubGod22]

[SubGod22]

No expansion for Crown Uptown. Future in limbo.

Audacy - Future of the Crown Uptown Theatre in Question

The Crown Uptown Theatre near Douglas and Hillside will not be allowed to expand.

The Wichita City Council unanimously voted to deny that request at Tuesday's meeting. Back in October, the owner stated he wanted to expand the facility to increase capacity to over 2,000 people.

Scott Wadle with the planning department said the owner has stated the possibility of demolishing the building. However, the city could temporarily block that action since the theatre is identified as a historic site. Any motion to block that action cannot exceed 30 days, unless extended by the council.

Other alternatives include using the building for storage or as a shelter.

[WstateU]

KSN - Minimal damage after Paul Mills at Chester's Chopouse

[SubGod22]

The Northwest Bypass is not dead yet.

Eagle - Whatever happened to plans for northwest bypass linking Goddard, Maize? Here's an update

The northwest expressway, a major highway that would connect Maize to Goddard, is getting a second chance at becoming reality after stalling years ago.

Sedgwick County commissioners have approved a formal letter, along with letters of support, to the Kansas Department of Transportation to initiate a new feasibility study for the project.

The study is one of the first steps in getting the project back on track after other area projects were prioritized instead. A feasibility study done in the early 2000s during the project’s original conception is now outdated, commissioners said in their letter.

“A new study could guide future decisions regarding the project and reset expectations for all stakeholders,” the letter reads. “Enough time has passed that stakeholders need to know if the original plan is still the best option and when construction makes the most sense.”

In its earlier design concepts, the highway begins near K-96 and Tyler and stretches for 12 miles southwest, ending near the Kellogg and 183rd Street intersection.

The study will take about a year to complete, according to KDOT.

I'm not a west sider and this really wouldn't have any direct impact on me, but it seems to be something that would be great for Wichita, Maize, Goddard, and everyone in between.

[ShockTalk]

The Northwest Bypass is not dead yet.

Eagle - Whatever happened to plans for northwest bypass linking Goddard, Maize? Here's an update



I'm not a west sider and this really wouldn't have any direct impact on me, but it seems to be something that would be great for Wichita, Maize, Goddard, and everyone in between.

I've always been a little surprised that there is not the same kind of bypass going from highway 54/Andover (largest "city" in Bulter Co. and almost 3x the size of Maize) to Derby, the second largest city (by a long shot) in Sedgwick Co. without having to use county two lane roads or the turnpike part way (which takes you out of the way to the west).

[SubGod22]

I've always been a little surprised that there is not the same kind of bypass going from highway 54/Andover (largest "city" in Bulter Co. and almost 3x the size of Maize) to Derby, the second largest city (by a long shot) in Sedgwick Co. without having to use county two lane roads or the turnpike part way (which takes you out of the way to the west).

I'm on the same page there.

I have no idea what kind of development is already in the lands between the two cities and if it could be done at this point. As a BuCo resident, I hate having to take Butler/Andover Road to just outside Rose Hill to get to Derby. My other option is to go out of my way to jump on 135 and heading south. I can't justify jumping on the turnpike and paying to get to Derby. The more connectivity in and around the metro the better it is for everyone.

I did just pull up some maps and it would be hard to do. There are some smaller residential developments just south of where 96 ends. There may be a way of of continuing it SE for a bit before heading south and then back to the SW towards Derby. I'm not a fan of eminent domain and making people move, but it appears there might be some currently undeveloped land that they could navigate. That also depends on how up to date the maps I was looking at are and who currently owns that land and how much room there is to navigate it. If it could be pulled off, it would probably benefit Rose Hill as well. But it appears like it would be complicated without using eminent domain and screwing people over.

But it would be nice

[SubGod22]

[SubGod22]

WBJ - Bell Textron's FLRAA fuselage assembly work in Wichita gets closer to launch

As work on a major U.S. Army program approaches, Bell Textron is beginning to make its mark on Textron Aviation's east Wichita campus.

Bell, a part of the Textron Inc. (NYSE: TXT) family, installed its signage last week on a building where it will utilize 120,000 square feet of space to produce fuselages for the Army's Future Long Range Assault Aircraft.

A Bell spokesperson confirmed that V-280 Valor fuselage construction for FLRAA — taking place near the home of Textron Aviation Defense off of Greenwich Road, south of Central Avenue — will begin this summer.

The visible sign of progress comes around three months after Bell announced it would keep the fuselage work in the Air Capital after previously disclosing that it would take over that component of the significant Army aircraft from Wichita's Spirit AeroSystems (NYSE: SPR).