In the images, the light-rail stations would be located within the red line zone and the areas outlined in green would be focus centers for redevelopment.
1) Towne West Shopping Center:
The first large redevelopment opportunity comes near the intersection of West St. and Kellogg. The areas around the mall are full of big box retailers in an ocean of asphalt. As these businesses move or close, the large lots could be taken and converted into denser housing. Brownstones and first floor businesses with apartments above would create a beautiful walking community centered around a regional destination. The light-rail station would be linked to the neighborhood via a walkway above or below Kellogg and the community could flow from that point to the mall, creating an outdoor extension of the shopping center, of sorts.2) Friends Campus
Development done on the Friends University campus would be very motivated by the university. If the station platform is located between Meridian and Maple Streets, the university could redevelop the properties to make a transit focused entrance to campus. Much of the on campus housing is on the east side of the campus, so the station would be focused on commuting students.
3) Delano District
An exciting redevelopment opportunity exists in the Delano district just west of Arkansas River. The district is developed with a focus on Douglas Avenue. However, the addition of consistent transit service to the neighborhood would allow the expand into a walkable community with businesses and residences expanding to nearby blocks. The first activity is already occurring with the planned construction of a new central branch Wichita Library, which would be served by the Delano station.
4) Downtown
Boxes represents developments served by the line of the same color.
Blue outlined areas are the nearby redevelopment regions.
The opportunities in the downtown region are some of the driving forces behind the creation of a light-rail system. Improving the region's core is the focus of this mayoral administration. However, its success is hinged on developing a foundation of services for the residents and workers in the region. The addition of a consistent, permanent transit option will encourage the development of a core that is not dependent on automobiles but rather a dense, urban, walkable region that focuses on serving pedestrians in their daily activities.There are several large surface lots in the downtown region that could be redeveloped into multi-story apartment, condominium, or office buildings. The parking spaces could be replaced by parking garages, however, with the addition of the rail line, not every space would be required to be replaced. This would essentially allow the downtown region to grow its capacity without straining the streets with congestion.
Some potential potential locations include the warehouse and parking lot between 3rd and Central on Waco, large parking lots along Topeka, surface lots on Wichita St., the abandoned building at 2nd and St. Francis, and the construction of the second tower at the Epic Center complex.
5) Old Town
Potential downtown corridors in different colors. Blue outline for areas that could be redeveloped based on service by one of the corridors.Another opportunity to develop land that has limited use would be the Old Town area. Depending on the route of the line, Old Town's center may be well served by the light-rail should the line travel east down Douglas to Washington and northward. If the line passes under the central rail corridor at Central or options further north, the development of the Old Town district will be pulled north into new areas. The train would also encourage people headed to the bar scene to
avoid driving, creating safer streets around the entire city.
6) East Downtown
A classic redevelopment opportunity exists in the eastern portions of the downtown region. The community that lies west of I-135 and east of Washington Street is struggling in its current state. Many plots sit empty creating opportunities for higher density redevelopment. The region building an effort to restore itself to prominence with projects like the restoration of the historic Dunbar Theatre. Combining those efforts with one to create a transit oriented neighborhood would immensely improve the state of the community.
7) Wesley Medical Center
As the Hospital has grown over the years, so too have a variety of medical services buildings up and down the Hillside and Central corridors. The construction of a Wesley Medical Center station on a transit line crossing Hillside just south of 9th St. would create the opportunity to develop an additional block of medical service oriented businesses. The businesses could also focus on serving the transit users that work in the Wesley Hospital Complex.
8) WSU
The Wichita State area would require a significant amount of private development. Most of the region south of 17th St. is residential and not developed for school services. The right-of-way only enters the WSU sphere of influence at the eastern portion of the campus, mostly near the golf course. Placing a station further west on the right-of-way requires a walk through the residential neighborhood to reach campus. If private development would redevelop the corridor from the station to the campus into a walking focused region, there could be a nice flow of residences, office, and retail on the walk to campus from the station.
9) Brittany Center
The Brittany Center location is the first, true start from scratch opportunity along the line. For whatever reason, much of the land in the southeastern portion of the square quarter-mile was left undeveloped, save a power sub-station. Redeveloping the location into a high-density transit oriented development would create a consistent supply of transit riders in a region that was otherwise dead land.
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