The developer of a $113 million mixed-use development in Delano broke ground Thursday on a new hotel, the day before a city deadline to begin construction.
The new Wichita Tribute Hotel at McLean and Maple is a key part of the city's plans to pay off debt related to its riverfront developments.
Earlier this year, city leaders gave developer EPC Real Estate Group a July 31 deadline to begin vertical construction on the hotel, as well as a nearby apartment and garage complex.
The other two buildings are set to be built by the end of 2028, said Joe Morrison, EPC’s director of development.
The entire project’s completion deadline is July 31, 2028, with wiggle room for unexpected delays or extensions agreed upon by the city and EPC.
Vice Mayor Dalton Glasscock said the groundbreaking is the beginning of a promise to increase activity in the ballpark district.
"We all share the same expectation that we'll gather here again not to celebrate what we're going to build, but to celebrate what we built together," Glasscock said.
EPC says the seven-story, 160-room hotel will be a Tribute Portfolio property by Marriott. It will feature a bar off the lobby overlooking the riverfront, a rooftop restaurant and cocktail lounge, and dedicated meeting space.
The groundbreaking marks the start of a district years in the making.
In 2007, the city received approval to issue $13 million in sales tax and revenue bonds — or STAR bonds — for Phase I of an ambitious riverfront redevelopment plan. Included in that first phase was the Keeper of the Plains Plaza and bridges and several other riverfront improvements.
Phase II came in late 2017, when the city received approval from the state to issue $42 million in STAR bonds to develop the west bank of the Arkansas River downtown. The cornerstone of that project was the Equity Bank Stadium ballpark.
Sales tax generated in both areas allows the city to pay off its debt to the state. A tax district the city created around the ballpark generates additional property tax revenue that the city also plans to use to pay off debt.
In order for the city's debt payment plans to work, there needs to be functioning businesses around the ballpark — which is where the hotel and its adjoining developments come in.
Beyond the hotel, the Wichita Ballpark District is proposed to include 192 residences, 10,000 square feet of street-level retail, structured parking, and improvements along the west bank of the Arkansas River.
“All of this stitched and laced together, with the public riverfront improvements underway, in combination with Equity Bank Park, (will become) a massive anchor and catalyst here on the west bank of the Arkansas River,” said Austin Bradley, executive vice president of EPC, at the groundbreaking.
Hotel construction is expected to take about 18 months, with the hotel targeting an early 2028 opening.
