At the January 12 meeting of the Wichita City Council, several citizens and one council member addressed the “unlevel playing field” and its implications for development in downtown Wichita.
Speaking about the unlevel playing field, council member Janet Miller said: “My own philosophy on that would say that really, incentives are often used to actually level the paying field.” Referring to downtown Wichita, she said that there may be conditions that make development more costly, or there may be other conditions that make development more difficult.
Miller didn’t name specific factors, but often land assembly issues are mentioned as an impediment to developing in downtown Wichita. A parcel may be owned by many parties, the story goes, and it can be difficult and expensive to contact all parties and come to agreement with them.
But land assembly is not an issue with the proposed hotel in WaterWalk. There is no doubt as to land ownership. It’s just one party, and one who is willing to lease it for $1 per year.