After many fits and starts and development agreements that have fallen through, the Wyandotte County Unified Government is once again seeking development ideas for the 49.1 acre, former site of the Indian Springs shopping center located at the southwest corner of State Avenue and Interstate 635.
This time, they’re taking a different approach and anticipating better results.
Shortly after parting ways with their last potential developer in 2022, the UG implemented a new approach for identifying a developer for the Indian Springs site and two other parcels of land – a plot of land just off 4th and Minnesota and a plot at 18th and Quindaro.That process for all three projects began last year with a Request for Qualifications (RFQ).
UG planners say the RFQ process offered developers a much lower barrier to entry into the process.
Instead of having to pull together a full-blown development package, with drafted plans, estimated construction cost and a project team, developers simply expressed their interest in working with the city on the project.
Interested developers simply submitted a letter of interest in one or more of the projects along with documentation supporting their experience and ability to handle the job.
“It let them raise their hands and let us know they’re interested,” said WYCO Director of Planning and Urban Design Gunnar Hand.
After a review of the RFQ’s the city selected three developers to move forward to the Request for Proposals (RFP) phase. This is where the developers submit their specific plans for the site along with info on their development team.
Since releasing the RFQ, the UG completed a marketing analysis of each of the sites to better understand what the market can support. In addition, they reached out and engaged with the community to better understand their goals for each of the sites.
The UG staff used information from the marketing analysis and community engagement sessions in the finalization of the RFP. While the RFP will allow developers a lot of room for creativity in their approach to the project, it does include some firm guiding principles for the project.
“Hopefully, that [RFP] will spark creativity and limit just throwing spaghetti at the wall and seeing what sticks,” said Hand.
The three firms selected to submit RFPs for the Indian Springs site are: Block & Co – Christie Development (blockandco.com), Oak Impact (oakimpact.com) and Copaken Brooks (copaken-brooks.com).
The RFP for the Indian Springs site is currently scheduled for release on Feb. 22, with development proposals due this spring. The submitted proposals will be reviewed and ranked by the UG staff before they are submitted to the UG Commissioners for consideration.
Indian Springs Mall History
Indian Springs Mall originally opened in 1971, but like many malls across the country lost traffic to changing shopping habits and more modern retail spaces. Shortly after its last major anchor tenant pulled out in 2001, the mall closed for retail.
The old structure has been demolished and the only structures currently on the site are a KCATA bus transfer center, a KCKPD patrol station and the offices of the Area Agency on Aging The UG currently owns the property.
