Three Unified Government-owned sites were selected for an RFQ/RFP process. Currently, two sites are moving through the RFP process. The RFP for 4th/Minnesota closed on February 20, 2024. The RFP for Indian Springs was released February 23, 2024. The RFPs were informed by existing policy, relevant long range plans, and the public outreach summarized below.
The selected proposal for the 4th/Minnesota site was presented at the April 29, 2024 Economic Development and Finance Standing Committee. View the presentation here(PDF, 8MB).
On February 7, 2024 the UG and Development Strategies hosted an Open House at the former Indian Springs Mall Site.
On October 27, 2024, the UG and Development Strategies hosted an event at The Merc Co-op to discuss potential development types and amenities for this location.
The site of the former Indian Springs Mall at 47th and State Avenue is the largest site with great regional connectivity.
indian_springs_site_description.mp4
Phase I Environmental Site Assessments (ESA), Hazardous Materials Survey, and Phase II ESA were performed on the site in 2012/2013. These documents are located here. An updated Phase I ESA(PDF, 67MB) was completed in Spring 2024 and the Phase II ESA is expected to be finalized by November 2024.
The Triangle Parcel is located at 4th and Minnesota with some extraordinary views.
Triangle_Parcel_-_Site_Description.mp4
A Phase I Environmental Site Assessment (ESA) was finalized in March 2023 and is available through the Kansas Department of Health and Environment's Identified Sites List.
A preliminary webinar was held on February 28, 2023 to announce the sites and request feedback from interested parties. You can also view the attendee list(DOCX, 93KB) and view this article for links to the presentation.
On March 23, 2023, the UG hosted a webinar to release the RFQs for Lead Developers and Sub-Contractors/Sub-Contractor teams. View the attendee list(DOCX, 92KB) and presentation(PDF, 2MB).
The RFP pre-bid conference for 4th/Minnesota was held on December 13, 2023. View the recording here.
The RFP pre-bid conference for Indian Springs was held on February 21, 2024. View the recording here.
Phase I and Phase II Environmental Site Assessments (ESAs) were completed in 2012/2013 prior to the former Indian Springs mall’s demolition, which can be downloaded at the links provided in the "About the Sites" section above. Updated Phase I and Phase II ESAs are currently underway and will be provided on the Unified Government of Wyandotte County and Kansas City, Kansas’ (UG) redevelopment website when available. UG’s DotMaps platform contains parcel details and other geographical information at the link below. The Geospatial Services Division of the UG maintains other data sets such as demographic, geographical, and transportation information that can be downloaded at the link below. All of this information is the currently best available to the UG, but we recognize that other proprietary and/or governmental data may be available and should be pursued as each respondent deems necessary.
The Unified Government of Wyandotte County and Kansas, City KS (UG) has not set a cap on the number of applicants. Approximately 90 interested parties have expressed interest in the sites.
The UG encourages meaningful and comprehensive engagement with residents, relevant Neighborhood Revitalizations Groups (NBRs), and other stakeholder groups. Specific community engagement requirements have not yet been determined but will be included in the RFP application. It is anticipated that this will be a collaborative, community-driven and defined project scope.
The UG hired a consultant, Development Strategies, to assist with the RFQ process. The consultant will perform market analyses for each of the three sites to evaluate previous and existing development and potential development scenarios and impacts. This analysis will evaluate market trends to understand the potential scale, scope and character of viable development along with the potential to supply unmet demand from different consumer groups, residents and employers.
The County Administrative Officer (CAO) has established a Selection Committee of UG Staff to review, interview, if need be, and select qualified Lead Developers and Sub-Contractors/Sub-Contractor teams for the RFQ and qualified teams for each site-specific RFP.
No, the UG does not have an official Transit Oriented Development (TOD) policy other than the multiple area and corridor plans that encourage TOD; however, through our recently adopted goDotte Countywide Mobility Strategy, the UG is working to align land use with transportation and recommends that potential applicants review this strategy, as well as any other relevant long-range plans. It is anticipated that future development must comply with the UG’s design guidelines, which includes TOD best practices.
There will be two concurrent RFQ processes. The Lead Developer RFQ process will review and select qualified developers who will lead the redevelopment of the three (3) sites. The Sub-Contractor/Sub-Contractor teams RFQ process will review and select qualified Sub-Contractors who will be available to support the Lead Developer in various aspects of the development process. Upon conclusion of the two RFQ processes, the chosen Sub-Contractor shortlist will be made available to the developers permitted to submit proposals during the subsequent RFP for the three (3) sites. These RFP proposal evaluation processes will be scored in such a way to give additional weight to those Lead Developers that include pre-qualified Sub-Contractors on the project team.
Upon each development team’s request, a development agreement may be pursued to leverage existing, appropriate incentives available from the UG. Additionally, the UG is seeking local/state/federal grants that may align with and benefit all three sites.
As an example, the UG is a partner in a multi-million bi-state corridor planning effort along State Avenue that could result in significant transit and other infrastructure improvements at both the Downtown KCK and Indian Springs Mall sites.
Additional information regarding available UG incentive programs can be found at: https://www.wycokck.org/Departments/Economic-Development/Incentives
The Lead Developer and Sub-Contractor RFQs that were released at 12pm on March 23, 2023, and again on August 17, 2023, can be accessed here.
The UG does not currently have an existing DBE program, but encourages DBE participation. An example of equitable development scorecards can be found in the Northeast KCK Heritage Trail Plan.
The RFQ/RFP process seeks to develop catalytic demonstration projects that follow all existing codes and ordinances, meet industry best practices, and redefine community development in Wyandotte County. Brownfield grants are a potential funding mechanism for any site that needs remediation. 4th/Minnesota and Indian Springs are currently undergoing brownfields assessments.
Details regarding qualifications will be provided upon the release of the RFQ.
Specified development uses for these sites, if applicable, are guided primarily by community feedback codified in long range plans. Currently, the only sites available through this RFQ/RFP process are the two sites listed above.
Submitted applications will become publicly available following the selection process, upon request.
The RFQ/RFP process will address the need to be intentional about preventing and/or mitigating any negative displacement impacts on existing residents or businesses.
As the spirit of this initiative is to be a community-driven development process, the RFQ/RFP process will include a public engagement scope of work for all three redevelopment sites.
Details regarding grading and selection criteria will be provided upon the release of the Lead Developer RFQ and the Sub Consultant RFQ, respectively. Additional details regarding the evaluation criteria for the three site-specific RFPs will be included upon their release. The CAO will establish a Selection Committee of UG Staff to review, interview, if need be, and select qualified developers for the Lead Developer RFQ and qualified consultants for the Sub-Contractor RFQ. Subsequent to the RFQ processes, a Selection Committee will commerce to select qualified teams for each site-specific RFP.
The UG hired a consultant, Development Strategies, to assist with the RFQ process. The consultant performed a market analysis(PDF, 5MB) to evaluate previous and existing development and potential development scenarios and impacts. This analysis evaluates market trends to understand the potential scale, scope, and character of viable development, along with the potential to supply unmet demand from different consumer groups, residents and employers. The UG will work with its consultant to include various incentives, ongoing projects, and other relevant materials to support the successful development of each site.
The UG encourages all teams to think creatively about the urban design and neighborhood character of each site. Ecological restoration is supported at all sites.
Mayor/CEO Garner has requested that a grocery store be the preferred development at the 18th and Quindaro site location. However, no lead developers submitted for this site during the RFQ process, and development of this site will not continue at this time.
The Unified Government recommends that each team be prepared to complete all necessary environmental studies and other required due diligence, including possible remediation pending the final assessment results. 4th/Minnesota and Indian Springs are undergoing Phase I and Phase II Environmental Site Assessments (ESA). The Phase I for 4th/Minnesota was finalized March 2024 and is available through Kansas Department of Health and Environment's Identified Sites List. The Bi-State Brownfields program may offer resources and/or potential brownfield loans or grants for Phase I/II ESAs. Developers are encouraged to contact Brownfields Coordinator Alyssa Marcy, amarcy@wycokck.org, to discuss funding options for environmental remediation.
Only the Indian Springs Mall site is contemplated as potentially housing some UG offices in the future. At this time, it is unknown how many employees could be relocated or what their overall square footage needs would entail. We ask that the respondent(s) only describe their overall vision for one or all of the three different project sites.
Over the past 15 years the UG has published documents relating to the potential for redevelopment of each of the UG owned sites. Links to each of these documents can be found in the Introductory section of the Lead Developer RFQ.
For questions about the application process, please contact Ms. Teresa Houchins, UG Purchasing Department Buyer at thouchins@wycokck.org and/or (913)573-5244.
For general questions, contact Economic Development: edevelopment@wycokck.org
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