Wichita will sell riverbank land parcel to Hyatt unless someone makes better offer

A city-owned parcel of riverbank land will be sold to the Hyatt Hotel at a price of $15 per square foot, the Wichita City Council said in a tentative agreement Tuesday.

Proceeds from the sale would be used by the city to improve the east bank of the Arkansas River between Douglas and Waterman, including A. Price Woodard Park.

The Hyatt plans to use the space to expand meeting rooms and banquet facilities. The $217,440 purchasing agreement for the 14,496-square-foot parcel will go into effect unless another developer makes a better offer on the land in the next 30 days.

City Manager Robert Layton said it’s unlikely anyone else could make better use of the unimproved land, which is contiguous to the hotel and cut off from access to public streets.

“This parcel is limited. It cannot be developed by anyone other than the Hyatt,” Layton said. “Access could be granted to the driveway but there’s not sufficient parking for a stand-alone commercial use of this lot.”

The city park board recommended approval of the purchasing agreement this fall. The 30-day notification period is required because the parcel is located in an urban development zone.

The city sold the Hyatt to casino magnate Phil Ruffin in 2016 for $20 million.

“The proposed real estate purchase contract is inadequate,” Save Century II Chair Celeste Racette told council members. “It demonstrates a lack of understanding of the sweetheart deals we have already made with Ruffin Properties and the Hyatt Hotel.”

The tentative sale was approved 7-0 by the council at Tuesday’s meeting.

Before the vote, District 6 council member Maggie Ballard said she wants to see the city get as much value out of the sale as possible, citing the 2019 decision to sell land around the new minor league ballpark to the team’s owners for $1 an acre.

“We only have so much riverfront property, and I know that the city has been very sensitive to, you know, selling it for a dollar — whatever all has been done in the past — and I think it’s important that we do get the most bang for our buck because it is unusual property and there’s only so much of it,” Ballard said.

The riverbank land’s value was assessed at $15 per square foot by a Weigand broker in late 2021. Mayor Brandon Whipple said that third-party assessment should reassure taxpayers that the sale is financially responsible.

“I just want to point out the difference between this and past land sales that have been more critical in the public eye,” Whipple said. “We really did our due diligence.

“We made sure that it went through public hearings. We put it in front of the park board. We even have some of the funds with this going to beautify other outdoor space.”

Any competing offers made by developers to purchase the land would also have to be brought before the council for consideration.