WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW) – The city of Wichita is moving forward with major renovations along the banks of the Arkansas River downtown.
The city council on Tuesday heard input from the public before voting to go forward with the river district development project.
KSN News already told you about one of the phases of improvements for this area, and the city approved the second part, which will work to fund a new stadium.
Now, they’ll need state approval. You won’t find many people who know the Delano district like Particia Banning. A chip off the old block.
“We used to walk to the baseball stadium and watch the games when the Arrows played,” says Banning.
She’s been living there since 1957 and has never seen so much hustle and bustle.
The city has made it a major point to revitalize the area through redevelopment with a new library and more.
The latest action was the approval of a sales tax revenue, or star bond, to help fund changes to Lawrence-Dumont stadium.
Essentially the city will help to pay back the financing of the project, with the increased sales tax revenue it expects to bring in from the district highlighted here in red.
“I think all the improvements are great. I mean it seems like no matter what every year it seems to get a little better,” says Joshua Swafford.
The city now seeks state approval.
Banning says it’s been a long time since she sat on her back porch with her father listening to the roar of the old stadium.
With plans for more improvements getting closer to reality, she feels included to know her neighborhood is coming alive once again.
“We are locals. We have been here a long time, a lot of us in this neighborhood, and it is good to support our local economy, and it is good to support Wichita.”
Get breaking news, weather and traffic on the go. Download our News App and our Weather App for your phone and tablet. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter.
