By BECKY KISER
Hays Post
“Land cost should not be an issue,” said Assistant City Manager Jacob Wood Tuesday as he announced the “West 10th Street Development.”
The city-owned property on the north side of West 10th between Elm and Ash Streets, plus a lease for adjacent parking, will be given to the developer selected by the city.
Requests for proposals (RFPs) are being sent out for the project to developers across Kansas. A link will also be available on the city’s website, www.haysusacom. “We’re excited about this here at the city,” Wood said during a news conference.
The location, just north of the railroad tracks and within easy walking distance of Fort Hays State University (FHSU) and the downtown Hays commercial district, was previously owned by Union Pacific Railroad (UPRR).
“We’re interested in any kind of mixed-use development, such as a retail store on the bottom floor and apartments up above, multi-family residential, or a commercial development,” Wood explained.
The city owns the 1.26 acre site, along with a 0.93 acre lease secured from UPPR for parking. It sits one block from the downtown Hays commercial district and a little more than one block from the FHSU campus.
According to Wood, the area historically was used for parking by the old railroad passenger train depot. As he understands it, the depot “just kind of disappeared overnight. Union Pacific tore it down without giving much notice to anybody (after it was no longer used.) The city did purchase that property and it’s really just been used for parking ever since.
“We want to develop as much of the site as possible. If the city were to require someone to put in a bunch of on-site parking, that means there’s less space for the building. Since we have parking across the street (to the south), they don’t have to worry about that.
“The intent is to leave this thing as wide open as we can and see what we get,” said Wood.
The city has reserved the right to cancel the RFP or select none of the proposals submitted.
“We’re going to let the developer decide what to put there. City staff will review it and then the city commission will make a decision and some kind of agreement.”
Wood acknowledged high land prices in Hays can hinder development.
“People really complain about the price of land here. That’s the biggest thing we hear from outside developers is that the cost of land is too expensive. So this is an opportunity. The cost of land is pretty cheap if it’s free,” he said with a grin.
The city also thinks the land location is good, within one of the most visible corridors in the community.
“We’ll just have to see what the developers think, if that’s a good location, halfway between FHSU and downtown,” said Wood. “It’s gonna have to be something they want to do, what they think the market can bear, and also something the city commission thinks will work in that area.”
The property is in the Neighborhood Revitalization Program, an area eligible for property tax rebates on the increased value of the property once the project is complete.
Proposals will be accepted through Dec. 15, 2017.