Wichita City Council members are looking over designs and concepts for the future of the Century II Convention Center and the former downtown library building. The concepts were presented in a workshop meeting Tuesday.
The vision is the result of a study conducted by city staff working with Visit Wichita to look at a redesign of the Century II area and the east bank of the Arkansas River.
Bill Krueger with the marketing firm of CSL said a new downtown convention center is needed to help Wichita get its share of the national market, and the space inside the Century II round building needs to be transformed as part of this effort.
The concepts presented by Adam Paulitsch of the architectural firm of Populous include a 30,000 square-foot ballroom in Century II, the expansion of the Bob Brown Expo Hall, open plaza areas, a pedestrian bridge over the Arkansas River, and the use of the former downtown library building as an event center. The entire project would cost an estimated $400 million.
No decisions have been made on the future development of the area, but the City Council has talked about plans to keep Century II and the former downtown library as community gathering places. City Manager Robert Layton said more work will be needed on the issue of space for performing arts, and discussions are planned to look at those needs.
