A former fire station on Topeka Avenue downtown will become a shared workspace for artists and business startups after Wichita State University objected to Butler Community College’s proposal for a culinary arts school there.
The Wichita City Council voted to accept the proposal from Commerce Street Development Partners LLC., which will pay $100,000 for the 16,000-square-foot property at 500 S. Topeka and redevelop it into a shared-space concept called FireWorx.
“I hope it will do what it’s designed to do and truly be a catalyst for that area,” said Mayor Jeff Longwell.
The council didn’t have much choice.
Of the original five proposals for the building, a staff committee had narrowed it to two — FiireWorx and a proposal from a development company that wanted to renovate the building and lease it to Butler Community College for a $4 million culinary arts school.
But Butler withdrew its proposal after the college got a cease-and-desist letter from Wichita State University objecting to the potential competition for students.
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