Wichita’s Historic Preservation Board voted Tuesday to try to save a 1910-vintage downtown building that most recently housed the Mead’s Corner Methodist coffee house.
That vote came about three hours after the City Council — which has the final say — set in motion steps to establish a special sales tax district to help pay for a developer to demolish the old building and replace it with modern office and retail space.
At issue is the two-story building at the northwest corner of Douglas and Emporia. TGC Development has acquired the rights to the property and plans to tear down the building and replace it with a four-story, 70,000-square-foot structure with offices on the top three floors and retail on the first floor.
TGC is the same company working in partnership with the city to redevelop the Spaghetti Works District and rebuild the adjacent Naftzger Park, on Douglas west of the BNSF railroad tracks.
The preservation board voted to deny permission to demolish the Mead’s Corner building after an impassioned plea from Greg Kite, president of the Historic Preservation Alliance of Wichita and Sedgwick County.
He said the building is “triple designated” on the local, state and national registers of historic places and one of 44 “contributing buildings” of the East Douglas Historic District.
“It’s the highest register status you can get,” he said.
(Read more: Wichita Eagle)