The Wichita Eagle, March 15, 2006

Developing 21st Street Marketplace ideas
Residents near 21st and Broadway tell consultants what
they like to see included in the cultural district

By Christina M Woods

Additional authentic Asian and Hispanic restaurants will help create the cultural hub people envision in the 21st and Broadway area, according to survey results the Greteman Group released Tuesday. Greteman Group, a local marketing and advertising firm, is leading the planning for the city’s proposed International Marketplace District, a redevelopment project along 21st Street in north-central Wichita. It conducted the survey of local residents.

About 30 people attending El Pueblo Neighborhood Association’s meeting at Evergreen Branch Library got the first look at results.

Among survey’s findings:
∑ Restaurants, a Hispanic market and retail stores ranked high as potential additions to the area.
∑ Gang problems, poor landscaping and a lack of outdoor furniture in the area ranked among top concerns.
∑ Safety issues and a lack of people willing to start new businesses in the area were seen as hurdles project coordinators must overcome.

Highlighting the district’s diversity is a must-or, as one survey respondent wrote, “We don’t want an artificial, sanitized ‘Disneyfied’ area. “ Keep it real.” Deanna Harms of Greteman Group agreed. “You have long histories here,” Harms said. “You have definite opinions, and we need to hear that.”

The survey, which was available in English, Spanish and Vietnamese, launched in February. Consultants mailed out 3,000 surveys to people living in the area, from 20th to 22nd streets and from Broadway to Somerset. The survey was also available on the Internet. Consultants, with the help of teenage volunteers, conducted one-on-one interviews with people on the street and in stores.

More than 100 people responded online. 94 people responded in print, and more than 100 people were interviewed.

Consultants said they were pleased with the quality of responses, although they were disappointed in the response rate.

A top concern of people attending Tuesday’s meeting was their perception that efforts were being duplicated in the planning for 21st Street,

At the meeting was Roberto Baeza, whom the city hired in 2004 to create a business plan for a proposed mercado, or Hispanic market, in the area. The mercado is considered the anchor for the districts.

Also attending were members of the newly formed West 21st Street Community Development Corp., who are overseeing the Mercado project. The city awarded Wichita State University’s Self-Help Network a one-year, $110,000 contract to help launch the community development corporation.

In December, the city approved paying Greteman $295,000 in capital improvement money to act as lead consultant for planning and designing the district. “If you have more than one team,“ said Bob Aldrich, a member of the development corporation, “ we should all be working together as a group.”