25 October 2006

NAME AND DESIGNS UNVEILED FOR THE INTERNATIONAL
MARKETPLACE DISTRICT

The first round of design and architectural recommendations for the International Marketplace District were presented to the 21st Street Business Association on Tuesday evening, Oct. 24, at the Minisa Park Building. Greteman Group and Wilson Darnell Mann Architects served as co-presenters. Attendees included business owners and residents of the proposed district area, with a number of new faces from the community showing support.

The recommended name for the district: Nomar International. The name was a strong favorite in testing and already has tremendous equity. “Nomar” has long been the abbreviation for the North Market area – No-Mar. The Spanish-revival Nomar Theater, built in 1928, became its undisputed icon and landmark.

"The name ‘Nomar’ is simple, memorable and fun to say,” said Sonia Greteman, president and creative director of Greteman Group. “It also offers tremendous branding opportunities."

Just as New York City’s “SoHo” immediately denotes a location – south of Houston – “Nomar” also provides a quick identifier for residents and visitors to Wichita’s most multicultural district. The addition of “International” captures the flavor of this one-of-a-kind neighborhood.

Within the Nomar International district, the indoor-outdoor market will be called Nomar International Market. It will offer goods, foods and music from around the world. Residents and visitors can tap into everything from festivals and farmers markets to community gatherings and bandstand performances.

The consulting team has conducted a number of community meetings since January. This meeting’s attendance was up substantially, since it was the first opportunity for business owners and residents to see and comment on the brand’s design and architectural recommendations. The team utilized input from a discovery process that began early in the year. It included a trilingual mailed survey, online survey and on-the-street intercept interviews. A community workshop held in April was particularly integral in developing the name, look and feel of the district.

In addition to the name, the team unveiled design concepts, overall branding, signage, a color palette and architectural recommendations for key areas, including the corner of 21st and Broadway, a market plaza with a bandstand, landscaping, streetscaping, a gateway tower, gateway arches and a retail-residential mix. All were met with positive reviews from attendees, who were pleased to see a solid plan and infrastructure for the project after many years of planning.

"This is the roadmap we need to get things moving on this project," said Ron Cruz, president of the 21st Street Business Association. "Now we just need the support of our community to make it a reality."

The project is on an aggressive 12-month timeframe and moving forward on schedule. This phase involves development of the branding and the architectural design approach. A marketing plan will follow. The district reaches from Broadway (on the east) to the Thai Binh Asian Market at Somerset (on the west) and from 22nd Street North down to 20th Street North. The goal: A mix of ethnic-inspired shops, restaurants, grocers, music, crafts and festivals that appeals to residents and tourists alike.

Nomar International can be a destination that spices up the city’s mix of offerings – whether it’s a family that catches lunch in one of the area’s ethnic restaurants, teens drawn to a low-rider car show, or a couple who wants to check out a Tejano band. It doesn’t matter if you live in Riverside or are in town visiting relatives – this is a district people should consider exploring, just as they do Old Town, Delano or museums along the river.