Wichita school district could sell five acres at high school for new police substation
Five acres of land at Northwest High School could eventually be transformed into a new west Wichita police substation.
The Wichita school board is expected to vote Monday evening on a proposal to sell the land at 13th and Country Acres at the northeast corner of the school property to the city for $450,000.
Before that sale can be made, the board will have to vote to reclassify the acreage as surplus property.
It will also vote on whether to reclassify long-defunct Field Elementary on West St. Louis Street as surplus property in anticipation of selling it in an unrelated transaction.
“The recommendation to declare these properties to be surplus is being made because the properties are vacant, there are no future plans for the properties to be used by the district for any reason, the properties are expensive to maintain, and the sale of the properties will provide cash to the district,” the agenda report states.
The next item on the agenda after the surplus property vote is a purchasing agreement with the city for the Northwest land. The Wichita Police Department West Patrol currently shares a building with Wichita Fire Station #8 on North Elder Street.
The city broke ground on a $10.6 million Patrol East substation at Lincoln and Pinecrest last December. City spokesperson Tyler Schiffelbein said the new Patrol West project has a $10 million budget. Construction is expected to begin in 2024 and be completed by the end of 2025.
Field Elementary has been out of operation for decades, and at times has been leased by the district to various tenants, USD 259 spokesperson Susan Arensman told The Eagle.
If the former elementary school is deemed “surplus,” the state of Kansas has right of first refusal on obtaining the property, so the district must wait at least 45 days after the 2024 legislative session commences before moving to sell it.
