by Jerry Siebenmark
Developer Jason Van Sickle said Tuesday that he plans to nearly double the apartments at the Flats 324 by building an addition.
Van Sickle said the $7 million project will have 60 units, nearly evenly split between one- and two-bedroom units ranging in size from 575 square feet to 950 square feet.
“Building ground up apartments in downtown Wichita is expensive,” said Van Sickle, who also is president of the Old Town Association. “The reason I am doing it is I want to invest in downtown and there’s continued demand for downtown housing.”
The existing Flats 324 building at 324 N. Emporia — the former Wichita High School building — has 68 units.
In addition to the new Flats building, Van Sickle said he’ll be adding green space for his apartment dwellers as well as covered parking.
He hopes to complete the subcontractor bidding process and final city approvals in time for an early fall groundbreaking.
Ron Spangenberg and Greg Tice of Spangenberg Phillips Tice Architecture, and general contractor Dave Wells of Key Construction, are investor partners in the project.