WICHITA, Kan. (KWCH) -Movement Musick, the nonprofit organization behind the music hub proposed in April, says they will be building a grocery store in the area as well.
“This is a game changer for downtown,” said Heather Schroeder, executive director for Downtown Wichita, “As somebody who lives downtown myself, I know acutely how important it is to have easy access to local food.”
Downtown Wichita tells us that, currently, the nearest grocery store to the downtown area is two miles away.
“It’s a little bit of a hand in hand growth, and so we’ve been realizing that there is kind of a limit to how much downtown can grow without those built in conveniences, like having a grocery store that you can patronize on a daily basis,’ Schroeder said.
According to the press release sent out by Movement Musick, they are working with the Queen family from Kansas City, known for helping establish the Price Chopper brand.
“On behalf of downtown, we’re just so excited to have this new amenity,” Schroeder said, “It will really serve our existing residential base.”
We spoke to Wichitans about the idea, most were in favor of a grocery store in the downtown area.
“Having a grocery store within walking distance is really just going to help build community and make a good place to live for a lot of people,” said Wichitan Seth Williams.
Williams moved to the Wichita area last month, and he said a main reason he did not move downtown was the lack of accessible food.
“There’s a lot going down down here, and it can be a fun place to live with all the nightlife and the restaurants and such, but having a grocery store was a little higher up on my priority list,” Williams said.
But not everyone was on the same page. One resident was against the idea, especially due to the location.
“You put a supermarket in the area where there’s a lot of trouble already, it’s not going to change nothing, it’s just going to make it worse because they’re going to try to get into there and take stuff from there and then it’s going to be causing more problems,” the resident said.
As of now the location has not been announced, but Movement Musick says it will be within two blocks of their upcoming music hub.
Downtown Wichita tells us that usually a city needs to reach 10,000 residents before they get a grocery store. As of now, downtown only has about 4,000, but they say it is still a vital addition for anyone who utilizes the city.
“What Movement Musick has done is kind of go ahead of schedule, and so they’re taking a bit of a risk by saying, ‘We’re not at that 10,000 resident number yet, but we have people here who need food, and so we’re gonna provide that service as a head start,’” Schroeder said.
Movement Musick also announced in their press release a one-acre expansion of their planned community open space within the downtown redevelopment project.
As of now, there is no timeline for the project.
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