Michael Payton (from left), Jeff Englert and Grant Glasgow are trying to market a new Towne West Medical Plaza for a nontraditional approach to filling the mall.
WICHITA — Area mall manager Michael Payton is using a new saying to describe Simon Property Group malls such as Towne East Square and Towne West Square.
“The malls are starting to become the ‘alls.’”
He means the malls offer more than retail and restaurant options these days.
“We’re starting to see more and more nontraditional users work their way into the mall environment.”
The latest foray into a nontraditional use will be the new Towne West Medical Plaza, a potentially 50,000-square-foot area that could be home to a variety of medical users.
“Basically kind of a one-stop shop for different medical needs,” says Jeff Englert of Grubb & Ellis/Martens Commercial Group.
Englert and colleague Grant Glasgow are marketing the property, which will be on the west side of the mall between Sears and Dick’s Sporting Goods.
“This is something they’ve tried in other markets,” Glasgow says of Simon.
“You have a built-in customer base within Towne West mall.”
Glasgow says the mall has 6 million visitors annually.
Payton says the medical location will be convenient for patients, who also could be shoppers.
“They can do some shopping. They can eat.”
Glasgow says to see why this idea makes sense, look at the number of medical providers in the southwest Wichita area.
“It is by far the fewest in Wichita,” he says.
Englert says that area has only 1 percent of all medical offices in the city.
“Obviously, there’s a clear void,” he says. “That’s another reason why we thought this would be a good use of space.”
In addition to being convenient for patients, Glasgow says a medical plaza at the mall makes sense for doctors and dentists, too.
“This allows medical users to cluster,” he says. “They like to all be together.”
On-site management is another plus, he says.
“There are benefits like 24-7 security.”
The area likely will develop in phases.
“It will not cut off through the rest of the mall,” Englert says of access to shopping through that entrance.
