Category Archives: Waterfront

Mike Lewis moves Newton gym, opens training center in Wichita

April 11, 20135:00 a.m.

UPDATED — Mike Lewis has moved his Newton-based gym and is opening a personal training center in Wichita.

Mike Lewis Fitness is now in about 6,000 square feet at the Chisholm Trail Center-Outlet & Retail Shops in Newton.

“Basically, I’m growing,” Lewis says of his business, which opened in 2009.

The gym offers a variety of workout options, such as spin classes, boot camps and personal training.

The new business, Fitness on the Waterfront, is opening at the Waterfront development at 13th and Webb Road exclusively for personal training.

“The clientele up there around the Waterfront is the main reason I want to do the Waterfront one,” Lewis says.

Don Piros of Landmark Commercial Real Estate handled the deal.

Personal training that he received, along with a sports background, inspired Lewis to open the gym.

“I’ve played every sport known to man,” he says. “I always wanted to open my own gym.”

By Carrie Rengers | Tags: , , , , , Filed under Chisholm Trail, East side, Health clubs, New business, Newton, Waterfront | Comments

You don’t say

Feb. 28, 20134:02 p.m.

“If it was any kind of confusion, they would have never gave us that name.”

– David Foster, who says he wouldn’t have been able to get a permit for his new Waterfront Cafe and Catering near I-235 and Seneca if it would be confused with the Waterfront development at 13th and Webb Road

By Carrie Rengers | Tags: , , Filed under East side, New business, Real estate, Restaurants, South side, Waterfront | Comments Off

Massage Envy Spa to open at the Waterfront in May in space that Irvin Jacks is vacating

Feb. 13, 20135:00 a.m.

WICHITA — East Wichita no longer has a reason to be envious of west Wichita, at least when it comes to Massage Envy Spa.

The first Wichita Massage Envy opened in NewMarket Square at 21st and Maize Road in 2010.

Now, one is moving into the Irvin Jacks space at the Waterfront in early May.

It’s not clear what’s happening with Irvin Jacks, a “barber spa” for men. Owner Felicia DeSpain didn’t return calls for comment.

Massage Envy franchisee Amy Gilliland, who also owns the Lawrence Massage Envy, says she’d actually hoped to open on the east side first.

“There was just no place to go that we wanted to go,” she says of when she looked previously.

She says she’s excited about the 3,290 square feet that’s coming open at the Waterfront.

“I love how upscale it is. I love the aesthetic. I like the tenant mix. I like the landlords a lot. They’re really great.”

Don Piros of Landmark Commercial Real Estate handled the deal.

Gilliland says Massage Envy is an affordable, approachable business that offers therapeutic massage and healthy skin facials.

The chain, which started in 2002, now has 854 stores.

Read More »

By Carrie Rengers | Tags: , , , , , , Filed under East side, New business, Real estate, Retail, Spa, Waterfront | Comments Off

Waterfront to be home to new Class A luxury apartment village

Aug. 10, 20124:14 p.m.

WICHITA — There’s another new phase of development coming to the Waterfront at the northeast corner of 13th and Webb Road.

Steve Clark and Johnny Stevens are planning a Class A apartment complex with up to 300 units.

“It will be unlike anything Wichita has,” says Stephen Clark II, who is handling the development. “It’ll be a big deal.”

The complex will be across the lake from Homewood Suites by Hilton at the Waterfront.

Stephen Clark describes the complex as a gated village with some conventional attached units and some detached units, such as luxury duplexes.

There also will be some furnished corporate units.

“Wichita doesn’t have any Class A apartments,” Clark says.

There will be granite countertops, stainless steel appliances, covered parking and private garages, a pool, a wine cellar, a putting green and a clubhouse with a chef’s kitchen.

“It will match the Waterfront’s design criteria on the exterior,” Clark says.

That includes brick, stone and stucco.

Clark also recently announced the new Waterfront Plaza on the northwest corner, which Whole Foods Market will anchor, and a new 4.3 acre mixed-use development within the Waterfront on the northeast corner.

He says the apartments will be a good addition to the mix.

“They’re just going to be on a whole other level.”

 

By Carrie Rengers | Tags: , , , , , Filed under Apartments, East side, Real estate, Waterfront | Comments Off

Mathnasium to open at the Waterfront

Aug. 2, 20125:00 a.m.

Rachel Allen helps a student at Mathnasium.

WICHITA — Since Rachel Allen opened Mathnasium at NewMarket Square at 21st and Maize Road in February, parents have been driving their children from the east side to get math help.

Now, they won’t have to.

Allen is opening a second Mathnasium, a franchise known as the Math Learning Center, at the Waterfront at 13th and Webb Road.

“I’ve had a lot of interest from the east side,” Allen says, “… and so they’re pretty excited about us opening over there.”

Allen is an accountant and a former middle school math teacher. Her husband, Paul, is one of the principals of the Allen, Gibbs & Houlik accounting firm.

“This is really a perfect fit for my background,” Allen says. “I just really love working with kids and helping them, and this seemed like a great opportunity.”

She says Mathnasium, which teaches a range of math from beginning skills through calculus, gives children help with math concepts in a way that makes sense to them.

“We say we help kids catch up, keep up and get ahead,” Allen says.

Mathnasium even helps some adults, such as those returning to school to complete degrees.

When Allen became a franchisee, she acquired the rights for sites on the east and west sides. She says she found the 1,500-square-foot NewMarket location first.

The 1,400-square-foot Waterfront location is in the former Butter Bean children’s boutique space.

Don Piros of Landmark Commercial Real Estate handled the deal.

Math is a subject a lot of students struggle with, but Allen says parents says they notice a difference in their children’s feelings about it after going to Mathnasium.

“They’re just amazed by … the kids’ confidence and their attitude towards math.”

By Carrie Rengers | Tags: , , , , , , , , , Filed under East side, New business, Real estate, Waterfront | Comments Off

Clark Investment Group to build new 5,500-square-foot office at the Waterfront

July 4, 20125:00 a.m.

WICHITA — There’s a more personal element to the new 4.3 acre development that developers Steve Clark and Johnny Stevens are bringing to the Waterfront at 13th and Webb Road.

In addition to the new 2-story office building that will be between Andover State Bank and Chester’s Chophouse & Wine Bar, along with a new restaurant pad site just north of Chester’s, Clark is building a new office for himself.

His Clark Investment Group headquarters currently is in 2,500 square feet near 13th and Rock Road in the Polo Club Office Park, which Clark and Stevens built in 1990.

“We’ve been here a long time,” Clark says. “Our space is not adequate for us these days.”

His new office will be a 5,500-square-foot, single-story building that will be north of where the new 2-story building will be.

“It’ll have a nice patio in the back that kind of runs right up to the lake,” says Clark’s son, Stephen Clark II, who is managing the development of the 4.3 acres.

Spangenberg Phillips Tice Architecture designed the building along with the 24,000-square-foot 2-story building.

Read More »

By Carrie Rengers | Tags: , , , , , , , , Filed under East side, Polo Club Office Park, Real estate, Waterfront | Comments Off

Waterfront developers to break ground on 4.3 acre development, including 2-story Class A office space and possible restaurant

June 27, 20125:11 p.m.

WICHITA — Steve Clark and Johnny Stevens are preparing to develop another 4.3 acres at their Waterfront development at 13th and Webb.

The chief part of the project is a 24,000-square-foot, 2-story office building that will be between Andover State Bank and Chester’s Chophouse & Wine Bar.

“There are some people looking for space right now that want an unusual location,” Clark says. “There are a couple of major tenants.”

Clark’s son, Stephen Clark II, is managing the project, and he says those potential tenants – there are no signed deals yet – are the reason Clark and Stevens are looking to do the office building.

“There is some interest in the market that’s kind of sparked up recently,” Stephen Clark says. “People have been waiting so long to do something because of the economy.”

He says the economy isn’t necessarily that much better, but businesses can’t wait any longer.

“Some people are outgrowing their space or need to upgrade their space,” Stephen Clark says.

He says the existing office space at the Waterfront is full and that there has not been much new Class A office space that’s been built in Wichita in recent years. He says business owners “want a location that’s going to last many years, and I think we’ve established the Waterfront is that kind of location.”

“It costs the same to build the building somewhere else. You’re going to get better long-term residual value in a place like the Waterfront.”

Stephen Clark says the building will have “incredible identity from Webb Road.”

“It’s very visible from Webb Road, but it also enjoys the lake in the rear.”

Read More »

By Carrie Rengers | Tags: , , , , , , Filed under East side, Real estate, Restaurants, Waterfront | Comments Off

Ciao Italian Kitchen may open in former Tommy’s Restaurant and Lounge space

June 27, 201211:00 a.m.

WICHITA — Less than a year after opening Ciao Italian Kitchen on the east side at the Waterfront, Guillermo Perez-Munoz is working on a west-side location.

Perez-Munoz isn’t talking yet, but it looks like he’s negotiating to take the former Tommy’s Restaurant and Lounge space at 2121 N. Tyler.

Twin Peaks owner Rusty Rathbun has eyed that spot as well and is still considering other west-side space.

Look for a west-side Ciao deal possibly in the next week or two.

 

By Carrie Rengers | Tags: , , , , , Filed under East side, Real estate, Restaurants, Waterfront, West side | Comments Off

Third Metro Grill to open at the Waterfront

March 9, 201212:07 p.m.

WICHITA — Michael Gonzalez is preparing to open his third Metro Grill, this time in the former Chill Gelato space at the Waterfront at 13th and Webb.

Gonzalez opened his first Metro Grill in Towne East Square. Last year, he opened one in Andover and then sold it to an employee.

Gonzalez says this location, which will seat about 40 and have additional outside seating, will open in about two months.

“I want to thank the people of Wichita for hanging in there with me.”

 

By Carrie Rengers | Tags: , , , Filed under East side, New business, Real estate, Restaurants, Retail, Waterfront | Comments Off

Brooks Brothers to leave Wichita

March 2, 20124:58 p.m.

WICHITA — It appears Brooks Brothers is going to be leaving Wichita as quietly as it entered the market.

“I can confirm that our Wichita store will close at the end of this month as we have decided not to renew our lease,” e-mailed Arthur Wayne, vice president of global public relations, in response to a phone call.

He declined a follow-up e-mail request for an interview to elaborate on the decision.

Have You Heard? first reported Brooks Brothers would be coming to the Waterfront development at 13th and Webb in February 2006.

No one with the company confirmed it until a couple of days before the store opened.

The chain, which calls itself the “country’s oldest clothing retailer,” was the Waterfront’s first national retail tenant. It took the development’s prominent domed retail space with 7,651 square feet.

The broker who handled the deal said the company initially planned a Brooks Brothers 346, which isn’t quite as upscale as a traditional Brooks Brothers store. That was before top executives visited the city and decided Wichita has the right demographics for the traditional store.

Waterfront developers Johnny Stevens and Steve Clark expected similar national retail tenants to follow, but they didn’t.

Neither Stevens nor Clark returned calls to discuss the Brooks Brothers departure.

 

By Carrie Rengers | Tags: , , , , , Filed under East side, Retail, Waterfront | Comments Off