All federal agencies at the 271 Building downtown will by gone by September

April 17, 20135:37 p.m.

WICHITA — By the end of August, all of the federal agencies in the 271 Building at 271 W. Third St. downtown will be gone.

Have You Heard? has written about several of the departures already. What follows is a complete list.

“This was originally an IRS lease at this building, but they returned some of the space, and then we backfilled it with other agencies … which is kind of why everyone is leaving at once,” says Angela Brees, a spokeswoman for the General Services Administration.

The IRS has about 33,000 square feet of the 95,000-square-foot building.

Typically, whenever a federal agency’s lease is up, there has to be a bidding process for new space.

The IRS office and the Immigration and Customs Enforcement office are moving to 555 N. Woodlawn. They’re taking about 40,000 square feet there, and there’s another 23,000 square feet available to lease.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration office and the Health and Human Services Inspector General are moving to Phil Ruffin’s Bank of America Center at Broadway and Douglas.

The Small Business Administration is moving to the Page Court Building at the Garvey Center at 220 E. Douglas.

The Defense Contract Audit Agency and the Defense Contract Management Agency are moving to the Lux building at First and Market.

The Railroad Retirement Board has already moved to the Cambridge Office Park south of 21st and Webb Road, and the Citizenship and Immigration Services office has already moved to Ruffin’s building at 550 W. Douglas in Delano.

The status of the Department of Agriculture and the Department of Defense Inspector General offices is still unclear.

All of the agencies need to be out of the 271 Building by the end of August when the lease is up.

“We’re still dealing with them on that,” says Trey Ayers, executive vice president of Guthrie, Okla.-based Dominion Properties, which owns the building.

Dominion is seeking new tenants outside of federal agencies.

“We like Wichita, and we like what it’s about,” Ayers says. “Hopefully we can help some other local folks move into the property.”

By Carrie Rengers | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , Filed under Delano, Downtown, East side, Federal government, Real estate | Comments

Wichita’s LSI office to move to Ruffin Building on East Douglas

April 8, 201311:06 a.m.

UPDATED — When LSI’s Engenio storage division sold to NetApp in 2011, one piece of the LSI business remained at the NetApp building on North Rock Road.

LSI is now moving into its own space at the Ruffin Building at 9111 E. Douglas, which is the one-time Pizza Hut headquarters.

“We’re excited to have them,” says Chris Ruffin, director of real estate for his father Phil Ruffin’s Ruffin Properties.

The 5-year lease is for 19,000 square feet of the 254,000-square-foot building.

“I have about 25,000 left,” Ruffin says of what’s still available to lease.

Marty Gilchrist and Grant Tidemann of J.P. Weigand & Sons helped him with the deal.

“They were instrumental in helping put it together,” Ruffin says.

Also helping was California-based Ham Southworth of Studley Inc. Southworth represents LSI nationally.

He says about 50 people will be moving. Southworth says most are engineers but there are sales, operations and marketing employees as well.

“They’re going to move in as soon as possible,” Ruffin says. He anticipates that will take three or four months.

Other tenants include Ally, CCH and Pure-Formance Sports & Fitness Training Center, which Ruffin says is open to the public.

He says Ruffin Properties recently spent $115,000 on landscaping at the Ruffin Building.

“And it’s going to really improve … the overall appearance to the building.”

Ruffin says the LSI lease is significant.

“It’s just a really good deal,” Ruffin says.

And not just for Ruffin Properties and LSI, he says, but for Wichita in general.

“It means that the private sector’s moving a little bit.”

By Carrie Rengers | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , Filed under East side, Real estate, Technology | Comments

Ruffin working on two Delano properties

Feb. 5, 20134:13 p.m.

WICHITA — Chris Ruffin director of real estate for his father Phil Ruffin’s Ruffin Properties, is working on a couple of new deals in Delano.

One is for what will be the former Ruben’s Mexican Grill space, which he plans to renovate.

“It’s going to be really neat,” he says. “Everybody will really like it.”

The other is behind 550 W. Douglas where the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services office is.

There had been an old warehouse behind the building.

“We’ve torn down that building,” Ruffin says.

He says he can build to suit, most likely for an office use.

“I think retail would be difficult there.”

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Crossroads shopping center undergoes remodeling, prepares for large, new tenant

Jan. 14, 20135:00 a.m.

WICHITA — Passersby have noticed some work going on at Phil Ruffin’s Crossroads shopping center at Central and Ridge and wondered what’s happening.

“I’m just remodeling it,” says Jon Cyphert of Jon Cyphert Commercial Real Estate, who is the leasing agent for the center.

He says there was a time the center was always 100 percent leased.

“Things kind of started to shift away, and now I think they’re shifting back,” Cyphert says.

Though the center has been more active in recent years, he says, “I’ve got quite a bit of  space left to lease.”

Twenty-three thousand square feet, to be exact.

State Beauty Supply expanded its presence there in 2012. The Eric Fisher Academy is on the east end, and Gordmans is on the far west part of the property next to the shopping center.

Gordmans got a new roof in 2010, and the center is getting a new roof now.

Cyphert says he has a announcement of a new, large tenant coming within a month or so.

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Possible new tenant at Sunburst Plaza

Dec. 4, 20122:54 p.m.

WICHITA — There’s some activity going on at Phil Ruffin’s Sunburst Plaza at 1725, which is at 1725 E. Douglas and is best known for being home to Tanya’s Soup Kitchen.

There’s about 2,500 square feet adjacent to the former Integrity Auto Group space that’s being readied for a new tenant.

A deal for that tenant is imminent. We’ll let you know when it closes.

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

Ruben’s Mexican Grill is moving by spring, most likely within Delano

Aug. 24, 20122:04 p.m.

WICHITA — Ruben’s Mexican Grill is moving – again – but probably not far.

Almost a decade ago, Ruben & Anita’s Tacos left the Farm & Art Market in Old Town for a new home in Delano. Ruben Acosta changed the restaurant’s name and opened near the northwest corner of Douglas and McLean.

Now, he’s negotiating to take space at the northwest corner of Douglas and Osage, which is just down Douglas in Delano.

“We’re still kind of like maybe a month out from really knowing,” says Omar Acosta, Ruben Acosta’s son.

Omar Acosta says “we’re kind of getting kicked out” due to the restaurant’s rent getting tripled. Ruben’s subleases space from Valero. Phil Ruffin owns the property.

“It’ll be a good change,” Acosta says. “I don’t think anybody really minds having to move. It’s just the process of having to do it.”

The restaurant’s lease is up in April.

Chris Ruffin, who handles real estate for his father’s properties, says the Douglas and McLean property is “up for redevelopment.”

“We’re looking into it,” he says.

Anything new is at least a year away. Ruffin says he’s considering options for what to do there.

“I haven’t made any plans.”

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Occupational Safety & Health Administration to move to Bank of America Center

July 9, 201211:09 a.m.

UPDATED — The Occupational Safety & Health Administration is going to open an office in the Bank of America Center at Douglas and Broadway.

“We’re real excited about having them,” says Chris Ruffin, director of real estate for his father Phil Ruffin’s Ruffin Properties.

OSHA, which is taking 6,500 square feet on the fourth floor, signed a 10-year lease.

Grant Tidemann and Marty Gilchrist of J.P. Weigand & Sons helped with the deal.

“They were a lot of help,” Chris Ruffin says. Government deals “are very complicated.”

Martin Pringle also recently signed a 10-year extension on its lease at the Bank of America Center. The law firm has the entire fifth floor, which is about 35,000 square feet.

When Phil Ruffin bought the building in 2006, it had a 52 percent occupancy rate. Now, it’s at about 94 percent.

“We are getting full,” Chris Ruffin says. “We only have a little bit of space left.”

He says he’s working with several people on other potential deals there.

“We’re just trying to get the rest of the spaces leased.”

By Carrie Rengers | Tags: , , , , , , , , Filed under Bank of America Center, Downtown, Real estate | Comments Off

You don’t say

Jan. 25, 20123:11 p.m.

“To save a couple of bucks, I switched.”

– Phil Ruffin, who dropped his Wichita cellphone and got a Vegas one instead because of roaming fees

By Carrie Rengers | Tags: Filed under Uncategorized | Comments Off

Phil Ruffin solves one headache, fights another and does lots of business in between

Jan. 25, 20123:09 p.m.

WICHITA — As always, Phil Ruffin has a lot on his plate, and some things are going better than others.

This week, a federal judge threw out an age discrimination lawsuit against Ruffin’s Treasure Island hotel and casino in Las Vegas.

“We wanted to put a first-class spa in,” Ruffin says of his wife’s namesake Oleksandra Spa & Salon. “Oleksandra was very familiar with that business and wanted a bunch of new things put in.”

That included hiring people with the necessary skill sets, he says.

“The ones who didn’t have the skills sued us,” Ruffin says.

He describes it as a typical headache.

“You get those things all the time. You try not to, but you can’t help it sometimes.”

He’s also added a second Starbucks on his property along with the Margarita Bar, both of which are near Treasure Island’s pirate show on the strip.

“Nine thousand people a night look at that,” Ruffin says. He wants to accommodate each of them with a drink.

Ruffin also is working with Cirque Du Soleil to revamp “Mystere,” one of the most popular Vegas shows, which also is at Treasure Island.

The new show debuts Feb. 12.

“It should be an even better show,” Ruffin says.

Back in Wichita, Ruffin is once again working on getting slots at his closed Wichita Greyhound Park.

“We keep trying,” he says.

Read More »

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U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services finalizes lease for former Davis Furniture space in Delano

Oct. 25, 20115:49 a.m.

WICHITA — The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has closed on its deal to lease the 13,000-square-foot former Davis Furniture space in Delano.

“It’s all done and signed,” says Chris Ruffin, director of real estate for his father Phil Ruffin’s Ruffin Properties.

In August, Have You Heard? reported the lease was a possibility.

At the time, Chris Ruffin — who previously planned a country-and-western bar for the space — admitted the immigration office might not have the same flair.

“You know, it’s not glamorous, but it’s a really vital part of government resources.”

The renovated space will be ready in about a year.

Spangenberg Phillips Tice Architecture is the architect.

“It’s going to look really good,” Ruffin says. “I love the plans.”

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