By Cole Bertelsen/Manhattan Mercury
Construction on Aggieville’s Midtown project remains at a standstill more than a year after it stalled, and the developer said he expects it to serve a different purpose than its original intention.
The initial plans approved in 2022 called for a $40 million, five-story commercial and residential building to replace the parking lot on 12th and Laramie behind Kite’s Bar and Grill, but construction stopped in March 2023 after a major investor withdrew funding. While some infrastructure and demolition work has restarted in recent months, construction on the edifice itself has yet to continue.
TJ Vilkanskas, president of Back 9 Development, said he hopes construction resumes soon. However, whenever it does, things will look different.
For one thing, Vilkanskas said the Midtown building will no longer include office space.
“Each day that goes by, it seems like there’s more office space that is available in Manhattan,” he said. “If you look at the CivicPlus building, if you look at the Farm Bureau renovated space and then obviously the new beautiful Foundation building, there’s well over 100,000 square feet of Class A office space available in Manhattan, Kansas, today.”
Vilkanskas said he and his team are still considering how they will fill the building they eventually construct, and they want to do it with future tenants in mind.
“As disappointing as it is right now to look at a raw piece of ground, it would be a lot more disappointing to have a building there that we can’t fill,” he said. “That’s the last thing that Manhattan needs.”
In April 2022, the city entered a development agreement with Back 9 and transferred the land comprising the free parking lot behind Kite’s to the developer for $1. Under the agreement, if Back 9 doesn’t complete the project, or if the finished product costs less than $40 million, the developer will owe the city $2.3 million to cover the land value.
Therefore, Vilkanskas said the delay isn’t costing the city any money.
“Every incentive that was agreed to with the city is all performance-based,” he said. “So I think it’s important to note that the city is covered on all avenues and they have not spent any money on this project.”
In addition to acquiring the parking lot behind Kite’s, Back 9 also purchased the adjacent Handi-Corner shopping strip in December 2022 with plans to build a Hampton Inn hotel and parking garage on that land.
In June, half of the Handi-Corner building was demolished, though Back 9 was unable to relocate two businesses of its businesses: Green Tea Sushi and Catalyst Piercings. Vilkanskas said they are “welcome to stay in the building” and continue operating.
Meanwhile, BHS Construction began working on infrastructure projects in alleys adjacent to the Midtown land in April.
It remains to be seen when construction on the Midtown project will begin, but Vilkanskas is confident that it will happen.
“There’s nobody that wants that to go forward more than we do, but it needs to be a responsible play for us and for the community,” Vilkanskas said.
The post Developer: Midtown at a standstill, will no longer have office space appeared first on News Radio KMAN.
