(This story was updated to add new information.)
The city of Wichita Falls is poised to bulldoze Sikes Senter and build new structures that would include a stadium, retail shopping, a park and possibly residences.
Ron Kitchens, president of the Wichita Falls Chamber of Commerce, confirmed on Friday that leaseholders of the mall have been notified, and a public hearing is set for Aug. 14 that would include members of the City Council and the city’s Economic Development Corporation and 4B Sales Tax Corporation.
The purpose would be to start the ball rolling to purchase the mall and its 60 acres for $28 million from the present owner, then turn around and sell most of it to a Dallas developer.
He said the intent would be to get 100% of the city’s money back.
That developer, who Kitchens did not name, would then develop everything but the stadium — which would be a project for MSU Texas.
“We can’t let someone come in and put a bunch of Dollar Generals in there or flea market,” Kitchens said of the present mall.
So far as a timeline, Kitchens said it would take about 60 days to get final approval from the City Council, which then would use money from the EDC, 4B and local banks to buy the property from Summit Properties USA of New York.
He estimated it would be 18 months before bulldozers would be on site to begin demolition of the mall, which he said might be done incrementally because some retailers might have to remain in place for up to three years.
Kitchens thinks it might take four years to complete all work, which he estimated to be a $175-$200 million project.
He said the EDC would keep ownership of the land where the stadium would be built and lease it to the university. The university would have to raise the money to build the stadium, which he estimated would cost $35-$40 million.
Kitchens said he believed the stadium would accommodate about 6,000 people, which is smaller than Memorial Stadium.
Midwestern State University email
MSU Texas President Stacia Haynie said in an email circulated on campus Friday, “For our university community, the redevelopment of this property is an important extension of MSU Texas as it is conveniently located near campus and will serve as many as 1,200 residential students and the thousands of students who commute throughout the week.”
Kitchens envisioned that the sports component of the project would include soccer and track facilities and attract football playoff games.
Kitchens said retail areas would probably be in “clusters” and possibly include residential housing.
He said another street might run parallel to Midwestern Parkway with six or seven entrances into the new facilities.
Wichita Falls residents could file petitions to call for an election to approve the project.
Organizers would have 60 days from July 23, when a legal notice was posted in the Times Record News, to gather signatures from 10 percent of the city’s registered voters. That percentage equates to about 5,900 voters based on the latest available numbers from the City Clerk’s Office.
This article originally appeared on Wichita Falls Times Record News: UPDATED: City to buy and bulldoze Sikes Senter. Here’s what is planned to be built there
Reporting by Lynn Walker, Wichita Falls Times Record News / Wichita Falls Times Record News
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