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Civil Engineering Firm in Kansas

Salina Downtown Revitalization Project Updates

For the past few years, the city of Salina has worked to transform and redesign the downtown area of the city, adding entertainment venues, retail and dining locations, and residential spaces and hotels to reinvigorate downtown Salina. The improvements have improved pedestrian walkways and added attractions for locals and visitors to the city, revamping downtown Salina.

The recent revitalization projects are part of a $160 million downtown revitalization and redevelopment project in downtown Salina, located in a 28-block district. According to Salina 2020, the project is one of the largest public-private partnerships in the history of the city, and a large portion of financing for the project comes from sales tax generated by visitors traveling to Salina.

While the revitalization project is in its final phase of development, downtown Salina will continue to grow and develop for years to come.

“One of the largest and most transformative projects in the 160-year history of Salina is in the final phase of construction.” – Salina 2020

Read below for a timeline of projects spearheaded by Salina 2020, master developer for the revitalization movement. Included are a few of the projects we’ve had the honor of working on in downtown Salina. The statuses of the projects below were updated in May 2022.

 

2017

  1. Salina Fieldhouse
    1. Project: The 68,500 square foot indoor sports facility hosts tournaments, league play, practices, camps and clinics. The Salina Fieldhouse, located at 140 North 5th Street, includes basketball courts, turf fields, volleyball courts, batting cages and more.
    2. Completion Date: Summer 2017
    3. Kaw Valley Engineering Services: Materials testing and surveying

2018

  1. Old Chicago Pizza & Taproom
    1. Project: Old Chicago offers casual dining, Chicago-style pizzas, taproom classics and craft beer. The chain restaurant is located at 214 South Santa Fe Avenue.
    2. Completion Date: December 2018

2019

  1. Barolo Grille
    1. Project: Barolo Grille is a steak, sushi and seafood restaurant on 112 S. Santa Fe Avenue. The owners have over 50 years of combined restaurant management and ownership experience, and the restaurant offers fine cuisine and great atmosphere for dining.
    2. Completion Date: Spring 2019
  2. The Alley
    1. Project: Located at 5th and Ash Street, The Alley is an indoor entertainment facility with bowling, laser tag, VR, arcade and AJ’s Sports Grill. The Alley hosts birthday parties and group events, and AJ’s menu includes bar food like pizza, sandwiches and burgers.
    2. Completion Date: Summer 2019
    3. Kaw Valley Engineering Services: Civil design and surveying
  3. Santa Fe Avenue
    1. Project: This $12 million downtown project included street improvements, sidewalk, landscaping and development work to revitalize the streetscape and hopefully attract more businesses to the downtown area.
    2. Completion Date: Fall 2019
  4. Starbucks
    1. Project: On the corner of Santa Fe Avenue and Mulberry, this Starbucks café is located inside the Homewood Suites by Hilton hotel. The café has indoor and outdoor seating.
    2. Completion Date: Fall 2019
  5. Homewood Suites by Hilton
    1. Project: The Homewood Suites by Hilton is a five-story hotel on Mulberry Street between South Santa Fe Avenue and South 5th Street in downtown Salina. The hotel is located near entertainment venues like the Stiefel Theatre, Tony’s Event Center, Salina Fieldhouse, The Alley and more.
    2. Completion Date: Fall 2019
    3. Kaw Valley Engineering Services: Materials testing and construction staking
  6. YaYa’s Euro Bistro
    1. Project: YaYa’s Euro Bistro serves Italian, French and Greek cuisines. The restaurant is located inside the Homewood Suites by Hilton hotel at 251 South Santa Fe Avenue.
    2. Completion Date: Late 2019

2020

  1. Lauren Quinn Flower Boutique
    1. Project: This flower boutique specializes in unique garden style designs and sells gifts like candles, cards, plush animals and home décor. The boutique can be found at 129 South Santa Fe Avenue.
    2. Completion Date: Spring 2020
  2. Apron Strings
    1. Project: Apron Strings sells cookware, appliances and gadgets for your kitchen. Originally from Hutchinson, the owner expanded to Salina due to its thriving community. The store is located at 143B South Santa Fe Avenue.
    2. Completion Date: Fall 2020
  3. The Bath Pub
    1. Project: The Bath Pub features customizable bath, body, pet and home products at 109 South Santa Fe Avenue. The store offers 150 scents to choose from and products like lotions, bath salts and soaps.
    2. Completion Date: Fall 2020
  4. Lee Buildings
    1. Project: Home to the original Lee Jeans garment factory, the historic Lee Buildings at 254 North Santa Fe Avenue have since been transformed into residential and commercial space. The Lee Buildings are located near The Alley, the Salina Fieldhouse and multiple restaurants in downtown Salina.
    2. Completion Date: Fall 2020
    3. Kaw Valley Engineering Services: Civil design, surveying and materials testing

2021

  1. Stiefel Theatre
    1. Project: The Stiefel Theatre at 151 South Santa Fe experienced renovations to the building, built in 1931. Renovations included a tower light sculpture to replace the spire destroyed in a 1951 storm; stage and sound improvements; and renovations to the dressing rooms, restrooms and bar.
      Completion Date: Summer 2021
  2. The Yard
    1. Project: The Yard at 138 South 4th Street includes batting cages, hitting areas, an indoor turf infield and pitching bullpens. According to their website, The Yard was built to bring a first-class facility to Salina and provide opportunities for year-round training and practice for baseball and softball players.
    2. Completion Date: Summer 2021
  3. The Garage
    1. Project: The Garage, located at 134 South 4th, features educational and historical exhibits about automobiles. The museum hopes to bring tourists from all over the Midwest to visit Salina and learn about automobiles.
    2. Completion Date: Winter 2022
    3. Kaw Valley Engineering Services: Surveying
  4. Prickly Pear
    1. Project: The Prickly Pear Grill and Cantina will serve Tex-Mex eating and act as an entertainment venue, utilizing the nearby Campbell Plaza at 126 South Santa Fe Avenue. The restaurant hopes to host live music and has indoor, outdoor and rooftop seating.
    2. Completion Date: Fall 2021

Ongoing Project:

  1. Smoky Hill River Renewal
    1. Project: Along with revitalizing downtown Salina, the city is working to restore the old river channel of the Smoky Hill River east of downtown. The river winds for about seven miles through Salina, but dried up with the construction of a diversion channel and levee system in the 1960s, and has since accumulated sediment and debris. Currently, the City has obtained a water right to divert the river into the old channel, but they must restore the channel before water can move through as it had in the past. The City also has additional plans to construct a river walk, improving pedestrian access and amenities.
    2. Expected Completion: TBD
    3. Kaw Valley Engineering Services: Survey

With the recent changes and new businesses in downtown Salina, the city has a lot of new things to advertise in their improved downtown area. The goal of Visit Salina is to showcase things to do, places to stay and where to eat in the city of Salina. According to an interview with Good Day Kansas, Visit Salina Director Sylvia Rice said the city has worked to make Salina more family-friendly, and encourages people to visit downtown to see all the new changes.

We’re proud to have had the honor to work on a few of these new changes, like the Salina Fieldhouse, The Alley, Homewood Suites by Hilton, Lee Buildings, The Garage and the Smoky Hill River Renewal, and we look forward to the future changes and businesses to come to downtown Salina. For more about our Salina office and Salina Office Director Justin Owens, please click here.