Wesley wants to turn east Wichita park into parking lot, would fund new park project

Wesley Medical Center wants to buy the developed part of an east Wichita park from the city to build a new parking lot, a hospital official confirmed to The Eagle on Tuesday.

The hospital wants to fund park upgrades in an undeveloped section of Sleepy Hollow Park as part of the deal.

The Wichita Park Board voted Monday evening to reject putting Sleepy Hollow Park up for sale, citing frustrations that no one from Wesley showed up to the board meeting to explain its plan for the area. But the Park Board didn’t alert Wesley that it would be discussed, hospital and park board officials confirmed.

The park board decision is not binding. The recommendation was forwarded to City Manager Robert Layton, who could decide not to issue a request for proposals on the park, and the City Council, who could vote to approve or reject any sale of the land.

Layton said the city has put the RFP process “on hold.”

“It is our intention to visit further with representatives from the Sleepy Hollow neighborhood and Wesley to determine what an appropriate next step should be,” Layton said.

Under the proposed RFP, the city would ask for at least $480,000 for the 1.46-acre parkland immediately south of a Wesley parking garage, plus additional compensation, city officials said Monday.

The land at issue includes a stream, a stone-lined footbridge, park benches, a picnic table, a drinking fountain and a playground. Undeveloped parts of the park that extend west and north to MacDonald Golf Course would not be part of the sale.

More than 20 park users and residents of Sleepy Hollow and MacDonald neighborhoods showed up to the meeting in opposition to the possible sale of the developed part of the 95-year-old neighborhood park, a block north of Central at Rutan. They learned about the meeting over the weekend after the city published its park board agenda.

Wesley officials were not immediately available for comment Monday evening, but on Tuesday morning the company’s spokesperson expressed concern that they weren’t told the park board would discuss the proposed sale on Monday.

“It is unfortunate Wesley was not aware the issue had been added to the Wichita Park Board’s meeting agenda,” Dave Stewart, marketing director of Wesley, said in a statement. “Wesley has been in talks with the City of Wichita for some time about the acquisition of Sleepy Hollow Park in an effort to provide additional parking for the growing number of patients and families who utilize our facility.

“Had we been aware the issue would be discussed at Monday’s meeting, the hospital would have been represented so we could better explain its needs and plans for the park area,” he said.

Stewart said Wesley’s plan would include funding a “brand new neighborhood park to replace the current location, which is dated in both design and equipment.”

Wesley suggests the new park be developed due east of the existing park, Stewart said. That tract of land is undeveloped green space that’s already part of Sleepy Hollow Park.

“While the final location of any new park would be determined by the Wichita Park Board, we believe that a location on the other side of Vassar Street would provide more convenient access for neighborhood residents and eliminate the need for children to cross the street to reach the playground,” Stewart said.

Residents at the Park Board meeting had predicted the park might be used for additional hospital parking, and they objected to turning the undeveloped green space across Vassar into a developed park.

“I don’t want to stand in the way of improvement,” said Amanda Spell, who lives near the park and goes their regularly with her children. “If we can get a lot of money and make a great new park, by all means, that’s awesome. I just don’t have faith that Wesley’s going to hold up their end and not just keep going further. And to condense it, to put playground equipment in a green space — we need playground and green space separate.”