MARKET AND FINANCIAL FEASIBILITY ANALYSIS RETAIL  DINING  LODGING  CONFERENCE CENTER KINGMAN COUNTY, KANSAS AND THE CITIES OF KINGMAN, NORWICH AND CUNNINGHAM

KINGMAN COUNTY ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COUNCIL

Contents

Project Overview ...... 1 Location and Context ...... 1 Demographic and Economic Conditions ...... 2 Oil and Gas ...... 3 Retail and Dining Analysis ...... 5 Commercial Districts ...... 6 Trade Area ...... 6 Market Demographics ...... 7 Existing Businesses ...... 8 Retail Market Conditions ...... 9 Dining Market Conditions ...... 13 Opportunities for Growth ...... 14 Economic Impact ...... 17 Lodging Analysis ...... 19 Existing Supply ...... 19 Market Trend ...... 23 Demand Generators ...... 26 Projected Market Demand ...... 26 Potential Development ...... 27 Financial Analysis ...... 28 Project Feasibility ...... 29 Economic Impacts ...... 31 Conference Center Analysis ...... 33 Project Considerations ...... 33 Kingman Activity Center and Competing Venues ...... 34 Comparative Facilities ...... 36 Potential Conference Center Development ...... 38 Financial Analysis ...... 42 Economic Impact ...... 44

Prepared for the Kingman County Economic Development Council

By Place Dynamics LLC June 2015 Project Overview

While many communities place a priority on attracting industry as an economic development strategy, there is a strong argument to be made to maintain and grow the service sector as well. These businesses are critical to the quality of life enjoyed by residents. Access to these businesses, within the local economy, can be an important consideration in decisions to remain or move to the area. In turn, the primary businesses that will provide local employment see these services as an indicator that the community can sustain the workforce necessary for them to be competitive. The Kingman County Economic Development Council has sought to understand the potential for retail, dining, and lodging businesses in the County, and specifically within the three largest cities of Kingman, Cunningham, and Norwich. In addition, the Council has been asked to examine the potential market for a conference center capable of accommodating activities with a minimum of 100 attendees. In 2015 the Council retained Place Dynamics to complete a market study and fiscal analysis related to these objectives. In doing so we have extensively toured the region to examine the existing business base and competition, spoken with several business owners in the county, and compiled detailed demographic and market data presented in the following chapters.

Location and Context Kingman County is located in the south central part of Kansas about 20 miles west of the City of Wichita, and is part of the Wichita Metropolitan Statistical Area. Its principal cities are Kingman, which is the county seat and has a population of 3,177, along with Cunningham (population 454) and Norwich (population 491). Wichita is the dominant city within the region, drawing people from all of southwestern and southcentral Kansas for employment, shopping, and entertainment. Many of these people travel along US Highway 54, which bypasses Cunningham and bisects Kingman as it passes through the county. Eventually the route will also bypass Kingman, but current plans do not call for that improvement for over a decade. Travel on the highway has grown steadily over the last ten years, increasing by about 20 percent between Wichita and Kingman, and somewhat less further to the west.

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Historically, it has been the east side of Wichita that has attracted the most investment from chain retailers. This is changing as more developers see an opportunity on the west side, and many of the larger national chains have stores west of I-235 on either side of US Highway 54. Due to the presence of the airport, many have also developed in the area. Pratt, lying about 35 miles due west, intercepts traffic before it reaches Kingman. With