HUTCHINSON, Kan. — Hutchinson's Memorial Hall is an underused but antiquated facility with no air conditioning and severe ADA limitations. It’s come under the gun several times and was saved by a public vote 15 years ago.
The building came up for discussion again during last week’s budget meeting. The city spends about $50,000 per year to keep the building functioning for what limited use it provides.
During the budget meeting, the City Council asked that the building be offered up to possible development. So at this week’s Landmarks Commission meeting, Planning Director Ryan Hvitlok will propose that for the historic building.
“There’s really no harm in it,” Hvitlok said. “That’s what I reiterated to the council last week, we can always go out and see if we get any bites.”
Getting a response may not be so simple for a large and old facility like Memorial Hall. Hvitlok says trying to lure someone into taking on such a project could be difficult.
“Any RFP we get is going to be difficult to gauge,” Hvitlok said. “Because really there needs to be some sort of a reuse plan to give a developer an actual clear idea of what it would take to refurbish a historic building like Memorial Hall.”
Hvitlok says he would like to see the building better utilized and that the city certainly has nothing to lose when it comes to finding a prospective developer.
“I think it could have good use somehow in downtown, but it is a large building and even in previous communities I’ve worked in . . . buildings that size, it’s kind of a Pandora’s Box once you actually figure out what needs to be done,” Hvitlok said. “But we’re certainly going to recommend to the Landmarks (Commission) that they put out an RFP. Even if we’re not successful in getting an RFP, I think it helps build an even stronger application for us to actually get some grant funds to do a reuse plan for that building.”
The Landmarks Commission meeting is set for 4 p.m. Thursday.