Garden City officials report Amazon delivery site, housing progress and industrial planning

Lorna Duvall, president, told the Garden City economic development briefing that a 10-acre Amazon last‑mile delivery facility is under construction near the Kinsey Curve and Frito‑Lay, and she expects the site to employ roughly 20 to 25 people in flexible delivery roles.

The announcement followed a broader update on business recruitment and housing projects. “If you haven't been out by the corridor, it's kind of cool. There's a lot of dirt moving out there. They have 10 acres,” Duvall said, describing the site. She said such “last mile” facilities allow people to sign on for flexible work and could attract college students and seniors.

Why it matters: The new Amazon facility, business prospects and several housing developments together could add jobs and housing demand to the Garden City trade area. Staff emphasized there are follow‑up steps — permitting, financing and infrastructure — before many projects are complete.

Staff reported three active business prospects: one medical provider looking to expand into Garden City, a franchise restaurant seeking a build site, and an Amazon delivery warehouse under construction. Grant Linenberger, business development, summarized several small‑business clients in various stages of planning and financing, including franchise expansion talks and clients working with banks and the Small Business Administration.

On housing, staff reported progress but shifting timelines. The MIH (ARPA‑funded) project on Palace Drive is moving toward site‑plan completion and state filing of a stormwater NOI, with staff hopeful for a June or July groundbreaking after earlier hopes for May. Duvall said the project’s engineer will not meet the May target. She also said a private family has purchased land in Holcomb and is learning the RHID process ahead of development, and that Hunter's Glen secured federal funding to complete a street and has funding authorized for a community center.

“We are hopeful that that will get going in June or July,” Duvall said of the Palace Drive project, noting the applicant is finishing site‑plan work and permit filings.

Staff described financing tools in use and changing. ICON Cinema’s CID and TIF packages have cleared the city commission, and the city commission previously authorized a $200,000 grant to the community college for construction trades (the item split into $100,000 this year with the remainder to be revisited next year). Duvall and staff said the state legislature recently narrowed the Rural Opportunity Zone (RAS) program — limiting eligibility to counties of 15,000 or fewer — removing the county’s ability to offer that incentive for new recruitment.

Industrial and infrastructure work is also moving. Steve Cottrell, special projects director, said the county’s Northwest Industrial Park work — including sewer district setup and a KDOT grant for a new road — is advancing toward engineering completion and a May meeting with property owners and the engineer. Cottrell also listed active requests for proposals and prospect work, including a foreign medical device manufacturer (Project Kraken) and speculative warehouse layouts for the corridor and Northwest Industrial Park.

The briefing closed with routine calendar items and a 15‑minute executive session called by the chair. Two brief motions recorded on the meeting were a motion to approve the consent agenda and a later motion to enter executive session; both were approved on voice votes with no roll‑call tallies recorded in the transcript.

Ending: Staff reiterated that many projects remain contingent on permit, engineering, financing or state/federal approvals. Duvall and Cottrell said staff will continue to support site preparation, bond packaging for special obligation bonds, and coordination with county engineers and state agencies as projects progress.