Towne West Square and the west-side wager
Towne West Square started as a straightforward plan. In 1978, on sixty acres at 4600 W Kellogg Drive, Melvin Simon and Associates began building an indoor mall for a city that was growing west and seemed like it would keep growing that way forever.
The building would eventually have 951,000 square feet of space to rent out. The $50 million cost showed the quiet confidence of the time: the future would show up, park, and come inside.
The location was not chosen for beauty. It was chosen because it was easy to get to. Wichita’s west side was growing, and the roads to it were getting better…