Editor’s note: Chanute is abuzz with the upcoming opening of a new travel plaza, a new plant that builds components for military and civilian aircraft, added shopping destinations.
Today and Tuesday, the Register will look at Chanute’s future, and how it relates to what’s going on in Iola.
CHANUTE — Matt Godinez is a natural optimist, which suits perfectly with his new job.
About 18 months ago the Chanute native returned home to head the Chanute Regional Development Authority, the city’s economic development arm.
Prior to that, Godinez had worked in sales in the Kansas City area.
“This is the biggest thing I live to do,” he said. “’I’ve always looked at everything this way. Everything is sales. You have to sell yourself every day. I’m the salesperson for Chanute.”
With a series of recent and upcoming grand openings, Godinez’s bullishness and optimism appears to be well-founded.
On Saturday, Chanute’s new Dollar Tree store will open its doors, the latest addition to a shopping plaza on South Santa Fe Street. The nascent plaza is anchored by Hibbett Sports, which opened in 2016.
A few weeks later, Feb. 6 will mark the opening of the Love’s Travel Plaza, a truck stop and fuel outlet for passing motorists, and accompanying Arby’s restaurant, at the intersection of U.S. 169 and 35th Street.
Then, sometime in August, a Holiday Inn Express will open next door to the travel center, completing Chanute’s most visible development project along 169 since the highway’s bypass was built more than 30 years ago.
All the while, construction continues for a new facility to accommodate Orizon Aerostructures, a manufacturer of components for civilian and military aircraft.
Orizon announced last summer it was coming to Chanute, picking Chanute over 48 other communities across three states (including Iola). By the time construction is complete — perhaps by May — Orizon is expected to have more than 110 highly paid employees. Within a decade, the plant hopes to employ 500.
The projects have given Godinez, CRDA and the Chanute community one of the most valuable commodities sought by those who deal in economic development — momentum.
Suddenly, Godinez is fielding calls on a daily basis from other companies interested in relocating to Chanute.
“Once you get that momentum, it creates a domino effect,” he said. “You say you’re creating 100 jobs, but really you’re creating more than that. If you’re bringing new employees to town, you need more nurses, more teachers, more housing, things like that. It trickles down and the local economy grows.”
Godinez spoke about his optimism while discussing Chanute’s economic climate, where the community goes from here, and ways he can envision working with Iola and Allen County on other endeavors.
PLANNERS have been working for years to put the pieces together in order for development to connect Chanute with U.S. 169.
“There have been a lot of people working on this,” Godinez said. “The highway’s our hook. How else are we going to get people in here?”
Ground was broken for the Love’s and Arby’s stores last summer.
The travel center is ideally situated because of Chanute’s location, halfway between Kansas City and Tulsa, Godinez said.
“Traffic between Kansas City and Tulsa is booming,” Godinez said, noting especially Tulsa’s rapid growth. “Tulsa is growing by leaps and bounds.”
It’s in Chanute’s interest to siphon off that traffic, he said.
“One feasibility study estimates that 70 percent of the customers who stop out there won’t be from Chanute,” Godinez noted. “We’re getting people from out of town to come to Chanute, get some gas, stay at a hotel, get a bite to eat. That helps our economy.”
The Holiday Inn will contain 75 rooms, a swimming pool and several meeting rooms.
The proximity to both Kansas City and Tulsa cannot be overstated, Godinez stressed.
He envisions companies from both metropolitan areas eventually considering Chanute as a logistics hub to help reduce shipping costs.
UNLIKE the Love’s travel center, the effort to get the Orizon plant to Chanute occurred at lightning speed.
Early in 2016, Orizon officials — who billed themselves as Project Blue Star — announced their desire for a new plant in the Midwest, close to Kansas City and Wichita, with an existing facility available immediately, and space to expand with a new, state-of-the-art plant.
Forty-nine communities across three states wound up sending proposals to the company.
“Maybe I was just foolishly optimistic, but I immediately thought Chanute’s chances were very good,” Godinez said. “For one thing, we had great properties available. They needed a 50,000 or 60,000-square-foot building available now. And I really liked our locations.
“I guess you can’t worry about the competition too much,” he continued.
Chanute had just such a facility with its old Hithchiker plant on West 21st Street, near the Martin and Osa Johnson Airport.
Secondly, the CRDA maintains a good working relationship with the Chanute City Commission, Chamber of Commerce and Main Street organizations.
By March, two finalists — Chanute and Grove, Okla. — were identified.
“I was confident because I sent in our proposal, and within 36 hours we’d gotten a call back from them,” Godinez said.The community offered an incentive package nearing $3 million.
But more importantly, Orizon executives were impressed with the quality of employees available for hire in and around Chanute.
“When they took a snapshot of the area, they looked in Chanute, and in places like Iola, Parsons and Fredonia,” Godinez said. “When it comes to aptitude tests, people around here are well suited for that type of work.”
Then came word in June that Orizon had picked Chanute.
By fall, the company acquired Chanute’s existing Spirit Aerosystems, and began production at the old Hitchhiker building.
And already, products are being shipped from Chanute.
“There are projects that could take two years or more to put in place,” Godinez said. “This one was done in a couple of months.”
The company’s workforce will grow slowly, by design.
Only eight new employees can be hired at a time, to ensure they are properly trained.
BUT AS development explodes in Chanute’s perimeter — a new building holding several state offices also is under construction on East 21st Street — there is an ongoing concern about Chanute’s core.
Godinez, 37, recalled when the U.S. 169 bypass was completed in the mid 1980s.
“As a kid, I was excited, but I remember hearing many people say a bypass like that could kill our downtown,” he said.
Chanute’s task, Godinez stressed, is to entice those out-of-towners to venture even farther into Chanute.
“It is an issue. Much like Iola has its great square, we love our Main Street,” he continued.
Still, “I think it’d be fair to say our downtown is looking for its identity.”
A community’s downtown, Godinez continued, is where it derives its identity.
“Everybody has a Walmart,” he said. “What makes a community stand out?”
CORA Finley, who owns a high-end consignment store on Main Street, gives an impassioned plea for supporting downtown businesses.
“Am I excited about a Love’s, or an Arby’s or a Dollar Tree?” she asked. “Heck yeah. But the people who help this community grow, who give back to the community, are the small business owners.”
Finley spoke Wednesday at a community meeting dedicated to economic development at Chanute’s Central Park Pavilion.
“I want to help people to be able to open a business and have it survive,” Finley said. “There is nothing more heartbreaking than putting everything you have into a business, and watching it go down the toilet.”
As part of Wednesday’s meeting, consultants from Emporia revealed results of an online survey completed last fall, in which Chanute residents voiced support for more “soft good” business, such as gift shops, clothing stores and specialty restaurants, such as a Brahm’s, Chipotle, or even a Dairy Queen.
“We’ve had so many businesses that have had those things, but they couldn’t survive,” Finley said. “I don’t think it’s so much as offering what people want, as getting people to shop here” when those choices are available.
Finley pointed to one audience member’s desire to see Chanute attract a Starbucks franchise.
“We already have a coffee shop in town that offers everything a Starbucks does, specialty teas, coffees, probably 15 more flavors of coffee than Starbucks does,” Finley said. “I’m at the coffee shop almost daily, and I can’t even drink coffee, because they’re two doors down from me, and I’m supporting a local business.”
But because it’s not as well known as, say Starbucks, many are oblivious to its presence, Finley lamented.
Finley bought Consignment in downtown Chanute more than five years ago, even though banks denied her loan application, calling it “too risky.”
Instead, Finley received enough to purchase the shop — she’d worked there the previous two years as an employee — through a CRDA revolving loan fund.
Since then, her business has taken root, and become a destination shop for local customers.
Still, she recognizes her story is considered the exception, rather than the rule.
WHEN CHANUTE was announced as one of two finalists for the Orizon plant, Godinez expected to field a number of calls as he prepared Chanute’s final push to draw the company to town.
The first call, he noted, came from David Toland, executive director of Thrive Allen County, which has been hired as Iola and Allen County’s economic development tool on a part-time basis.
(Remember, Iola also put in a bid for Orizon’s services.)
“I remember how graciously David reached out to congratulate us, and asked if there was any way they could help our bid,” Godinez said. “It meant a lot.”
The overtures illustrate how Iola and Chanute should perceive themselves as friendly neighbors, not high school rivals, Godinez said.
Godinez points out that several Chanute residents are employed at places like Gates Corporation or Russell Stover Candies in Iola, or Monarch Cement or B&W Trailer Hitches in Humboldt.
He notes many Allen Countians work at Ash Grove, and likely will find employment at Orizon.
“We live only 20 minutes apart,” Godinez said. “I would love to see us really work together.”
Iola, like Chanute, offers business owners plenty.
“I love the square,” he said. “And I always love going to Iola. I see places like Iola’s downtown bakery, or Audacious Boutique, and see how they’ve maintained a downtown presence.”
Godinez expressed interest in developing a regional economic development effort, including Chanute, Iola and places like Parsons, Fredonia and Independence.
“While you always do what you can for your community, you can’t think so locally,” he said. “You need to set your peripheral vision a bit bigger, and look at the whole scope. How can we make sure we’re all working together.”
