07 Jun New Owner, New Look for Twin Lakes

Jack Gindi says there’s a motto at his company. The chief executive of the Colorado-based IPS LLC (which stands for Income Property Specialists) says: "We buy older, ugly shopping centers."

And that’s just what he did last week when his negotiations to buy Twin Lakes finally ended.

IPS bought the center at 21st and Amidon for $10.3 million from Virginia-based SugarOak Properties. Brad Saville of Landmark Commercial Real Estate Inc. brokered the deal.

Gindi plans $3 million in renovations to what once was Wichita’s premier mall.

"Basically, we’re going to be doing a facelift," Gindi says. He wants "more like a stucco-and-stone look, like what you see in some of the newer centers."

Also, he says, "We’re going to be making it more of a mixed-use project."

The center has an occupancy rate of more than 90 percent, except for the former Sears building, which is mostly vacant. Gindi wants to attract service-oriented businesses, such as dry cleaners and beauty shops, along with medical and legal offices.

To do that, Gindi will divide the former Sears store’s 100,000 square feet.

Just above the lower-level courtyard that faces the lake, Gindi will replace a brick facade with glass to make it more attractive to new businesses.

"We’re going to be transforming it," he says.

Gindi plans to organize a group of tenants to market Twin Lakes.

"We’re just very excited to be part of… the rejuvenation of that center," he says.

Carrie Rengers
The Wichita Eagle