In 1998, the City of Wichita and the Centercity Organized Revitalization Effort (C.O.R.E.) applied for and received a Metro Community Capacity Building Grant from the Kansas Department of Commerce and Housing to develop plans for future redevelopment within areas identified within the City's Neighborhood Revitalization Plan and within State and Federal Housing and Urban Development revitalization areas. Since 1996, the study area has been the subject of strong interest to a group of concerned area congregations, to local not-for-profit and for-profit institutions, and to various citizens interested in the health of the center city. C.O.R.E. brings together faith groups, financial institutions, Via Christi Hospital, American Institute of Architects, Historic Midtown Citizens Association, businesses, the City of Wichita, Sedgwick County, residents in the area, and other community organizations to focus on improving the Center City Neighborhood. The mission is "fostering community in the center city through planned residential projects that would be inclusive, diverse and cosmopolitan." This group brought the project to the attention of City of Wichita officials, who responded with staff support and the successful grant application.

On May 18, 1999, the City and C.O.R.E. hosted a public workshop to discuss the Center City Neighborhood. More than three dozen interested citizens participated in the workshop. Activities included the presentation by the consultant team of preliminary housing market conditions and preliminary SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats, see page 8) analysis. The preliminary assessments were made through a series of interviews with residents, business owners, developers, real estate professionals, social service providers, City/County officials, and other stakeholders. After the initial presentations, participants were divided into three smaller groups to discuss their reactions to the information and to participate in a visual preference survey to determine how potential new development should look.