17 March 2023
WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW) — 101 years of history in Riverside, the Historic Civitan Building is up for auction, and all of the money from the auction is going to charity.
“The architectural design of it was to blend in with the bungalow homes here in Riverside,” said McCurdy Real Estate & Auction Auctioneer Broker Rick Brock.
The building has served many organizations over the last century.
“It was Fire Station No. 7, and it stayed a fire station for a number of years,” said Brock.
It then became the home to the Riverside Advancement of Youth, and in 1973, Wichita’s Civitan Club took over.
“Everything that we do is really just a labor of love in the community,” said Wichita Civitan Club President Colin Busey.
The non-profit helps kids and adults with developmental and physical disabilities and learns from civic, government, and other leaders in the community.
The club has had hundreds of members throughout the years but now only has about 40-55.
“Many organizations like that they are kind of shrinking in membership,” said Brock.
“It’s been a little bit of a struggle for us to continue to maintain the building, but we feel we have done a really good job of it overall,” said Busey.
McCurdy Real Estate & Auction said there has been a lot of interest in the building.
Currently, the property is under B Multi-Family Zoning since it’s in a neighborhood.
It could stay a community center or become a residence, but also someone could change the zoning if they’d like.
But regardless of what happens to the building, the club is glad the money will go back to local charities.
“No matter what happens with our local charter, we are going live on because we are giving the money back to the community,” said Busey.
The auction is open now through March 23 at 2:10 p.m., you can learn more here.
There is an open house on March 20th at the house from 3:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.