Bids being accepted to demolish closed Great Bend hotel

Contractor proposals for the demolition of the vacant hotel at 3017 10th Street in Great Bend are due by June 28.

By COLE REIF
Great Bend Post

For more than six years, the large Great Bend Hotel & Convention Center on 10th Street has been closed. The eyesore was purchased by Great Bend Economic Development in August 2022, and now staff is planning for the demolition of the 60,000 square-foot structure.

Economic Development Director Sara Arnberger announced this week that request for proposals are being accepted from contractors to demolish the building.

"We've been through a long process with this hotel," said Arnberger. "It's exciting to get to a place where we can move forward to the next step. In this case, demolition is an awesome step toward progress. There are definitely some exciting plans in store for this lot."

Proposals for the demo are due by June 28, but Arnberger said when the process starts will be up to the contractor’s availability.

"We're still a little bit in the dark, but we've had a lot of estimates on what we think this could cost," said Arnberger. "This will be the moment of truth so we can find out exactly what that number is. We've been very fortunate to have great support and be able to have the funds necessary to make this happen."

Economic Development stated their primary goal is to see the property at 3017 10th Street once again house a hotel. When asked if there was interest from anyone to build a new hotel, Arnberger responded with “there are some exciting things in store for the property, and we definitely have some things happening.”