CREATING OPPORTUNITIES | Mainline Printing
By MORGAN CHILSON | Photo by BRADEN DIMICK
The owners of Mainline Printing are stepping beyond the printing industry to tackle two important development projects in South Topeka.
The company decided to purchase the former White Lakes Mall property in 2023. “It’s kind of outside our sweet spot. We’re in the manufacturing business,” said John Parker, president of Mainline Printing, which is located at 3500 SW Topeka Boulevard.
It seems like a natural choice, given that Mainline’s company headquarters was already located at the north end of the property. They’ve since acquired the former Gordman’s property at 3245 SW Topeka Boulevard.
Parker said that in 2004, when Mainline bought the former Sears building at White Lakes, he expected the revitalization of the mall to continue. It already had blue-ribbon businesses like Blue Cross Blue Shield of Kansas, Electronic Data Systems, a beauty college and government offices.
“The missing piece was the old Sears building, which had been vacant. When we bought that and moved out there, I thought this would spur on additional growth. It really went the opposite direction,” said Parker. “The biggest red flag, and the drop-dead thing for us, was when that fire was set almost three years ago.”
In 2020, an arson endangered Mainline’s business. Parker said it became clear that he needed to control the environment, protect the business and protect their investment.
This was the motivation that pushed them toward development, which is a new line of business for Mainline.
“We’re kind of taking it slow,” he said. “We want to get it right. We’re going slow so we can avoid mistakes, so to speak.”
Even though Mainline leadership is taking development one step at a time, they still believe in their original vision to revitalize the former mall property.
“In 2004, we thought this was going to be a business park. And I thought that was a good use of the space,” Parker said. “We’re hoping to build up the site with light industrial, warehouse-type of business activity, as well as pads around the exterior, kind of like what’s going on up by the Gordman’s building with Chick-fil-A and Whataburger.”
Parker said they’re considering a convenience store/gas station, a coffee shop and similar businesses along the perimeter of the property. Meanwhile, Mainline has moved its headquarters to the former Gordman’s property.
“We needed space, which is a good problem to have, but it is a problem,” Parker said, adding that Gordman’s increased their manufacturing space by 90,000 square feet. Their former space at White Lakes was 150,000 square feet.
Parker is hopeful for the future of his business properties on Topeka Boulevard. The city of Topeka, he said, gets requests for warehousing space with good ceiling heights, but the inventory is low.
“There’s opportunities there, and Topeka’s missing out on them because they don’t have that type of inventory,” Parker said. “That’s the world that we live in. We understand the production, the warehousing. We think we’ve got a good handle on that, so there are opportunities.”
The revitalization and development of the South Topeka corridor is important to the city. Parker said he’s aware that many are interested in their development of the former White Lakes Mall property, because it’s a sizable patch of land that everyone wants to see function better than it is now.
“We want it to be right,” said Parker. “It’s such an important piece of property in the city, and I think if we can develop it, it will help not only the tax base, but also add jobs. And it will be something that’s going to be long lasting.
