De Soto ? Sunflower Redevelopment LLC has selected Design Workshop Inc. to complete a master plan for development of the former Sunflower Army Ammunition Plant.

“There are many, many things that argue for them,” said Kise Randall, Sunflower Redevelopment executive director. “We had many of the top planning firms in the country that applied. We felt they were the best fit for this development.”

Design Workshop’s online portfolio includes urban projects, college campuses, resorts, parks and regional planning. It has offices in 10 North and South American cities, including Denver and Phoenix.

The firm’s Web site cites experience in “brownfield” projects involving contaminated sites, including redevelopment of the closed Amoco refinery in Sugar Creek, Mo., and the design of new communities. Among those is the Rancho Viejo community near Santa Fe, N.M., which at 20,000 acres is twice Sunflower’s size.

Sunflower Redevelopment also retained Olsson Associate Consultant Engineers to help with planning, Randall said. That national firm with two offices in Kansas City will be working with engineer Jim Godwin, who was lead engineer in the redevelopment of Stapleton Airport in Denver, the largest urban infill redevelopment in U.S. history.

“We’re trying to bring in experienced professional resources in brownfield development,” Randall said.

The master plan is to be completed in 14 months, Randall said. But De Soto residents could see some of the design team’s work before that.

As part of its contract, the firm will look at De Soto south of Kansas Highway 10, which is Sunflower’s gateway. There would be opportunities in coming months for city officials and residents to view what planners envision there, Randall said.

Sunflower officials have said the master plan would answer questions about who would provide the development with water, sewer and other utilities.