KU planning to launch entrepreneurship hub at site of former cafe

The University of Kansas is set to develop and open a brand new hub for student programs at the former home of McLain’s Market. 

For months, 1420 Crescent Road was in limbo following the closure of McLain’s in the spring of 2023. KU Endowment purchased the property from Axiom Jayhawk LLC in March. 

The university now has some plans for the lot, according to partial meeting minutes obtained through a request under the Kansas Open Records Act.

The KU School of Business will open an “Entrepreneurship Hub” at the site, which will likely house some operations for various KU Business student groups, including the Catalyst Program, Jayhawk Consulting and RedTire. Each program “allow(s) students to gain hands-on experience,” according to the business school’s Entrepreneurship page.

“Studies are ongoing about plans for renovation or rebuilding on that site,” according to the meeting minutes. 

The endowment association used part of a recent $50 million gift — the largest in the school’s history — from an anonymous donor to purchase the location and plans to use a larger portion to set up the hub. 

“The School of Business intends to use the property as an Entrepreneurship Hub for its entrepreneurship programs and the many KU students across disciplines who participate in those programs,” said Lauren Cunningham, a spokesperson for the School of Business. 

Cunningham said many details about the project are still in the works but should be more settled in the coming months. 

Jack Ritter (he/him), a contributor to The Lawrence Times since June 2022, is a student at the University of Kansas studying journalism. He is also a graduate of Lawrence High School, where he was the editor-in-chief of The Budget Online. 

Read more of his work for the Times here. You can view more of his work for The Budget Online here.

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