Lawrence city commissioners will vote next month on an agreement to purchase a building near Sixth and Iowa streets to serve as the new city hall.
The proposed building, at 2000 Bluffs Drive, would provide about 50,000 square feet of space and would require an estimated $11.7 million in remodeling on top of a $4.2 million purchase agreement. That’s $15.9 million total.
The current City Hall, 6 E. Sixth St., was dedicated in 1980. At 35,544 square feet, it’s no longer big enough to hold the city workforce, according to presenters during the meeting. Commissioners have included $12 million in their capital improvement plan for city hall updates, whether that be the current site or a different building.
The city has contracted with local design studio Multistudio for $130,000 for preliminary work to evaluate sites and spaces and complete predesign work. Gwen Gigous and Katie Pohlman with Multistudio told commissioners the building on Bluffs Drive would give space for current and future needs, as well as provide safe and secure space for city staff.
The city is leasing space at Riverfront Mall for Lawrence Municipal Court and Planning and Development Services for $300,000 annually. That lease ends in 2028, and there is an option to purchase in the contract. The Bluffs Drive building would give space for the city to move those two functions under the same roof as most of the rest of city staff.
The location was not ideal for staff members who like being able to walk to get coffee and lunch downtown, presenters said, but there is a good amount of parking close to the building. The city could also hold events such as food truck Fridays in the parking lot for employees, Gigous said.
Some members of the public voiced concerns that the Bluffs building is hidden from sight, especially in comparison to the current building.
Former commissioner Courtney Shipley spoke during public comment about the agenda item and again during general public comment at the end of the meeting. Shipley said many city employees do not currently work at the city hall building; they’ve continued working from home since the COVID-19 pandemic.
“That doesn’t mean that taxpayers need to hold space for that, or that there aren’t other considerations that should be made for that,” she said.
Shipley said discussions of siloing among departments was not because of physical space but because of leadership, and that moving city hall from downtown would be “a mistake of biblical proportions.”
Shipley also said she wanted to remind the commission that the city has the right to first refusal to purchase Riverfront Mall once the city’s lease is up because the city owns the land, as well as the land where SpringHill Suites is located.
Gigous told the commission the current city hall could be sold or “studied as part of the North Lawrence comprehensive corridor plan.”
Commissioner Brad Finkeldei said in closing that “some of the questions tonight, from the public and otherwise, seem like, obviously, things we would like some answers to.”
The commission will vote on the purchase agreement during their meeting on Tuesday, Oct. 15.
“The purchase agreement allows for a 120 day due diligence period to further study the site,” according to the meeting agenda. “Prior to the end of the due diligence period, the project team will present a final recommendation to the City Commission regarding the site.”
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Mackenzie Clark (she/her), reporter/founder of The Lawrence Times, can be reached at mclark@lawrencekstimes.com. Read more of her work for the Times here. Check out her staff bio here.
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