City commissioners on Tuesday will consider purchasing a building near Sixth and Iowa streets to become the new Lawrence City Hall.
The building, at 2000 Bluffs Drive, would require an estimated $11.7 million in remodeling on top of a $4.2 million purchase agreement. That’s $15.9 million total, which is almost $4 million more than the commission had budgeted, so a future budget amendment would be necessary.
An inspection report in the meeting agenda shows some issues at the Bluffs building such as water damage from unclear sources, plumbing issues, signs of rodent activity and brown recluse spiders, an aging HVAC system that will likely need to be replaced and more. The report also shows some soil erosion and issues with the retaining wall around the property, and some wall settlement and cracking concrete.
It’s not clear from the agenda item whether the issues discovered in the inspection, which is dated Sept. 18, were considered as part of the estimated $11.7 million in work the building would need.
The Bluffs building, built in 1987, is currently owned by DST Realty MassKan LLC, and its property taxes for the city, county and school district are more than $100,000 annually, county records show. The building is currently listed for $5.9 million.
The current City Hall, at 6 E. Sixth St., was built in 1980. It’s about 35,500 square feet, which city staff members and consultants with local design studio Multistudio say is no longer enough space for staff.
In addition, staff of Planning and Development Services and Lawrence Municipal Court currently work in space in the Riverfront building next door that is leased for $300,000 per year.
“Continued use of the existing building would necessitate $12 million in renovations and still fall short of needs,” according to the agenda item. That estimate includes $400,000 for staff relocation during construction.
The Bluffs building would provide about 49,200 square feet of space, according to property records. It would have enough space for those departments to move under the same roof as the rest of city hall, according to the meeting agenda.
If the commission approves the purchase of the Bluffs building, the current city hall could be sold or repurposed for a different city or community use, or its future could be studied as part of the North Lawrence Comprehensive Corridor Plan, according to the agenda.
A 10-year growth analysis in the agenda indicates that the city anticipates growing to 195 employees from 149 currently working in city hall and Riverfront. The projected space need with that kind of growth is 53,000 square feet — larger than the Bluffs building.
“This small difference does not concern the design team. There are opportunities for shared space and efficiencies,” according to the agenda item.
Among questions and concerns community members raised during the commission’s Sept. 10 meeting was that many city staff members have been working remotely rather than inside the building since the COVID-19 pandemic. The agenda item indicates that six remote IT employees were not included in the 149 total, but it’s unclear from the information provided whether employees of other departments are also still working remotely.
As of Sunday, the agenda item only included one written public comment: a letter from Downtown Lawrence Inc.’s executive director, Andrew Holt, and board members of the organization. It urges the commission to keep city hall downtown “until a more suitable location is identified that aligns with the city’s broader development goals.”
“City Hall’s presence downtown contributes significantly to the area’s vibrancy,” the letter states. “The proximity of City Hall employees, as well as visitors attending meetings and events, benefits local businesses and strengthens the relationship between the city government and downtown commerce. Relocating City Hall outside of downtown would weaken this important connection between our civic institution and the community it serves.”
See the full agenda item at this link. See links to previous coverage below.
Also on the commission’s agenda is a discussion of the proposed redesign of the Outdoor Aquatic Center. Read more about that at this link.
The commission will begin its regular meeting at 5:45 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 15 at City Hall, 6 E. Sixth St. See the complete meeting agenda at this link.
Meetings are open to the public, broadcast on Midco channel 25 and livestreamed on the city’s YouTube channel, youtube.com/@lawrenceksvideo.
The commission accepts written public comment until noon the day of the meeting emailed to ccagendas@lawrenceks.org. The commission also hears public comment in person during meetings as well as via Zoom. Register for Tuesday’s Zoom meeting at this link.
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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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