Lawrence city commissioners on Tuesday held public hearings and approved proposed boundaries for areas of tax breaks the University of Kansas has requested for its Gateway District project.
KU is seeking tax incentives for the second phase of the project, which will complete construction of the football stadium and include 1,000 parking spaces above and below ground; a 20,000-square-foot outdoor plaza; a 162-room full-service hotel; a 443-bed student housing facility; and 43,000 square feet of retail, restaurant and office space.
A sales tax and revenue, or STAR, bond district would allow future sales tax revenue generated within the area to be used to help finance the development. A tax increment financing, or TIF, district uses the increase in property tax revenue from the development area to help pay for project-related public improvements.
The total estimated state and local incentives package is $85.2 million, all directed toward the stadium and parking improvements. The entire Gateway Project has an estimated price tag of $759 million.
The approvals of the tax district boundaries were the next steps necessary for KU and the city to continue project plans.
“There’s nothing we can do till we know all these pieces go together,” KU CFO Jeff DeWitt told commissioners.
Commissioners heard from about 20 community members, most of whom spoke in support of the project and the tax incentives, though many speakers voiced questions and concerns about specifics and impacts on the neighborhood.
Here are the boundaries for the districts:
20250506-Gateway-District-boundariesKU Endowment has pledged the donation of no less than $4 million of land to be used for affordable housing or other city uses, and the project will contribute $14.5 million toward stormwater projects in the Jayhawk watershed, according to a nonbinding memorandum of understanding in the meeting agenda.
Commissioner Amber Sellers said KU “has been almost derelict in its responsibility of providing adequate housing for its student population,” and she said that needed to be addressed.
KU has been leasing space in nearby apartment complexes to house students. DeWitt said KU has received legal authority to sell bonds for $100 million worth of student housing. The Gateway District plans call for a student housing complex with 443 beds. The university would still be looking to build a roughly 600-bed residence hall in addition to that.
Commissioner Lisa Larsen said she thought some of the language in the MOU was “squishy” and not in the city’s favor. She said going forward, she wanted to see “really tight language that identifies what both parties are going to do for each other. Because the way it’s written right now, I couldn’t support it.”
Vice Mayor Brad Finkeldei said he didn’t think the city would lose any negotiating power by approving Tuesday’s agenda items.
The commission voted 5-0 in favor of an ordinance establishing the boundaries of the TIF district, and 4-1 on a second ordinance establishing the STAR bond project district, with Sellers opposed.
KU is also seeking to establish a community improvement district, which would create an extra sales tax of up to 2% over 22 years to provide for the sales of up to $20.2 million in bonds.
Future steps for the project will return to the commissioners during their July 1 and Aug. 5 meetings, according to a timeline in the meeting agenda.
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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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