Long-vacant book store building is a contender for City Hall annex
Plans to build 15 row houses next to the former Borders book store in downtown Lawrence got a 3-2 nod of approval from the Historic Resources Commission Thursday evening.
If the plans are ultimately approved, 15 row houses would be built along the eastern edge of the former Borders parking lot at 700 New Hampshire St., though the structure would actually be closer to Rhode Island Street.
The row houses would extend about halfway down the 700 block to the south. Each unit would have its own one-car garage, and the parking lot where it would be built would provide room for a second car or visitor for residents.
Some neighbors who have spoken during public comment over the last three meetings said they felt the building would be too tall and too big across the street from the single-family homes along Rhode Island Street. The historic homes in the 700 block include the Octavious W. McAllaster House at 724 Rhode Island St., which survived Quantrill’s Raid.
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The commission voted 2-2 last month, resulting in a denial of both a certificate of approval and a finding that the project met downtown design guidelines. HRC Chair Joy Coleman had to leave that meeting early for a family obligation and was not part of the vote, but she was present for all of Thursday’s meeting.
The neighbors who spoke on Thursday had not changed their minds about the project, despite updates to the plans.
In the latest version, developers went with red brick instead of gray, increased the setbacks from the east property line and more.
Paul Werner, of Paul Werner Architects, reiterated that under the property’s current zoning, developers couldn’t build single-family homes or duplexes on the site, but he thought owner-occupied row houses would likely be preferable rather than 45 to 60 apartment units.
He said they planned the row house buildings to be three stories tall instead of four to better serve as a transition zone between downtown and the nearby homes. Each of the row houses will be listed at 2,300 square feet including the garage, and roughly 1,900 to 2,000 square feet of living space above.
HRC member David Dearborn said his preference for the area would be single-family homes, and he could understand the issues the neighbors saw with the building. But he didn’t have a solution for that, and he thought the project was a good plan.
“Something’s going to go there,” Dearborn said, “and I think that having someone that’s willing to work with the project and work with the neighborhood and try to work with us to make it as compatible as possible is a positive thing.”
HRC member Jeanne Klein said she thought the building was “simply too tall, too large, and offensive to the neighbors across the street.”
HRC Vice Chair Brenna Buchanan made a motion Thursday to grant the project a certificate of approval, and a second motion to find that the project meets downtown design guidelines.
Both motions passed 3-2, with Coleman, Buchanan and Dearborn in favor, and HRC member Phil Cunningham and Klein opposed.
There are still no clear plans for the former Borders building, which Werner said has been vacant for 13 years.
However, the City of Lawrence is considering it as a potential site for a City Hall annex.
The city is looking for more space beyond City Hall after ending its lease at Riverfront Plaza next door in November.
Lynne Braddock Zollner, historic resources administrator, told the HRC that she’d spoken with the city engineer who is in charge of the City Hall annex project, and “They have a couple of sites that they’re looking at and doing due diligence on.”
“He said he had no idea at the time which one staff would recommend to the City Commission, that they’re just that early in gathering all the material for both of the sites that they’re looking at,” she said. “I’m not a fortune teller. I can’t tell you, you know, if the city is going to be interested in this site — it all depends on what all those studies come back with.”
Read previous coverage of 700 New Hampshire St. at this link, and more about Lawrence City Hall 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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