Lawrence city commissioners on Tuesday approved a package of tax incentives of up to $94.6 million for KU to develop its Gateway District.
The Gateway Project’s first phase included renovating much of the KU football stadium and construction of a conference center. That’s on track to be completed this month and cost about $448 million.
Phase 2 of the Gateway Project is proposed to finish the south and east sides of the football stadium, plus develop a large mixed-use district next to the stadium, including an outdoor plaza, hotel, student housing, parking, retail space and more.
An updated presentation from KU on Tuesday included an estimate of $360.7 million for construction of the second phase, bringing the grand total to $808.7 million to complete both phases of the project. (Read more background on the project in the articles linked below.)
Jeff DeWitt, KU’s CFO, told commissioners KU would be able to cover the costs of completion of the stadium but would not be able to complete the rest of the Phase 2 items without the tax incentives.
The total incentives package is for $86 million. Revenues above the $86 million mark will be split between the city and development. A maximum of $94.6 million in public incentives can go to the development, according to the project plan.
KU is requesting the $86 million in incentives via a combination of STAR bonds, tax increment financing and the creation of a community improvement district. STAR bonds, which stands for Sales Tax and Revenue bonds, make up the majority of the incentive package. Read more background on the incentives in this article from last week.
As part of the project, KU has pledged $14.5 million worth of bond proceeds to support the Jayhawk Watershed project and a $4 million contribution for affordable housing, plus the creation of an off-campus housing office to assist with relations between off-campus students and residents.
Commissioners heard from nearly two dozen members of the public — some multiple times — over the course of three public hearings, one for each of the proposed incentives. Some spoke in favor and some spoke against approving the incentives, and some raised other concerns and questions.
Sen. Marci Francisco, who represents Lawrence at the Kansas Statehouse, told commissioners that KU students have asked the Legislature to consider eliminating sales taxes on textbooks. She said she would be remiss if she did not object to the additional 2% sales tax being added to textbook purchases on campus, which would be part of the community improvement district.
The district boundaries were already approved in May.
20250812-KU-stadium-tax-breaks-districtsCommissioners had questions about housing, decibel levels and limits for noise on concerts that could be held at the stadium and more.
The agreement includes a limit of eight major concerts per year, meaning those that draw 30,000 or more people to town.
“I’ll be happy if we get one concert with 30,000 people coming to town on a particular weekend,” Vice Mayor Brad Finkeldei said. “That’s a major economic driver if we can get one of those. I’m a little more concerned that we won’t have that.”
On the other hand, Finkeldei said, if the agreement isn’t approved, KU could have as many concerts as it wants in the stadium. Without the agreement, the city has no say on a lot of items, he said.
Commissioner Bart Littlejohn said he thinks the project will be a game changer and an economic driver for the city.
“I’m a supporter of this project and I look forward to seeing it comes fruition,” he said.
Commissioner Amber Sellers said the community has yet to capitalize on a STAR bond project. She said it can be a huge risk, but it can also be a huge driver.
“This whole process started in 2017 when our community decided to grant one of its opportunity zones to the University of Kansas,” she said. “This was a done deal back in 2017, folks. We’ve just been along for the ride.”
She said the project didn’t address many of her concerns, and that it is going to change the look and character of this community.
“I love my alma mater, but man, it is a totally different institution than it was when I went there,” she said. “… There will be students that will never know what it means to be a Jayhawk.”
Mayor Mike Dever said the project is an opportunity to start relying on tax dollars coming in from outside the community and “using other people’s money to make Lawrence a better place.”
“I feel like we have to make an investment in that process, and this is the first step, and so I’m going to support all these actions,” Dever said.
Commissioners voted 4-1 in favor of the STAR bond project plan, with Sellers opposed.
Commissioners voted 3-2 in favor of the community improvement district, with Sellers and Commissioner Lisa Larsen opposed. It did not require a 4-1 vote in order to pass as the other two tax incentive items did.
They voted unanimously in favor of resolutions to allow the city manager’s office to execute the agreement with KU, to approve the tax increment financing district and to adopt a resolution related to industrial revenue bonds.
See the complete agenda item and agreement at this link.
Post updated at 10:23 a.m. Wednesday, Aug. 13 to add more photos
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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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