Lawrence city commissioners on Tuesday will consider plans for a 200-unit apartment complex in west Lawrence that another city board already voted against.

The complex, Jayhawk Club Lot 5, would be located in the Alvamar neighborhood at 1840 Crossgate Drive, south of the Jayhawk Club Wellness Center, and surrounded by the Alvamar Golf Course.

Lance Adams, of Lawrence-based Adams Architects, filed the plan on behalf of the property owner, Eagle 1968 LC, a business registered to Thomas Fritzel.

The 200 units would comprise 428 bedrooms. The preliminary development plan calls for 394 parking spaces. There would also be a maintenance building, snack shack and pool/clubhouse for use by residents.

The agenda item does not include information indicating that any of the units would be designated affordable housing.

The red pin on the map shows the approximate location where the complex would be constructed, and below that is a PDF of the site plan:

Pages-from-20251209-Alvamar-apts

Click here to open the PDF in a new tab.

The Lawrence-Douglas County Planning Commission voted 4-3 to recommend denial of the plans during a September meeting.

“The Planning Commissioners who recommended denial of the PDP noted concerns raised by homeowners adjacent to the golf course related to stormwater drainage and traffic,” according to the agenda item.

Several neighbors also submitted written public comments to the commission, also citing concerns about stormwater drainage and excessive water runoff, their property values, potential noise from the complex and more.

“Multiple residents have contacted staff regarding concerns about the proposed development traffic, design, proximity to existing homes, and future plans for the golf course along with lighting and noise,” staff members wrote in the agenda item.

City staff members, however, are recommending the city commission approve the plans, with numerous conditions.

Because of the planning commission’s recommendation, the project would require a supermajority, or four of the five city commissioners, to vote in favor for approval. It would only require a simple majority of 3-2 to deny the application or to send it back to the planning commission for further consideration.

Attorney Matthew S. Gough, of Barber Emerson LC, wrote in a letter to the commission that “There is no reasonable basis to deny the PDP. The Owner’s proposals for additional drainage and traffic calming devices exceed any Code requirement and are the direct result of meetings with the neighboring property owners. … The public benefits that this Project would create are numerous and significant and represent a major investment in the City of Lawrence, Kansas.”

Meeting info

The city commission meeting will start at 5:45 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 9 in the City Commission Room on the first floor of City Hall, 6 E. Sixth St. See this complete agenda item at this link.

The commission accepts written public comment emailed to ccagendas@lawrenceks.org until noon the day of meetings. The commission also hears live public comment during meetings, both in person and virtually.

City commission meetings are no longer livestreamed on YouTube. In order to watch the meeting online remotely, attendees must join via Zoom at this link, which also allows participants to provide public comment virtually. Meeting recordings are uploaded to the city’s YouTube channel the next day.

See the commission’s complete meeting agenda at this link.

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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