Months after the building began to tease those passing by, the Olive Garden in Lawrence will finally open at 11 a.m. Monday, Feb. 2. 

The Italian restaurant located at the corner of Iowa and 21st streets began construction last year and was built quickly, with most of the building finished this fall. 

The rapid pace of development is because the restaurant was exempt from Lawrence’s usual development process. That’s because it was built on land owned by KU and designated for the university’s Crossing project, which aims to create a mixed-use development throughout West Campus, including the new Dillons grocery store. 

Based on an agreement for the Crossing approved by city commissioners in 2023, purchases made at the Olive Garden will be subject to an extra 1.5% sales tax to help pay for project costs. That tax lasts for about two decades. 

Also part of the city’s agreement with KU is that developments on the patch of West Campus land receive significant financial incentives, including a 95% tax rebate on newly generated tax revenue for 20 years.

Prior to development, the land was property tax exempt because it was owned by KU. However, the new commercial development makes the area taxable, so even after the 95% rebate, the amount of property taxes collected from the land will increase.  

Commissioners approved the tax incentives for the entire Crossing project before knowing the individual businesses that would move in. A similar plan for an Olive Garden fell apart more than a decade ago after a local government advisory board rejected a tax incentive request from the restaurant. 

The Crossing aims to attract companies, researchers and entrepreneurs to support KU’s Innovation Park, a nonprofit operating three research and office facilities in West Campus. Initial plans for the Crossing included sites for roughly 500,000 square feet of new development, including about 400 multifamily residential units, affordable housing sites, a hotel, more than 50,000 square feet of retail and dining uses and more than 75,000 square feet of office and research space.

An Olive Garden spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Cuyler Dunn (he/him), a contributor to The Lawrence Times since April 2022, is a student at the University of Kansas School of Journalism. He is a graduate of Lawrence High School where he was the editor-in-chief of the school’s newspaper, The Budget, and was named the 2022 Kansas High School Journalist of the Year. Read his complete bio here. Read more of his work for the Times here.

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