Lawrence’s Historic Resources Commission voted 4-1 Thursday to find that the design for The Place @ KU, a planned apartment complex, aligns with the Oread neighborhood.

The complex will have 83 units with a mix of two-, four- and five-bedroom units for 335 bedrooms total, according to updated plans in the meeting agenda. Plans call for an underground parking garage with 91 spaces.

Developers already received city approval to rezone the site to the highest-density zoning in city code. The R-5 zoning, created as part of the new land development code, has no maximum number of units per acre, and no buildings exist yet in Lawrence with density that high.

Constructing the building at the site will require demolition of five existing ones: 1423 and 1433 Ohio St. and 1430 and 1432 Louisiana St. There are two buildings, north and south, at 1423 Ohio St.

Lynne Braddock Zollner, historic resources administrator for the city, said just two of the five existing buildings gave her pause. The art deco building at 1423 Ohio St. is “a challenge for staff,” she said. It could likely be eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places.

“I was ready to lay in front of the bulldozer for this building, because we just don’t have that many examples of this type of building in this style,” she said. After a walkthrough, however, she said she and the deputy state historic preservation officer both came to the opinion that “it would be extremely difficult, if not almost impossible, to rehabilitate the structure, due to the areas and the types of failure for this structure.”

The other is 1432 Louisiana St. It’s a home that Zollner said has some structural issues but it is not beyond repair. However, she said “staff determined that this really isn’t a typical structure for this district of the Oread overlay.”

HRC members agreed Thursday that they were on board with the demolitions.

HRC members in March had sent design plans on to the Architectural Review Committee to make some changes to bring the buildings more in line with the characteristics of the neighborhood.

Zollner walked the HRC through some changes the applicants had made to the design plans after meeting with the ARC.

Here’s an earlier rendering that applicants have since updated:

Here’s an updated rendering:

“I am not going to tell you that this mass is appropriate for the majority of the Oread design overlay district. It’s obviously huge, it’s obviously tall, and it has bulk,” Zollner said.

However, she said the building will be broken up with courtyards, which are recommended in the design guidelines for the area, and there will be areas where the facade is recessed.

“Yes, it’s going to be a big building, but it will have some relief for your vision when you’re looking at the building,” she said.

Two people gave public comment about the project, neither opposed, and HRC members had a few further questions for the applicant.

“I do have a hard time with the mass, size and scale, but that’s being driven by that new zoning that doesn’t exist anywhere else in the city, and that’s a recent change,” Brenna Buchanan, chair of the HRC, said. “I think we’re being kind of told what to do here.”

HRC members voted 4-1 to find that the project aligns with design guidelines for the Oread neighborhood. Buchanan, Joy Coleman, David Dearborn and Phil Cunningham voted in favor; Jeanne Klein voted against it.

HRC member Stan Hernly recused himself because he’s involved with the project.

Read more about this project in the articles 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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