A city board on Thursday recommended that plans to demolish five buildings and construct a 75-unit, 300-bedroom apartment complex near the University of Kansas go to an architectural committee for revisions.
Plans for the project, called The Place @ KU, include two six-story buildings slated for 15th and Ohio streets in the Oread neighborhood. The property already got approval to be rezoned to the city’s new very high density zoning, R5.
Lawrence’s Historic Resources Commission members said they’d like to see drawings of what the buildings will look like within the neighborhood context. The designs included in the meeting agenda did not include anything that shows the scale of the other buildings in the area in comparison to The Place.
“I can’t visualize what the Oread neighbors themselves are going to see from their perspectives,” HRC member Jeanne Klein said.
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City staff members had recommended that the Historic Resources Commission direct the architects to work with the HRC’s architectural review committee to help change the design so the structures would be more compatible with the design of the surrounding area. They voted unanimously to do that on Thursday.
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The plans will return to the board with revisions, and most likely additional drawings to show the building’s scope within the neighborhood.
“I think it would help us understand it within its context, and not just elevations of its own structure,” HRC Chair Brenna Buchanan said.
The project plans come from Hernly-Adams Architects, which includes HRC member Stan Hernly and Lance Adams. Hernly left the room for the commission’s discussion of the project, and Adams presented to the commission.
The project’s developers are seeking to demolish five smaller buildings to make way for the complex: 1423 and 1433 Ohio St. and 1430 and 1432 Louisiana St. There are two buildings, north and south, at 1423 Ohio St.
Hernly-Adams Architects submitted the plans on behalf of Compton Holdings LC and Consolidated Properties Inc. of Lawrence, companies registered to Doug Compton, and RGAPTS LLC, which is registered to KU Endowment.
Developers are planning commercial space on the first floors of the buildings. There would be about 77 spaces of underground parking, and developers are proposing 10 parking spots along Ohio Street.
The east building would be U-shaped, and the green space in the middle of the U would include four wood pergolas for outdoor gatherings. The building would have amenities including a “watch zone” with large TVs, a study zone, terraces, a cafe, a pool and more.
Developers simultaneously submitted the demolition requests and tentative plans for the replacement structures.
The front page of the meeting agenda had mistakenly said that staff members were recommending the HRC deny demolition requests for two of the buildings on the site. That was not the case, Lynne Braddock Zollner, historic resources administrator, told HRC members.
Revised plans will come back to the HRC for another discussion at a future meeting. The next meeting is set for Thursday, April 16.
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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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Plans for high-density apartments near KU campus headed for architectural revisions
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