[Electronic-lan] Heads up: Large student housing company floating plans for big apartment complex in south Lawrence

[Melinda]

http://www2.ljworld.com/weblogs/town_talk/2017/sep/7/large-student-housing-company-floating-p/ 
(link includes graphics)

Large student housing company floating plans for big apartment complex 
in south Lawrence

Posted by Chad Lawhorn
September 7, 2017 at 11:21 a.m.

Get ready for more students near one of the busiest intersections in 
Lawrence. A Rhode Island-based company is seriously considering building 
a major new apartment complex near the Clinton Parkway and Iowa Street 
intersection.

An entity called Gilbane Development Co. has begun talking with 
neighbors about a plan to build an apartment complex on largely vacant 
land at the southwest corner of Clinton Parkway and Crestline Drive. 
That intersection is basically one block west of the busy Clinton 
Parkway/23rd Street and Iowa Street intersection.

Gilbane hasn’t yet filed plans with City Hall for the project, but it 
has presented a conceptual site plan to neighbors. That plan calls for 
two three-story buildings that would have about 220 apartment units. I’m 
waiting to hear back from Gilbane officials, but in talking with 
neighbors, it sounds like the apartment complex would have about 500 
bedrooms. The site plan seems to indicate that as well. The parking lot 
for the project has 532 spaces.

Neighbors also tell me that the project would be geared for university 
students. That would be consistent with Gilbane’s past projects. 
According to its website, the company has built more than 4,000 student 
housing beds in the last five years.

The site plan shows the two three-story buildings, a clubhouse on the 
ground floor of one of the buildings and a pair of plazas, with one 
including an outdoor pool, and the other seemingly having some sports 
courts and other such amenities.

The plans, however, have a major quirk. The southwest corner of Clinton 
Parkway and Crestline is largely vacant but not entirely vacant. There 
is a commercial building that houses the day care business Lawrence 
Child Development Center.

Teresa Prost, the owner of the center, told me the apartment developers 
don’t currently plan to buy her property but rather plan to build one of 
the apartment buildings on the north side of her day care and another 
apartment building on the south side of the day care. It is a plan she 
doesn’t like.

“It feels like the big fish is eating the little fish,” she said.

Prost said the day care includes an outdoor playground that would back 
up to the student apartment complex.

“We would be right in the center,” Prost said. “That is something we 
want to talk about with them. With balconies, there would be these 
apartments that would be looking at children playing.”

Prost said she’s open to the development group buying her property or 
relocating the day care to another part of the site that would be more 
isolated from the apartment development.

I’ve got a call into Gilbane officials, but I haven’t yet heard back. If 
I get additional information from the company, I’ll pass it along.

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