[Electronic-lan] meeting with 23rd St. developer

Fri Mar 1 15:38:26 CST 2019

Dear LAN listserve members,
I thought I would reply to Rob's question (below) to the list as a way 
to report on the meeting.  Four community members met with Patrick 
Watkins and two OPUS group project members, Rita D'Agostino and Gary 
Schuberth. I am copying the OPUS Group representatives on this email. I 
encourage them to reply to this listserve to correct me if my analysis 
is anywhere in error.
They introduced the project and described the facility:

 1. 300 bed, 3 story apartment with retail on ground level north side
 2. mix of studio, 1, and 2-bedroom apartments, mostly 2-bedroom
 3. retail parking east of building
 4. Retaining wall on the west boundary, lot slopped slightly down to
    the east
 5. 176 gated tenant parking spaces south of the building, first-come,
    first-served distribution
 6. hike/bike "oasis' on southeast corner of lot
 7. Pool in the courtyard in the center of the u-shaped building
 8. rain garden on east side of lot to help mitigate runoff
 9. $ budgeted to improve nearby bus stop on Naismith
10. green space north of the building, width of the lot and
    approximately 30 feet wide.
11. patio with seating outside of retail spaces
12. No development incentives were requested from the city
13. First development to use SMART code
14. intended to attract student tenants

City staff worked with them to understand and follow the SMART code, 
they praised the staff support.  The reduced number of parking spaces is 
allowable under the SMART code.  They were aware of current apartment 
market in Lawrence, and believed they would find tenants for their 
apartments.  The described the apartments as "market priced", meaning 
neither affordable nor luxury housing, but somewhere between.  They hope 
to attract a restaurant as part of the retail mix.  They were obviously 
excited about the project, their company's first in Lawrence.

My thoughts: I liked the design of the building, it reflects many of the 
priorities of the SMART code, including green space,parking beside and 
behind the building rather than on 23rd, support for active 
transportation, higher density infill, and ecological sensitivity.  I am 
somewhat concerned about the limited parking, but agree with them that 
bus, walking, and biking access to campus is excellent and should help 
reduce the number of cars. The project does not address one priority of 
the SMART code; it does not provide any affordable housing. I am 
impressed with this group. They seem to share our city's vision for 
future development based on Plan 2040. They will present the project to 
the City Commission for a vote on next Tuesday, March 5.

On a related note, the LiveWell Healthy Built Environments workgroup and 
other groups have been urging the city to build a 10 ft. multi-use path 
along Naismith from 19th to 23rd, creating a continuous 10 ft. path from 
campus to the Lawrence Loop south of 31st. This redevelopment project 
would greatly benefit from this low stress, off road path to campus.

Best regards,

Gary Webber

On 3/1/2019 11:50 AM, Robert Sands wrote:
> How did the meeting go?  I wanted to be there but Wednesday evening 
> was pretty busy for me.  Thanks in advance.
>
> On Sun, Feb 24, 2019 at 7:18 PM Gary Webber via Electronic-lan 
> <electronic-lan at lists.ku.edu <mailto:electronic-lan at lists.ku.edu>> wrote:
>
>     Dear LAN listserve members,
>     The group behind a  mixed-use apartment/retail development on 23rd
>     Street just west of Natural Grocers has reached out to us and
>     would like to help us understand their project and give us a
>     chance to comment. Patrick Watkins with Foxtail Real Estate
>     <https://livewelllawrence.us4.list-manage.com/track/click?u=d8f1d62c09b5db34590f34b0a&id=edbfbe29f1&e=2b79d39a08>
>     is representing The OPUS Group
>     <https://livewelllawrence.us4.list-manage.com/track/click?u=d8f1d62c09b5db34590f34b0a&id=8334a0e2a2&e=2b79d39a08>,
>     a Minneapolis development group..  He is hopeful that one or two
>     of the project managers will attend, but if not he will lead the
>     meeting.  The OPUS Group is headquartered in Minneapolis, but also
>     has an office in Kansas City. Here is a Town Talk article about
>     the project.
>     <https://na01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww2.ljworld.com%2Fweblogs%2Ftown_talk%2F2019%2Fjan%2F25%2Fmultistory-apartment-and-retail-building-planned-for-23rd-street-shopping-center-to-be-razed%2F&data=02%7C01%7Celectronic-lan%40lists.ku.edu%7Cb6eb33a8f9134f995c8308d69e8e3fb0%7C3c176536afe643f5b96636feabbe3c1a%7C0%7C0%7C636870731127424936&sdata=MCjKAwlG%2FwBWL9Y6%2Bti5V1NlgWQz9QYDYGEzpinWFJE%3D&reserved=0>
>     Here is Patrick's introduction of the project:
>
>     /We have introduced a mixed-use student housing project just to
>     the west of Natural Grocers near the 23rd and Naismith
>     intersection.  The building will have around 300 beds and over
>     8,000 square feet of new retail space, along with a range of
>     amenities for the residents and patrons. It's the first
>     development project to utilize the City's Smart Code, which
>     emphasizes mixed uses, integration with multi-modal
>     transportation, and a more traditional neighborhood design.  With
>     the bus stop, trail system, and evolving 23rd Street Corridor, we
>     think this alternate code makes for a nice fit on this property. 
>     We think this project will make a meaningful contribution to
>     having a physically active demographic along this corridor - and
>     would certainly appreciate your support./
>
>     This is the first time that the City has used its SMART code for a
>     development project.*We will meet with Patrick at 4:00 p.m. on
>     Wednesday, February 27, in Meeting Room A of the Public Library.*
>     I hope you will be able to attend!
>     Best,
>     Gary Webber
>     LAN Secretary
>     _______________________________________________
>     Electronic-lan mailing list
>     Electronic-lan at lists.ku.edu <mailto:Electronic-lan at lists.ku.edu>
>     https://lists.ku.edu/listinfo/electronic-lan
>
>
>
> -- 
> Rob Sands
> C 913-707-3953
> robert.c.sands at gmail.com <mailto:robert.c.sands at gmail.com>

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