<div dir="ltr">Gary, <div>Thank you very much for your summary!</div></div><br><div class="gmail_quote"><div dir="ltr" class="gmail_attr">On Fri, Mar 1, 2019 at 3:38 PM Gary Webber via Electronic-lan <<a href="mailto:electronic-lan@lists.ku.edu">electronic-lan@lists.ku.edu</a>> wrote:<br></div><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0px 0px 0px 0.8ex;border-left:1px solid rgb(204,204,204);padding-left:1ex">
<div bgcolor="#FFFFFF">
<font size="+1">Dear LAN listserve members,<br>
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, </font><font size="+1">Rita D'Agostino and Gary Schuberth. </font><font size="+1"><font size="+1">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. <br>
</font>They introduced the project and described the facility:<br>
</font>
<ol>
<li><font size="+1">300 bed, 3 story apartment with retail on
ground level north side</font></li>
<li><font size="+1">mix of studio, 1, and 2-bedroom apartments,
mostly 2-bedroom<br>
</font></li>
<li><font size="+1">retail parking east of building</font></li>
<li><font size="+1">Retaining wall on the west boundary, lot
slopped slightly down to the east<br>
</font></li>
<li><font size="+1">176 gated tenant parking spaces south of the
building, first-come, first-served distribution<br>
</font></li>
<li><font size="+1">hike/bike "oasis' on southeast corner of lot</font></li>
<li><font size="+1">Pool in the courtyard in the center of the
u-shaped building<br>
</font></li>
<li><font size="+1">rain garden on east side of lot to help
mitigate runoff</font></li>
<li><font size="+1">$ budgeted to improve nearby bus stop on
Naismith</font></li>
<li><font size="+1">green space north of the building, width of
the lot and approximately 30 feet wide.</font></li>
<li><font size="+1">patio with seating outside of retail spaces</font></li>
<li><font size="+1">No development incentives were requested from
the city</font></li>
<li><font size="+1">First development to use SMART code</font></li>
<li><font size="+1">intended to attract student tenants<br>
</font></li>
</ol>
<p><font size="+1">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. <br>
</font></p>
<p><font size="+1">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. </font><font size="+1">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.<br>
</font></p>
<p><font size="+1"> 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.</font></p>
<p><font size="+1">Best regards,</font></p>
<p><font size="+1">Gary Webber<br>
</font></p>
<p><br>
</p>
<div class="gmail-m_-5506064419401850843moz-cite-prefix">On 3/1/2019 11:50 AM, Robert Sands
wrote:<br>
</div>
<blockquote type="cite">
<div dir="ltr">How did the meeting go? I wanted to be there but
Wednesday evening was pretty busy for me. Thanks in advance. </div>
<br>
<div class="gmail_quote">
<div dir="ltr" class="gmail_attr">On Sun, Feb 24, 2019 at 7:18
PM Gary Webber via Electronic-lan <<a href="mailto:electronic-lan@lists.ku.edu" target="_blank">electronic-lan@lists.ku.edu</a>>
wrote:<br>
</div>
<blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0px 0px 0px 0.8ex;border-left:1px solid rgb(204,204,204);padding-left:1ex">
<div bgcolor="#FFFFFF"> Dear LAN listserve members,<br>
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 <a href="https://livewelllawrence.us4.list-manage.com/track/click?u=d8f1d62c09b5db34590f34b0a&id=edbfbe29f1&e=2b79d39a08" style="color:rgb(0,124,137);font-weight:normal;text-decoration:underline" target="_blank">Foxtail Real Estate</a>
is representing <a href="https://livewelllawrence.us4.list-manage.com/track/click?u=d8f1d62c09b5db34590f34b0a&id=8334a0e2a2&e=2b79d39a08" style="color:rgb(0,124,137);font-weight:normal;text-decoration:underline" target="_blank">The OPUS Group</a>,
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. <a href="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%7C1176e28764034569dd6408d6a01ff918%7C3c176536afe643f5b96636feabbe3c1a%7C0%7C0%7C636872456516151300&sdata=MEiXDhi1%2Btp6R6J6Z6esA2EXCr7gzYaEcZd38GNxOZ0%3D&reserved=0" originalSrc="http://www2.ljworld.com/weblogs/town_talk/2019/jan/25/multistory-apartment-and-retail-building-planned-for-23rd-street-shopping-center-to-be-razed/" shash="HxLsC2lyBsYkoJ/OeyOZ1R8xwVYBI0G7r58iEpUg5fl5Fzatn6WtuLFOL9VpXEmPB/V43KprvXbW0r6RPCsMC59UGSptEkhoNyhCwdeF8029/TOHNSZVmQkodFdyPh05rCZTrRqUHHbITlvdjAAMBHZXnsefijJ7H84z3WPuuH8=" target="_blank">Here is a Town Talk
article about the project.</a> Here is Patrick's
introduction of the project:<br>
<br>
<em>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.</em><br>
<br>
This is the first time that the City has used its SMART code
for a development project.<strong> We will meet with Patrick
at 4:00 p.m. on Wednesday, February 27, in Meeting Room A
of the Public Library.</strong> I hope you will be able to
attend!<br>
Best,<br>
Gary Webber<br>
LAN Secretary<br>
</div>
_______________________________________________<br>
Electronic-lan mailing list<br>
<a href="mailto:Electronic-lan@lists.ku.edu" target="_blank">Electronic-lan@lists.ku.edu</a><br>
<a href="https://lists.ku.edu/listinfo/electronic-lan" rel="noreferrer" target="_blank">https://lists.ku.edu/listinfo/electronic-lan</a><br>
</blockquote>
</div>
<br clear="all">
<div><br>
</div>
-- <br>
<div dir="ltr" class="gmail-m_-5506064419401850843gmail_signature">
<div dir="ltr">
<div>Rob Sands</div>
<div>C 913-707-3953</div>
<div><a href="mailto:robert.c.sands@gmail.com" target="_blank">robert.c.sands@gmail.com</a></div>
<div> </div>
</div>
</div>
</blockquote>
<br>
</div>
_______________________________________________<br>
Electronic-lan mailing list<br>
<a href="mailto:Electronic-lan@lists.ku.edu" target="_blank">Electronic-lan@lists.ku.edu</a><br>
<a href="https://lists.ku.edu/listinfo/electronic-lan" rel="noreferrer" target="_blank">https://lists.ku.edu/listinfo/electronic-lan</a><br>
</blockquote></div><br clear="all"><div><br></div>-- <br><div dir="ltr" class="gmail_signature"><div dir="ltr"><div>Rob Sands</div><div>C 913-707-3953</div><div><a href="mailto:robert.c.sands@gmail.com" target="_blank">robert.c.sands@gmail.com</a></div><div> </div></div></div>