ITEM NO. 6:        DR-07-93-07: 618 12th Street; Demolition and New Construction; Certified Local Government Review and Certificate of Appropriateness Review.  The property is within the environs of the Hancock Historic District, National Register of Historic Places.  The property is within the environs of the Jane A. Snow Residence, National Register of Historic Places and Lawrence Register of Historic Places.  Submitted by Thomas Fritzel of Triple T, L.L.C., for himself and Robert Pottroff, the property owners of record.

 

STAFF PRESENTATION

Ms. Burke presented the item.

 

APPLICANT PRESENTATION

Mr. Paul Werner, Paul Werner Architects, said this project was a once in a lifetime project for Lawrence and it took months worth of meetings to put it together and the proposal was outstanding.  Mr. Werner said there were a lot of issues with street alignment.  He said there was a negative turn for buses to Oread Avenue and it was a dysfunctional intersection.  He said it would work more efficiently to turn all of the intersections into 90 degree turns, that there needed to be a median or a traffic circle to realign Oread Avenue and face it squarely to the proposal.  He said sidewalks for pedestrian access were confusing in the entire area.  He said they were looking at additional enhancements directing pedestrian traffic up Indiana out of traffic.  Mr. Werner said there needed to be a good pedestrian crosswalk to cross over 12th street.  Mr. Werner said he was committed to parking issues, which was brutal in the entire area.  He said this project allowed for approximately 150 spaces which were all underground.  Mr. Wernerr explained that the project had now been expanded to include the lot to the north, demolishing an apartment building which expands the number of parking spaces to 188.  Mr. Werner said in addition to the two entrances into the parking garage off of Indiana Street, they were now moved further north, so that the lights from vehicles would not be pointed directly at the buildings across the street.  He said in addition to that it was more consistent to lining up with the buildings on 12th street.  He said he would like to see the Board approve the project and believed if the project had been completed sooner that many of the homes today would be owner occupied.  

 

Mr. Tim Homburg stated the site was not completely surrounded by residential property or by Kansas University.  He said the north side of the University houses a lot of the more public aspects like a Museum, the Student Union, Alumni Center, and the football stadium that were all public oriented type facilities. Mr. Homburg stated the hotel would be in a position to accommodate the uses of the neighborhood, which could include community meeting spaces, banquet spaces and private dining, including retail space and approximately 110 rooms.  Mr. Homburg said the southwest corner would have more of a commercial type feel as it transitioned to the north it would become more residential.  He said the building as a whole was more residential with punched openings rather than ribbons and glass. He stated the Oread Neighborhood Association wanted the height shortened and they had made suggestions to step the building down. 

 

COMMISSION DISCUSSION

Commissioner Antle asked Mr. Homburg if the number of rooms would be 110 and the parking spaces would consist of 188.

 

Mr. Homburg stated yes.

 

Commissioner Marvin asked how directions would be given to someone coming from out of town to get to the property.

 

Commissioner Meyer asked what the major street to get to the property would be.

 

Mr. Homburg said Indiana Street was a bus route that serves the University and there were trucks that drive up Mississippi Street.

 

Commissioner Meyer said she had concern with the volume of traffic not the type of traffic.

 

Mr. Homburg stated the hotel traffic would be coming and going at different times of the day.

 

Commissioner Marvin asked about football traffic.

 

Mr. Homburg said the entire area was flooded with traffic during football games.

 

Commissioner Wiechert said Indiana Street was the major street entrance from the north to get to the University campus and bus traffic was very congested.  He asked how a ladder truck would handle the turns.

 

Mr. Homburg said it would make it easier for ladder trucks to enter the University’s campus.

 

Mr. Werner said they have met with the Lawrence Fire Department, and were in the process of completing traffic counts and completing all of the other necessary studies.

 

Commissioner Wiechert said the Commission wanted to ensure this worked and asked if the service entrance was on the east side.

 

Mr. Homburg said the service entrance was on the east side and there would also be valet service. 

 

Commissioner Marvin asked where the retail space and restaurants would be.

 

Mr. Homburg said the retail space would be on the south side of the building, along with restaurants and covered outdoor terraces.

 

Commissioner Meyer asked what the proposed uses would be.

 

Mr. Homburg said they are looking at the market.

 

Commissioner Wiechert asked if there would be conference rooms.

 

Mr. Homburg said yes they would be similar to the conference rooms at the Eldridge Extended.

 

Commissioner Marvin asked Mr. Homburg if their team had met with Kansas University.

 

Mr. Homburg said yes along with the Oread Neighborhood Association.

 

Commissioner Marvin asked what the institutional interests and concerns of Kansas University were.

 

Mr. Homburg said the feedback the team had received was nothing but positive.  He said Kansas University believed lecturers, parents, and the public would be taking in the amenities that the University had.  Mr. Homburg said that almost every other University had a hotel close or on their campus.

 

Commissioner Sizemore asked Mr. Homburg what the roof would consist of.

 

Mr. Homburg said they would make it a green roof with trees and planters.

 

Commissioner Marvin asked if there would be a bar on the roof.

 

Mr. Homburg said no.

 

PUBLIC COMMENT

Ms. Devon Kim, stated she was the owner of a business at 303 West 11th street and a member of the Oread Neighborhood Association Board.  She said there was a general meeting with the Oread Neighborhood Association, and the only concern that was brought up was concerns about traffic.  She said the neighborhood was pleased with what was brought before them by the development team.

 

Ms. Carol von Tersch stated she lived in the Snow House and had observed the neighborhood and traffic for more than three decades.  Ms. von Tersch read various parts from the guidelines and showed photographs.  She said the neighborhood had evolved into a student ghetto and the environs were made up of poorly maintained rental properties that were run down.  She said she was well aware of the scale of the structure, and it was the issue the Commission needed to address.  She said all other issues could be worked out with the developer and his architectural team.  Ms. von Tersch said the scale of the project was driven by economic considerations, and it was economic considerations that could do the most to preserve and protect the Hancock District, the Oread Historic District and the entire neighborhood.  She said in addition the developer was committed to including improvements to the pedestrian pathways within the Hancock District.  She said the intersection of twelfth and Indiana and Oread Avenue were unsafe in their current historically correct configuration.  Ms. von Tersch said this should be changed or improved regardless of the department of interior guidelines.  She stated the stairs from Twelfth Street down to Mississippi Street, within the district, had been changed and were now historically inaccurate due to modern code requirements.  Ms. von Tersch said given the environs decisions made by previous Historic Resource Commissions, a decision to deny this project because of the impact of its scale on the environs of the Hancock District could be viewed arbitrary.  

 

Mr. Dennis Brown, president of The Lawrence Preservation Alliance, said he had mixed feelings regarding the project.  He said the structure was too tall, but others thought the developer had worked with the Oread neighbors and had considered the changes proposed by the neighbors. Mr. Brown said this was such a big proposal and project for Lawrence that maybe deferral should be considered.  He said the Commission should step way back to see what the Kansas University skyline would look like.  He said to be able to save the home at 1142 Indiana from being destroyed the proposal must be stopped.  Mr. Brown said he cared about buildings, historic buildings and words.  He said to name the structure the Eldridge on the Hill would do damage to the Historic Eldridge Hotel.

 

Ms. Marci Francisco, 1101 Ohio, stated she saw the plans for the proposal and the issues, and saw a positive response to the Oread Neighborhood Associations concerns.  She asked Ms. Von Tersch if she had pictures of the property to the east.  Ms. Francisco said the proposed structure was different than the existing scholarship halls; there were other locations that they could fit in.  She said this seems to be a very good location for a hotel.  She said the Oread neighborhood was never a single family neighborhood so they do not expect it to be a single family neighborhood now.  Ms. Francisco said she would appreciate the Commission looking at this project closely.

 

Ms. Betty Alderson, 1920 Maine said she had been on vacation when this proposal hit the press. She said all she noticed was a huge structure.  She said there were family homes all around that area.  She said she commended the developer and their team for spending the time with the Oread Neighborhood Association.  Ms. Alderson said that if there were three stories taken off the top of the structure it might be nice.  She said it seemed to be a building that had a function but the height of it was just too much.  Ms. Alderson said the structure would dominate the entire landscape along the block.  She said she did not know what the site lines were across campus but thought it would be in the way. 

 

COMMISSION DISCUSSION

Commissioner Marvin stated she appreciated Mr. Brown’s comments and would like to see a distant view of the campus.  She said she had trouble visualizing what it would look like.  Commissioner Marvin asked Ms. von Tersch when she spoke of the addition to the Union if she was talking about the structure that was being built at the walkway.  Commissioner Marvin stated the building was not what was approved by the Commission.  She said she was not criticizing Ms. von Tersch and was not attacking her she was only voicing her concern. 

 

Commissioner Sizemore stated he thought the project got bigger every time it was shown.  He said the applicant mentioned the view would be a 360 degree view of Lawrence and if that was the case, it would be high enough to see it from everywhere.  Commissioner Sizemore said the renderings were nice but they do not indicate the additional two to three stories on top of it.  He said the trees would look different in the winter time.  He said there would be a lot of people passing by the structure and it would read like a very big building.  He said he agreed that the environs had been altered over time but the size of this project was an enormous scale.

 

Commissioner Meyer said she acknowledged that the property would be redeveloped at some time and she did appreciate the fact this was a local project.  She said if a different developer would come here and say that this was a Marriot on the Hill, it would be the same thing.  Commissioner Meyer stated the project was really large and it was disappointing that the scale was back up.  She said the Commission had not had a lot of time to review the project and she would also like to see more opportunity for public comment.

 

Commissioner Wiechert said it would be interesting to see what the structure would look like from the Interstate.

 

Commissioner Antle said he appreciated Mr. Browns comment regarding naming the structure The Eldridge on the Hill, and appreciated the applicant’s effort but he comes back to the point of it being too large.  He said it was the scale of the project that damaged the environs and they had already been damaged, and he would like to make it clear that the Commission was not trying to preserve some completely pristine environs because they were not.

 

Commissioner Veatch said he also agreed with Mr. Brown and the standards say the building was just too tall and too massive.  He said the fact that the developers had worked with the neighborhood makes him torn.  He said the Commission needed more time to review the project and the staff report.

 

Commissioner Meyer said it would be helpful to see 3-D drawings.  She said the existing drawings do not do the project justice.

 

Commissioner Marvin said the parking garage looked like a big blank.

 

                   Commissioner Sizemore asked about the topic of there being no financial alternative than building a 110 room hotel on this spot.

 

Mr. Werner said the financial purpose of the project was misrepresented.  He said the Historic Eldridge Hotel downtown only had 48 rooms, and the new zoning code states that if there was a hotel with 50 rooms, they would be allowed to have a restaurant.  He said if a hotel had 100 rooms, a bar would be allowed.  Mr. Werner said that if a hotel had 150 rooms it would be allowed to have a nightclub.  He said economics was a part of that, but it was also a part of the program that makes a hotel function.  Mr. Werner said this project was not about making a ton of money.  He stated there could not be as little as forty rooms in the hotel because that amount of rooms would not support a restaurant or any of the other amenities.

 

                   Commissioner Sizemore said he was not arguing the point, and asked if this was the only use for the land.  He said a hotel near campus would be great and if it was at the bottom of the hill it might work and there would not be an issue with the height of the building.

 

Commissioner Marvin said she had been on the Commission for several years and there were a number of issues that had come up with Kansas University creeping into other areas of town and she had concerns of allowing that to happen without asking questions.

 

Mr. Homburg said that one of the things that came up with the Oread Neighborhood Association was that the guidelines would be revised to fit the project. 

 

Commissioner Marvin said this was a City wide issue.

 

Commissioner Wiechert said he saw positive things with the project.  He said there were many Universities that own hotels on their campuses and this project could be an anchor of Oread Avenue and it could enhance the Oread neighborhood.

 

Mr. Homburg said they wanted the building to be complimentary to Lawrence.

 

ACTION TAKEN

Motioned by Commissioner Meyer, seconded by Commissioner Veatch to defer the item.

 

Motion carried unanimously, 6-0.