Downtown Lawrence building could become storage facility after zoning change

Lawrence planning commissioners unanimously backed a change that would let indoor self-storage move into downtown commercial zoning, but only if a project wins a special use permit from the City Commission. The move could open a path for the vacant former Borders bookstore building at Seventh and New Hampshire streets, one of downtown Lawrence’s most visible empty storefront-scale properties.

The building has sat largely unused since Borders closed in 2011, and owner Adam Williams wants to explore whether a climate-controlled storage facility could work there. That proposal reflects a practical problem that has grown more visible across downtown: older commercial spaces are hard to fill, even as nearby residents look for services that fit smaller homes and denser living.

Architect Paul Werner pushed that point at the Planning Commission, saying friends living in Hobbs-Taylor Lofts were “lined up and ready to rent space” for storage. His argument captured the basic tension in the debate: downtown has more residents than it once did, but it still needs uses that bring people onto sidewalks and into businesses rather than taking up prime street-level real estate with activity that generates little foot traffic.

Commissioners were willing to consider the use, but not as an open-ended downtown rule. Their recommendation keeps city leaders in charge of each project through the special use permit process, a sign that Lawrence wants flexibility without creating a blanket invitation for storage facilities to spread across downtown. The City Commission will have the final say on whether the code changes at all.

The Borders site has been a recurring redevelopment target for years. In 2023, city commissioners approved a 15-year, 65% property tax rebate on a 3-2 vote for a plan to turn the building into headquarters space for First Management and First Construction, the companies led by Lawrence businessman Doug Compton. That package also involved Neighborhood Revitalization Area financing and access to industrial revenue bonds, but the headquarters plan never materialized.

Other ideas have also come and gone for the site, including hopes that it could become a grocery store, a corporate office user or even a multi-story apartment project. The latest storage proposal underscores how difficult it has become to rework some downtown buildings for the kinds of uses Lawrence has long wanted to attract.

The same push and pull is showing up elsewhere in Douglas County. A separate April filing called for a 176-unit apartment complex at The Jayhawk Club in west Lawrence, after the City Commission denied a 200-unit version late last year. County commissioners also approved a nearly 14,000-square-foot clubhouse, indoor tee boxes and a restaurant at Twin Oaks Golf Complex on East 1900 Road, despite floodplain and water-quality concerns near the Wakarusa River.