Lawrence developer pitches $1.3 billion STAR Bond project, raising questions

Phil Bundy’s latest Lawrence pitch is as much a tax question as it is a building plan. The Wichita developer is asking the city to back a roughly $1.3 billion project that would rely on about $200 million in STAR Bonds, with a preliminary map that already puts the new Costco site inside the district.

The proposal is split into two pieces: The 1059 in south Lawrence, formerly called New Boston Crossing, and Beacon Landing in west Lawrence. Bundy said he wants to start The 1059 first and begin Beacon Landing about six months later if approvals come together, a pace that would put the city in the middle of a major land-use and financing decision almost immediately.

The project’s headline attraction is a proposed arena with a velodrome, a facility Bundy said could host major cycling competitions and fit the global sports momentum Lawrence has seen around the World Cup and related events. The attraction list is not final, but Bundy has also floated a bike racing track and even a board-game-themed park, underscoring how wide-ranging the concept still is.

For city leaders, the sharper issue is not the concept but the map. Vice Mayor Mike Courtney warned June 12 that a STAR Bond application could turn “long-awaited projects” in west Lawrence into “less-sure things,” specifically pointing to Costco east of the South Lawrence Trafficway and a proposal for at least 1,000 housing units west of the trafficway. If the district captures Costco sales, that revenue could help finance the project, but it also means a major private retailer would be tied directly to the public incentive structure.

Bundy’s development has been building toward this moment for months. In December, he had secured a contract to buy about 800 acres west of the Bob Billings Parkway interchange, with plans for about 700 acres of housing and about 100 acres of commercial development. Taken together, the south and west projects were described as a plan that could total about $1 billion to $1.3 billion over five to seven years.

The financing tool itself is designed for exactly this kind of large tourism and entertainment project. Kansas STAR Bond law allows special obligation bonds to run for up to 30 years, and the Legislature this year extended the STAR Bonds Financing Act sunset date to July 1, 2031. State law also requires reporting on the state, federal and local tax incentives inside a STAR Bond district, a reminder that the public subsidy is both durable and closely scrutinized.

One more possible piece has local weight: a proposed $2 million contribution to Haskell Indian Nations University for campus improvements. Haskell sits on 320 acres in Lawrence and has 44 campus buildings, 12 of them National Historic Landmarks, which gives even a relatively small developer contribution outsized importance in the city’s larger debate over growth, public money and who benefits first.