Lawrence leaders eye $2.1 million downtown building for City Hall annex
Lawrence officials want a former newspaper plant downtown as City Hall's new annex, but the $2.1 million buy would trigger about $21 million more in renovations.
Lawrence leaders are weighing whether a downtown building that once powered the Journal-World press room is worth the roughly $23.1 million price tag to ease a City Hall space shortage without pushing public services out of the core. The city hopes to buy the former printing facility at 609 New Hampshire Street and 603 Massachusetts Street for $2.1 million and then pour about $21 million into turning the 57,000-square-foot shell into usable office space.
The Lawrence City Commission is set to consider authorizing Acting City Manager Casey Toomay to complete the purchase. Staff have already negotiated and signed an agreement, leaving commissioners to decide whether to approve the final step. The deal calls for the building to be bought as-is, followed by a 60-day due-diligence period for staff to engage employees and finish title and closing work. If the commission approves, city leaders hope to close by June 20.
The proposal grows out of years of complaints about space at City Hall, 6 E. 6th Street. City Hall has about 35,544 square feet, far short of the 53,000 square feet the city says it needs to house employees and functions. City materials presented in 2024 also said the building lacks direct parking access, has restrooms that are not ADA compliant and does not have a fire sprinkler system. Those shortcomings helped push officials to look for another site downtown after commissioners rejected an earlier plan at 2000 Bluffs Drive in 2024.
The former Journal-World plant emerged from a short list developed with Multistudio that also included the Reuter building, the former Borders building and the former Riverfront Mall building. City officials said the printing plant offered the best mix of size, condition and location while matching the commission’s desire to stay downtown. The move would also fit a broader shift already underway: in November 2024, Lawrence announced it would leave its Riverfront Plaza lease for Municipal Court and Planning & Development Services, part of an effort to centralize services at City Hall and improve accessibility for residents.
The building itself carries a long downtown history. The Lawrence Journal-World was formed by a 1911 merger of two local papers and moved to 609 New Hampshire Street in 1955 after its original home at 722 Massachusetts Street burned in a fire that also destroyed the Bowersock Opera House. More recently, the same printing complex drew interest for private redevelopment, including an Alarm.com office project for about 37 employees before the company shifted that plan to another site. Q39 later received tax incentives in 2025 to renovate the former printing-press building at 639 New Hampshire Street. Together, those plans show a downtown property that has sat at the center of Lawrence's civic and economic recalibration for years, and now may become the city's next long-term answer to its office-space squeeze.
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