THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
MONDAY, AUGUST 14, 2006
ON THE HILL
11C
CROSSING (CONTINUED FROM 6C)
A preliminary proposal was submitted to the Lawrence/Douglas County planning office for the redevelopment of the corner at 12th and Indiana streets where The Crossing, Yello Sub and Head Rush currently reside. The plan was submitted by Skyscapes of Lawrence LLC, a development company owned by Pottroff, and Jeff and Kathy Morrow, Yello Sub and Head Rush, 622 W. 12th St., property owners.
Until the plan is passed by the city commission, the immediate future of the businesses at 12th and Indiana streets is unclear.
"I don't know what's going to happen," Dave Boulter, the bar's owner said who was in negotiations with a group to sell the bar before the sale of its property.
Andrew Lynn, a 2001 Washburn University graduate who now lives in Orlando, Fla., was one of those people. Lynn spoke on behalf of the group Beanie's Crossing LLC.
Lynn and his partners were still considering purchasing The Crossing and operating it as long as the lease would allow, he said.
If Yello Sub left its current location, it would be the sandwich shop's decision, Bob Jones, Yello
Sub's owner said.
Jones said he had a long-term lease with the property owner Jeff Morrow and as far as the future is concerned, that hasn't changed.
When asked if the Morrows and Pottroff were officially partners on the proposal, Jeff Morrow said he and his wife and Pottroff were "co-applications."
Pottroff said he and the Morrows were "business associates."
Terms of association aside, the Morrows and Potroff own the property that occupies the space for the proposed "mixed use" building. The proposal, authored by Incite Design Studio of Lenexa, requires that in addition to The Crossing and Yello Sub, the building behind The Crossing and its parking lot need to be removed. A house behind Yello Sub would also have to be leveled.
"Mixed use" is a zoning term that means the proposed structure would have more than just one zoning use. The area at 12th and Indiana Streets is currently zoned for commercial use with The Crossing, Yello Sub and Head Rush and is zoned as residential dormitory for the apartment complexes that surround it. The proposed structure would
combine the two and is called a planned commercial development district. It requires that the corner be rezoned to accommodate the proposal.
The plans indicated that the building would extend from the edge of the Hawks Pointe III apartment complex parking lot to Indiana and 12th Street, to the edge of Oread Heights Apartments, 1140 Indiana.
The preliminary plans for the 34,000 square-foot building would include 15 condominiums, space for a sit-down restaurant, a fast food restaurant and a specialty retail shop. Parking spaces would line Indiana and 12th streets for the retail shops and an underground two-story parking garage would give its residents off-street parking.
The proposal has been submitted, but before this plan could come to fruition, several things must happen with the city.
The plan indicated that the sit-down restaurant may be used for a coffee shop, the fast food restaurant as a deli and the specialty retail shop as a hair salon. The intended purposes were listed in parentheses. The intended uses for the commercial space were subject to change in the preliminary proposal.
The first step in the approval process starts with the planning office. They would make a recommendation — it does not approve or deny a proposal — to the planning commission who would then decide whether or not to approve the proposal.
This case was different. The Hancock District, Oread Avenue to Mississippi Street on west 12th Street, and the Snow House, 706 W. 12th St., were listed on the National Register for Historic Places in Douglas County. Because the corner at 12th and Indiana streets was within 500 feet of
those historic landmarks, the Historic Resources Commission would have to approve the proposal first. State law requires that planned proposals near historic sites be reviewed.
The approval process takes time. Michelle Leininger, an area/ neighborhood planner with the Lawrence/Douglas County planning office, said that proposals often change before they're approved.
Brian Foxworthy, an architect with Incite Design Studio, the firm that submitted the proposal, confirmed that it will take time.
"The project will unfold in the coming months," he said.
Mike Goans, chairman of the Lawrence Board of Zoning Appeals, said it's a slow process.
"It may take six months," he
If approved by the Historic Resources Commission, then the plan would go through the normal approval process.
"People are going to walk by and talk about what happened. They're going to say,'The Crossing used to be here.'"
six months," he said.
AARON BLAIR Leavenworth senior, manager at The Crossing
Holly Krebs, chairwoman of the planning commission agreed with the six-month estimate.
"It may be a long time before there's any construction," she said.
With the future of The Crossing in doubt, in doubt also are the memories that could have been created there.
Boulter isn't concerned about
the legacy of The Crossing. He described Pottroff as the atypical developer because he's not a "bottom line" guy. He looks beyond the numbers, Boulter said.
"I think he'll do what's practical from a real estate point of view, but find a way to do something from a sentimental point of view," he said.
Boutier said he thought it would work out for everyone and people would be pleased with the way it turned out.
Aaron Blair, Leavenworth senior, who is the manager and has bartened at The Crossing for the past three years, said it's a tradition thing. He imagined visiting The Crossing when he returned to campus for a football game or to see friends.
"I'm not going to have that," Blair said, adding that it wasn't just him, but the whole University that would miss out. "People are going to walk by and talk about what happened. They're going to say 'The Crossing used to be here.'"
Kansan staff writer Jack Weinstein can be reached at jwelinstein@ kansan.com
Edited by Adrienne Bommarito
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