Bankrupt Farmland Industries has put up for sale 180 acres of east Lawrence ground that is drawing heavy interest from commercial developers.

Kansas City, Mo.-based Farmland recently began marketing the 180 acres of âÂÂbuffer groundâ that is south of its fertilizer plant along Kansas Highway 10, just east of the Lawrence city limits. The plant has been shut down since May 2001.

Doug Young, an agent with FarmlandâÂÂs Ceres Realty Corp., said the company hoped to complete a deal for the property in the first quarter of 2003. Young said there had been a âÂÂlarge numberâ of interested buyers.

âÂÂThereâÂÂs definitely a lot of interest in it,â Young said. âÂÂMost of the interest has been from commercial developers, but weâÂÂve talked to people who have been interested in everything from farming it to building a shopping center on it.âÂÂ

Young says most of the interest has come from developers who are interested in purchasing all the property and creating an âÂÂall-encompassingâ development.

Bryan Dyer, long-range planner for the Lawrence-Douglas County Planning Department, said the cityâÂÂs existing comprehensive plan would allow for a mix of single family, multifamily and office development on the property.

The comprehensive plan currently doesnâÂÂt call for any commercial development on the property, but Dyer said planning commissioners were rewriting parts of the plan that could allow for a âÂÂneighborhood commercial centerâ to be built somewhere near K-10 and OâÂÂConnell Road.

Such a center could be similar in size to the Hy-Vee Food & Drug Store development near Clinton Parkway and Kasold Drive, Dyer said.

âÂÂWeâÂÂre certainly assuming there will be a lot of pressure for commercial development there,â Dyer said. âÂÂOn the east side, there always seems to be the possibility for another grocery store, and this could be another site for one.âÂÂ

All the property, which includes 55 acres on the southwest corner of K-10 and OâÂÂConnell Road and 125 acres on the southeast corner of the intersection, is outside the city limits.

If annexed, it would be one of the largest pieces of property brought into the city all at once. At 180 acres, the property is similar in size to the Getto property along Clinton Parkway between Inverness and Crossgate drives. Plans for that property include 300 homes and 200 apartment units.

City officials resisted pressure to put retail development on the Getto property, but they may face even more pressure from potential developers of the Farmland property.

âÂÂIt is definitely a major gateway for the city,â Dyer said. âÂÂThere are huge volumes of traffic that go by that property every day.âÂÂ

Dyer, though, says city planners do not view the property as a candidate for a âÂÂbig boxâ retailer, because the city already is well served by discount retailers on South Iowa Street and developers are proposing âÂÂbig boxâ developments along West Sixth Street.

Young said the company didnâÂÂt have an asking price for the property, but rather would accept offers for the land.

The decision to put the 180 acres up for sale is a reversal of an earlier decision by Farmland. Previously the company had said it wasnâÂÂt interested in selling the buffer ground unless it was to a buyer interested in purchasing the entire fertilizer plant.

Kevan Vick, general manager of FarmlandâÂÂs nitrogen fertilizer division, said the decision to sell the buffer ground didnâÂÂt mean Farmland has given up on trying to find a company to buy and operate the fertilizer plant.

But he did acknowledge the company has begun thinking about what to do if an operator canâÂÂt be found for the plant, which is one of seven plants Farmland is trying to sell to pay down debt.

âÂÂIn the absence of interest from a buyer, our interest would be to remove the plant, disassemble the equipment,â Vick said. âÂÂWe would clear the ground to make it available for someone to redevelop it.âÂÂ

None of the property listed by Young includes the plant or the roughly 160 acres of buffer ground north of K-10. Vick said Farmland officials are still reviewing bids received for the companyâÂÂs fertilizer operations.

He declined to say how many bids the company received or whether any of the bids included an offer for the Lawrence plant.

Industry analysts have been skeptical a fertilizer buyer could be found for the plant because it is the oldest of the seven plants Farmland has put up for sale.