Kansas University officials have selected an architect for their proposed scholarship hall in the 1300 block of Ohio Street. Now they’re looking to the community for input.

Officials said Monday that Treanor Architects of Lawrence, Topeka and Kansas City, Mo., would design the new hall, which will house 50 women beginning in fall 2005.

They also announced plans for a seven-member community advisory committee to oversee the design process.

Plans for the scholarship hall have been criticized by neighborhood and preservation activists, who opposed demolishing century-old houses on the block and said a scholarship hall wouldn’t fit in the Oread neighborhood. After nearly two years of discussion, the houses were demolished last month.

“This (committee) will enable us to address the needs of the university along with providing a mechanism for meaningful involvement of the community and the neighborhoods,” David Shulenburger, provost and executive vice chancellor, said in a prepared statement. He said the committee would be responsible for “design features of the hall, including its form, texture and materials.”

The committee will consist of two members of the Lawrence Historic Resources Commission, two from the Campus Historic Preservation Board, one from the Lawrence Preservation Alliance, one from the Oread Neighborhood Assn. and one from KU’s All Scholarship Hall Council.

Candice Davis, president of the Oread Neighborhood Assn., said she was pleased with the makeup of the committee. She said it would be important for the group to meet several times for input.

“The fact is that’s history now, about the (demolished) houses,” she said. “We definitely have a concern about KU encroachment into the neighborhood. The only way for us to address that is to have an ongoing, respectful, open dialogue with the university. I’m encouraged they’re allowing us to be part of the process.”

Davis said she hoped to discuss the size of the hall, how it would fit into the neighborhood, its landscaping and how far back it would be from the street.

¢ 6News video: KU seeks input on scholarship hall design¢ Past stories on KU and the Oread Neighborhood

A separate building committee of KU officials, students and one community representative also will provide input on the hall.

KU officials said they planned to present the Campus Historic Preservation Board and Lawrence Historic Resources Commission a design proposal by next summer. The groups must review the project because it lies within 500 feet of Spooner Hall on campus and the Usher House, 1425 Tenn. Both are on the National Register of Historic Places.

Bidding and groundbreaking for the $3 million hall are scheduled for spring 2004, and construction should be complete by summer 2005.

KU also plans to build a second scholarship hall in the same block. Representatives from the KU Endowment Association are seeking donors to finance the second hall.

KU officials said Treanor Architects was the perfect firm to make student housing fit into a historic residential area. The firm has spearheaded renovations of the Kansas Seed House at Eighth and New Hampshire streets, The News Center at 645 N.H., the Freshman Hall at Benedictine College in Atchison and the Washburn Living Learning Center in Topeka.

Treanor also is in charge of the multiyear renovation of the state Capitol in Topeka.