Lawrence developer Bo Harris confirmed Wednesday that he has plans to begin work this summer on Downtown Lawrence’s first condominium project.

Harris, chief executive of Harris Construction Co. Inc., is leading a group of Lawrence investors who plan to build a 75,000- to 80,000-square-foot building on the northeast corner of Eighth and New Hampshire streets. The building will house 24 to 30 loft-style condominiums, which are different than apartments because the occupants own the space instead of rent it.

The five-story building also will include a bank and retail space on the ground floor and office space on the second floor, Harris said. But he said the condominiums were the driving force behind the project.

“We really believe the key to this thing is if people are ready for residential ownership in downtown Lawrence,” Harris said. “That’s what this brings to the market that hasn’t been there before.”

The condominiums will range in size from 1,000 square feet to 2,000 square feet, according to preliminary designs, Harris said. He said developers have not set a selling price for the units, but they intend to market them to both young and old “empty-nesters.” The project also will include a 30- to 40-space underground parking garage beneath the building.

Harris said he decided to move ahead with the project after seeing the trend gain popularity in other Midwest cities.

“We’re doing it because Downtown Lawrence is an extremely vibrant area,” Harris said. “It is definitely a place where people can live, work and play without getting in a car, and we think that will appeal to quite a few people.”

Harris said he hopes to complete the project by summer 2004. The project is zoned for commercial use, but still must receive site plan approval from the city commission. A formal plan hasn’t been filed yet.

Harris said he thinks the project will be well received because it helps meet a long-standing city goal of creating multiple uses in the downtown area.

Here's a rendering of Lawrence developer Bo Harris' proposed multi-use building at the northeast corner of Eighth and New Hampshire streets. Harris confirmed on Wednesday that he has plans to build a 75,000- to 80,000-square-foot building that will house a bank, retail space, offices and 24 to 30 condominiums. The rendering shows how the project is expected to look as it faces New Hampshire Street.

“I think it is important that we try to do some residential development in downtown,” Harris said. “We need projects like this if we don’t want our residential growth to turn into urban sprawl.”

Harris said he has a tenant for the bank space, but declined to identify it, other than saying it was a bank that already has a presence in Lawrence. He also said about half of the office space is leased out, but he declined to name the tenants. He said they also were existing Lawrence companies.