The retail development on the northeast corner of 31st and Iowa streets is searching for tenants to fill the final two buildings under construction on the property.

The 225,000-square-foot development that includes Best Buy and The Home Depot broke ground in March on two buildings designed to house service-oriented businesses.

Christian Ablah, a leasing agent for the Home Depot/Best Buy development, said the two buildings, which will be near the entrance to the Home Depot parking lot, will signal the final development for the northeast corner.

“Getting the anchor stores in took a long time,” said Ablah, an agent with Classic Real Estate in Wichita. “But once they were in, there were a number of stores and restaurants that wanted to be in the area.”

Ablah said the two buildings would house approximately nine stores.

Although construction is under way on the 20,800-square-foot project, he said the development was still searching for tenants.

The corner is already home to five new businesses that have opened since last summer. Home Depot and Best Buy were the first to open, followed by LongHorn Steakhouse and On the Border Mexican restaurant, which both opened in January.

The BP gasoline station replaced Commerce Plaza Gas & Mini Mart, which was razed so On the Border could be built.

Ablah said all the new businesses were excited about being in Lawrence.

“We’re finally getting all the stores that have wanted into Lawrence for a while,” he said. “Zoning delayed the project, but with a lot of effort and cooperation from the city, the area was able to develop.”

The project was not without controversy. The Lawrence City Commission debated for more than two years whether to allow Home Depot to build. Bill Ahrens, the city’s transportation planner, said the city’s concerns centered on the amount of traffic the project would create.

“It was a long, bloody process to get that area analyzed,” he said. “We had a chance to get the development right the first time, so we wanted to study it intensely.”

City officials were worried that the development would not fit into Horizon 2020, the city’s long-term planning document. After city engineers conducted a traffic study, however, Kansas Department of Transportation funds, along with city money, were used to widen the 31st and Iowa intersection and make the necessary entrances.

Ahrens said traffic problems had not been an issue even with all the new businesses.

“You always want to develop an area intensely,” he said. “But if the system can’t handle it, it’s not good for the community.”

On The Border Mexican Restaurant opened in January on the northeast corner of 31st and Iowa streets. The Home Depot, in background, and Best Buy anchor the retail development at the corner.

Beyond traffic, the new businesses also have brought a flow of job applicants to Lawrence. On the southeast corner of the intersection, the former Kmart store has been redeveloped into three stores.

Michaels arts and crafts store, which opened in late March, is the center store in the redevelopment and provided 70 new jobs to the community. Gregory Roberts, manager of the new Michaels, said he was impressed with the applicants from Lawrence and had high expectations for the store.

“Michaels has wanted to be in Lawrence for a long time,” he said. “With KU being a strong art school, we think we’re a good fit.”

Cheryl White, a manager at the Lawrence Workforce Center, said the growth at 31st and Iowa provided many management jobs to a city that has an overqualified work force.

“When the public sees a development like this one, they think it’s all retail jobs at 6 bucks an hour,” she said. “We have a good applicant base of upper-level workers, and it gives these people an opportunity for management positions.”

The total number of new stores on the east side of Iowa will rise from eight to as many as 17 when both projects are finished. And White said this growth should be seen as exciting for the workers in Lawrence.

“It’s a real boon for the community,” she said.