Construction is expected to begin late this summer on a $35 million West Lawrence project that will add condominiums to a research park near 15th Street and Wakarusa Drive.

Lawrence developer David Kimbrell said in mid-March that his company, Oread West Development Co., was committed to the project.

“I think the city is ready for a high-end, mixed-use development,” Kimbrell said.

The development, as yet unnamed, would include up to 70 condominiums ranging in size from one bedroom to four bedrooms. It would include up to five multistory buildings on about eight acres of the Oread West Research Park. The development would be north of 15th Street and east of Research Park Drive.

Kimbrell said he would market the project as an upscale-living environment without the hassles of maintaining a full-sized home.

“The whole concept is that we’re selling a lifestyle,” Kimbrell said. “We’re selling a maintenance-free, hassle-free lifestyle.”

The development will be gated and include heated underground parking, a clubhouse with a fitness center and outdoor swimming pool, and walking/jogging trails that follow a “bubbling” creek that leads to a duck pond.

Residents also will be able to purchase additional services, such as a maid service and concierge service.

“We’re designing it for the couple who have raised their kids in the big house and are now wondering why they are still maintaining a 6,000-square-foot home,” Kimbrell said. “They’re thinking they would rather be spending their time enjoying life.”

The condominiums, which residents own instead of rent, will range in size from about 1,000 square feet to a 4,500-square-foot penthouse. The average size will be about 3,000 square feet.

Kimbrell said prices for the units hadn’t been finalized but that the smaller units would be priced in the low $200,000 range. Residents also would be charged a monthly homeowners association fee.

Kimbrell, who helped develop the research park as the former chief executive of Oread Inc. and Hall-Kimbrell Environmental Services, said he thought the condominiums would give the business park more “flair.”

“I think it will absolutely help us attract new companies out here,” Kimbrell said. “If you have development where people can live where they work, I think that certainly has to be an attraction to a company.”

The condo project is the second under way in the city. Bo Harris, chief executive of Lawrence-based Harris Construction Co., has plans to start a 31-unit condominium project on the northeast corner of Eighth and New Hampshire streets later this year.

Connie Friesen, a real estate agent with Coldwell Banker McGrew Real Estate, which is marketing Kimbrell’s project, said she didn’t think the city was in danger of having too many condos.

“It is a hot idea all across the country right now,” Friesen said. “We have people who come here from the East Coast and the West Coast and they’re used to having these type of developments, and they want them here.”

Kimbrell also said he thought Harris’ project would attract a different crowd than his development. He said the downtown project likely would attract people more interested in an urban-style development, while his project would draw those seeking a more suburban lifestyle.

Oread West Development Co. is building a showroom for the project in a portion of the Robert W. Baird & Co. building at 1429 Oread West, which is adjacent to the development site.

Kimbrell said the showroom, which will be a replica of a condo unit, would be open in mid-May.

He said construction on the condos likely would begin in August or September. The project will be built in phases, with the first phase being the clubhouse and one condo building that would house about 15 units. He expected each phase to be completed in 10 months.