To the editor:

A couple of weeks ago, Kansas University broke ground for a new scholarship hall. The new hall (Denny Hall) is to be located on the west side of the 1300 block of Ohio. I think a review of this project is in order:

• The head state historical officer ruled that the houses should not be demolished for this project because of the effect on the historic environs. It took the override of a lame-duck governor to save the project.
• This area was already student housing. A site was located south of campus that would have worked for the hall.
• A block of homes has now come off the tax roles, a loss to the city of $20,000 a year.
• The alley behind this project had been the published KU boundary.
• KU rewarded the property owners (big time) by buying their poorly maintained homes. What message does this send other KU neighbors? Will KU continue down the hill?
• The new hall to hold 50 students has no parking, only four ADA spots.

To end on a positive note, this project did bring KU and the city together for talks about future growth into the city. So next time KU walks on a neighborhood, it might do it with tennis shoes instead of boots.

Fred Sack,

Lawrence