Congratulations, Lawrence – you’re now helping Topeka grow. At least that’s what the buzz is in the Topeka development community.

Hundreds of homes are going up in the southeast portion of Topeka, and the city’s planning director said what he hears from builders is that many of the projects are happening in the capital city because of concerns developers have about being able to tap into necessary infrastructure, such as sewer, in Lawrence.

“It is getting very hard to develop, I understand, in Lawrence,” said David Thurbon, director of the Topeka Planning Department. “I think a lot of this development that’s occurring here might have occurred in Lawrence or closer to it, if they had the ability to provide the services.”

The new growth in Topeka is significant enough that the Kansas Turnpike Authority and Topeka leaders are now studying the feasibility of building a new turnpike interchange at California Avenue to serve the southeast area of the city.

Members of Lawrence’s development community said they’re pleased to hear Topeka is having a bit of a boom, but they said the comments by Thurbon make it sound like Lawrence isn’t able to accommodate much new growth.

“I can tell you that the builders here don’t have the feeling that we’re closed for business,” said Bobbie Flory, executive director of the Lawrence Home Builders Assn. “There’s actually a very healthy supply of homes that are available on the market right now.”

But there may be some truth about factors in Lawrence spurring growth in Topeka, Lawrence real estate professionals said. They don’t have anything to do with sewers though, which had created concerns earlier in the year but largely have been resolved.

Instead, it is all about time and money, said Pat Flavin, broker for Lawrence Realty Associates, who also does business in Topeka. Flavin said land prices in Topeka are considerably less than in Lawrence. For example, he’s estimating many of the new homes built in Topeka will sell for about $160,000. Comparable new homes in West Lawrence are selling for more than $200,000.

“A lot of this is about economics,” Flavin said. “The more expensive the home, the more time it is taking to get sold because there are fewer potential buyers.”

The other factor that may be pushing some projects to Topeka is the amount of time it takes to get a project through the development review process in Lawrence.

“It takes a lot of time and a lot of endurance to get through the process in this community,” Flory said.

Both Flory and Flavin said it was not unusual for a raw piece of ground in Lawrence to take two years before gaining final approval for building to begin. Thurbon said in Topeka it usually would take three to six months.

“That’s a huge factor in deciding where you’re going to build,” Flavin said. “It is not only the extra costs you have from holding the land, but in Lawrence there’s also the probability of things not going as you had planned, and that ends up costing you money.”

Lawrence city commissioners have ordered a review of their development process to see if there are ways it could become more efficient and expedient. Consultants are expected to complete that review this fall.

Growth in southeast Topeka is expected to accelerate even more if a new turnpike interchange is granted. That decision is still a way off, though. A turnpike spokeswoman said the issue is still in the preliminary stages of review.