Oread Inn project spurs controversy
Controversy over the Oread Inn project picks back up. Jesse Fray explains why commissioners were put in an awkward situation tonight. Enlarge video
Motorists looking to get to the top of Mount Oread this summer should expect another detour.
City commissioners on Tuesday agreed to allow developers of a hotel project adjacent to Kansas University to close Indiana Street from 11th to 12th streets for at least the entire summer.
Developers with The Oread Inn - a seven-story hotel project near 12th and Indiana streets - could close Indiana Street as early as next week, said Paul Werner, an architect for the development group.
Werner and other architects for the project said the street needed to be closed for safety reasons. Part of the construction project involves digging a 50-foot hole for an underground parking garage. The hole and a large crane will be about 10 feet away from the street and sidewalk area.
"We just don't want to risk an accident happening and something really bad coming of it," said Tim Homburg, another architect on the project.
Commissioners heard from two residents who live in the 1100 block of Indiana. Both said they were concerned they would have to park far from their homes as a result of the street closure. Werner told commissioners that developers were working on ways to allow residents of the block to have access to the street. Commissioners urged them to do so.
The closure will go through at least Aug. 15, but Werner said it was possible the street closure would stretch into the fall semester.
The Kansas University bus system is making a route change for the entire fall semester in anticipation of the street closure, Werner said. He said KU buses will use Louisiana Street for northbound routes and Mississippi Street for southbound routes.
Detour signs also will be posted for general motorists. Louisiana is expected to handle most of the northbound car traffic, while Ohio Street is expected to handle the southbound car traffic.
The Indiana Street project is in addition to work that will be under way near the south edge of campus. A city project will close the intersection of 19th and Louisiana streets beginning Tuesday. The stretch of road will be closed into August.
Developers of The Oread Inn - which includes a group of investors led by executives of Lawrence-based Gene Fritzel Construction Co. - also are asking the city to vacate three feet of right of way on Indiana Street to accommodate a new foundation system for the hotel.
All four commissioners - Commissioner Sue Hack was absent - agreed to schedule a public hearing for next month on the vacation request, but told city staff members that they would want to sell the right of way to the developers rather than give it away.
Losing the right of way would not change the width of the street. It would, however, eliminate some grassy areas along the street.



Comments
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KU_Dude (anonymous) says…
It's 8:04 and no multiple comments from Cool? Shocking.
Take_a_letter_Maria (anonymous) says…
Give it time.
Jayhawker1 (anonymous) says…
Just wait....Dude. The crazy is only minutes away! Fool will be on here any minute!
monkeyhawk (anonymous) says…
KU, maria, J1 - I believe cool interpreted your posts as an invitation.Talk about pet peeves.....
KU_Dude (anonymous) says…
Things change Cool. Things change. Originally there weren't any structures or trees anywhere on campus. Should we go back in time?
Jayhawker1 (anonymous) says…
Cool...you profess to be an architect...don't you think there's a reason, say due to constructability, that necessitates the right of way vacation?You think they WANT to buy land from the City? Que the reposted rants about how hight the building is....and....GO
coool (anonymous) says…
I love this project. I can't wait to move in.
coool (anonymous) says…
I only wish that the hotel was going to be taller. I'd like to be able to see all of my friends in west Lawrence from the observation deck.
coool (anonymous) says…
I love to read the same posts over and over again. It's so cool.
Jayhawker1 (anonymous) says…
Why don't you call the Fritzels and tell them to pay engineers, architects, MEP's and everyone else involved, to redesign the hotel? Then they can start from square one all over again! Note to self: If I spend 20 million on something, call sven and get his worthless opinion...
coool (anonymous) says…
Don't give Cool any ideas Jayhawker1.
jafs (anonymous) says…
I'm not sure why the amount of money spent by developers means anything.They will make significant profits from this project, and would in fact have made profits without the city TIF.I agree that they should have been able to figure out how much space they needed from the beginning, and presented that accurately.The building clearly does not fit with the neighborhood, and the city should have either declined to issue permits, or turned down the request for TIF.
snap_pop_no_crackle (anonymous) says…
The website cool is plugging is part of a certain odious local 'forum' where you can see examples of juvenile personal attacks. If that's what you're all about, I'd recommend going through proxify dot com if you want to check it out.
Jayhawker1 (anonymous) says…
So then genius, why do you bash them and then say "the developer knows which way is easier to resolve the circumstances in this case"Are you wearing flip flops today?
jenner (anonymous) says…
Hey cool, why must you whine so when this has already been approved?Oh, and by the by, we all love re-reading things that have already been posted...
snap_pop_no_crackle (anonymous) says…
Ancient Origins of PlywoodArcheologists have found traces of laminated wood in the tombs of the Egyptian pharaohs. A thousand years ago, the Chinese shaved wood and glued it together for use in furniture. The English and French are reported to have worked wood on the general principle of plywood in the 17th and 18th centuries. And historians credit Czarist Russia for having made forms of plywood prior to the 20th century as well. Early modern-era plywood was typically made from decorative hardwoods and most commonly used in the manufacture of household items, such as cabinets, chests, desk tops and doors. Construction plywood made from softwood species did not appear on the scene until the 20th century.Plywood Patented, Then ForgottenThe first patent for what could be called plywood was issued December 26, 1865, to John K. Mayo of New York City. A re-issue of that patent, dated August 18, 1868, described Mayo's development as follows: "The invention consists in cementing or otherwise fastening together a number of these scales of sheets, with the grain of the successive pieces, or some of them, running crosswise or diversely from that of the others:" Mayo may have had a vision but apparently not much business sense since history does not record that he ever capitalized on his patents.1905: An Industry Is Born In 1905, the city of Portland, Oregon was getting ready to host a World's Fair as part of the 100th anniversary celebration of the Lewis and Clark Expedition. Several local businesses were asked to prepare exhibits for the event, including Portland Manufacturing Company, a small wooden box factory in the St. Johns district of the city. Part owner and plant manager Gustav Carlson decided to laminate wood panels from a variety of Pacific Northwest softwoods. Using paint brushes as glue spreaders and house jacks as presses, several panels were laid up for display. Called "3-ply veneer work," the product created considerable interest among fairgoers, including several door, cabinet and trunk manufacturers who then placed orders. By 1907, Portland Manufacturing had installed an automatic glue spreader and a sectional hand press. Production soared to 420 panels a day. And an industry was born.http://www.apawood.org/level_b.cfm?content=srv_med_new_bkgd_plycen
snap_pop_no_crackle (anonymous) says…
cool, stop emailing me. How many times do I have to say that for it go get through your skull?
snap_pop_no_crackle (anonymous) says…
swan-diver, you forgot to use the phrase "running dogs of imperialism" in your rant.
Marty_McFly (anonymous) says…
Have I read these posts before? Heavy.
professormarvel (anonymous) says…
Don't make fun of Cool. I have developmentally disabled friends.
Andini (anonymous) says…
I think that the only reason that Cool keeps posting about The Oread Inn is because he's mad about them not having hourly rates.
snap_pop_no_crackle (anonymous) says…
cool, stop emailing me.
snap_pop_no_crackle (anonymous) says…
Forecast for today: flurries of youtubing, occasional cool showers of repetitive self-centered drivel.
snap_pop_no_crackle (anonymous) says…
It's begun. Get your umbrellas ready.
Andini (anonymous) says…
Hey Cool,I don't think anyone will interpret your youtube links as actual information on forum topics. They seem like interruptions to me as well.This story "only" seems like it's about the closing of 12th & Indiana streets around the project site.I can't believe that they could keep it open for as long as they did during all of the demo work. Those were some big trucks that were coming and going during that phase.That's all I have to say.Andini
snap_pop_no_crackle (anonymous) says…
The website cool is plugging is part of a certain odious local 'forum' where you can see examples of juvenile personal attacks. If that's what you're all about, I'd recommend going through proxify dot com if you want to check it out.BTW, I expect most of the hits on that story were made by cool clicking the link over & over & over.
KU_Dude (anonymous) says…
cool (Anonymous) says: for more info visit www.oreadinn.comnow with more than 850 hits on Dennis Domer story.---------------------What Cool doesn't say is that 849 hits are his and that the other one is Marions.
snap_pop_no_crackle (anonymous) says…
"beobachter (Anonymous) says: svengalli, are you know going to mimic cool?"If svengalli makes 87 posts on the same thread, then we should figure he's channeling cool.
snap_pop_no_crackle (anonymous) says…
"The word duck (from Anglo-Saxon dÅ»ce), meaning the bird, came from the verb "to duck" (from Anglo-Saxon supposed *dÅ»can) meaning "to bend down low as if to get under something" or "to dive", because of the way many species in the dabbling duck group feed by upending (compare Dutch duiken, German tauchen = "to dive").This happened because the older Anglo-Saxon words ened (= "duck") and ende (= "end") came to be pronounced the same: other Germanic languages still have similar words for "duck" and "end": for example, Dutch eend = "duck", eind = "end", German ente = "duck", ende = "end"; this similarity goes back to Indo-European: compare Latin anas (stem anat-) = "duck", Lithuanian antis = "duck", Ancient Greek î½î•ï ï î±, î½î•ïïî± (nÄssa, nÄtta) = "duck"; Sanskrit anta = "end".Some people use "duck" specifically for adult females and "drake" for adult males, for the species described here; others use "hen" and "drake", respectively.A duckling is a young duck in downy plumage[1] or baby duck.[2]; but in the food trade young adult ducks ready for roasting are sometimes labelled "duckling"."http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duck
professormarvel (anonymous) says…
A paralegal is an administrative person who works under the direct supervision of a lawyer. They are found in all areas where lawyers are - in criminal trials, in real estate, in government, in estate planning. Paralegals and legal document assistants (LDAs) are often mistaken for one another; however, in most jurisdictions, paralegals are not permitted to contract directly with consumers for the preparation of legal documents.Paralegals do not understand that property right-of-ways are easements.
MrMosmo (anonymous) says…
I think that the pictures of the new Oread Inn are amazing and I am looking forward to the Inn's completion. It will be a nice place to house out of town guest for business meetings, have business meetings and opportunities to bring in more conventions and groups to campus for their annual meetings. There are always the group of people that hate to see progress, but would moan and grip if we went back in time and they had to slice their own bread again. Things change, technology changes, buildings go up.... Embrace it, and move on.... All this griping and complaining will just leave you grouchy looking at a beautiful hotel that will go up regardless what you throw a tantrum about.
not_dolph (anonymous) says…
beobachter (Anonymous) says: cool, maybe if you stopped posting links constantly to youtube or RCT, people might pay attention to your posts. youtube is nothing but a garbage site that allows anyone to post anything, facts or accuracy be damned. RCT, nothing else to be said.--------------------No beo...I'm pretty sure they wouldn't pay attention to this crap.
snap_pop_no_crackle (anonymous) says…
"Yeast are unicellular fungi. The precise classification is a field that uses the characteristics of the cell, ascospore and colony. Physiological characteristics are also used to identify species. One of the more well known characteristics is the ability to ferment sugars for the production of ethanol. Budding yeasts are true fungi of the phylum Ascomycetes, class Saccharomycetes (also called Hemiascomycetes). The true yeasts are separated into one main order Saccharomycetales. Yeasts are characterized by a wide dispersion of natural habitats. Common on plant leaves and flowers, soil and salt water. Yeasts are also found on the skin surfaces and in the intestinal tracts of warm-blooded animals, where they may live symbiotically or as parasites. The common "yeast infection" is typically Candidiasis is caused by the yeast-like fungus Candida albicans. In addition to being the causative agent in vaginal yeast infections Candida is also a cause of diaper rash and thrush of the mouth and throat. Yeasts multiply as single cells that divide by budding (eg Saccharomyces) or direct division (fission, eg. Schizosaccharomyces), or they may grow as simple irregular filaments (mycelium). In sexual reproduction most yeasts form asci, which contain up to eight haploid ascospores. These ascospores may fuse with adjoining nuclei and multiply through vegetative division or, as with certain yeasts, fuse with other ascospores. The awsome power of yeast genetics is partially due to the ability to quickly map a phenotype producing gene to a region of the S. cerevisiae genome. For the past two decades S. cerevisiae has been the model system for much of molecular genetic research because the basic cellular mechanics of replication, recombination, cell division and metabolism are generally conserved between yeast and larger eukaryotes, including mammals. The most well-known and commercially significant yeasts are the related species and strains of Saccharomyces cerevisiae. These organisms have long been utilized to ferment the sugars of rice, wheat, barley, and corn to produce alcoholic beverages and in the baking industry to expand, or raise, dough. Saccharomyces cerevisiae is commonly used as baker's yeast and for some types of fermentation. Yeast is often taken as a vitamin supplement because it is 50 percent protein and is a rich source of B vitamins, niacin, and folic acid."http://www.yeastgenome.org/VL-what_are_yeast.html
HodgePodge (Erin Parmelee) says…
Being too lazy to read ALL these comments, I have to wonder how hawks, snakes, dingbats and yeast relate......
snap_pop_no_crackle (anonymous) says…
Hawks, snakes, dingbats and yeast are all in the set of things that are more interesting than anything cool links to.
clyde_never_barks (anonymous) says…
This is absolutely hillarious!
Boston_Corbett (anonymous) says…
how about a lane for scooters?
snap_pop_no_crackle (anonymous) says…
The cybersquatting website cool is plugging is part of a certain odious local 'forum' where you can see stellar examples of juvenile personal attacks. If that's what you're all about, I'd recommend going through proxify dot com if you want to check it out.
classclown (Class Clown) says…
What about a professional witness?
snap_pop_no_crackle (anonymous) says…
The cybersquatting website cool is plugging is part of a certain odious local 'forum' where you can see stellar examples of juvenile personal attacks. If that's what you're all about, I'd recommend going through proxify dot com if you want to check it out.
snap_pop_no_crackle (anonymous) says…
The cybersquatting website cool is plugging is part of a certain odious local 'forum' where you can see stellar examples of juvenile personal attacks. If that's what you're all about, I'd recommend going through proxify dot com if you want to check it out.
snap_pop_no_crackle (anonymous) says…
cool, is "get over it" a song on youtube,?BTW, the cybersquatting website cool is plugging is part of a certain odious local 'forum' where you can see stellar examples of juvenile personal attacks. If that's what you're all about, I'd recommend going through proxify dot com if you want to check it out.Stillhavingawonderfulspam-freeinternetlife.
rumor_man (anonymous) says…
Q: If svengali & cool were in a fight, who would win?A: Unfortunately, I've heard that they're one and the same.
snap_pop_no_crackle (anonymous) says…
"Supporters of this vulgar and illegal 'whites-only' hotel project, built on the taxpayer's backs, are a part of their insidious ranks."Hyperbole, anyone?You'restartingto soundlikegirlfriend,bub.Stillhavingawonderfulspam-freeinternetlife.Anddon'temailme.
George_Braziller (anonymous) says…
I feel sorry for the neighbors. I endured two years of destruction and construction when the Hobbs Taylor Lofts went in. The noise dust and traffic eventually takes a toll on you and your patience. At one point there was actually a bulldozer working in the dark at 5:00 in the morning.
snap_pop_no_crackle (anonymous) says…
Bears repeating:"Marion (Marion Lynn) says: http://www2.ljworld.com/site/rules/" (Not)....to promote other web sites, without our express written approval, or where expressly permitted"."
Marty_McFly (anonymous) says…
Is it just me or have I just reread the same posts on this topic again and again?I think svengalli, cool & snap_pop_no_crackle all need a long timeout.Give it a rest everyone.
Boston_Corbett (anonymous) says…
And don't forget your dust mask
Boston_Corbett (anonymous) says…
or your earplugs, for that matter
KU_Dude (anonymous) says…
Welcome back Cool....I mean Sven....I mean welcome to the board Spiderman.
snap_pop_no_crackle (anonymous) says…
You can't spell "tweet" without "wee".
snap_pop_no_crackle (anonymous) says…
spiderham, stop emailing me.