City commissioners at their Tuesday evening meeting agreed to annex 448 acres of the vacant Farmland Industries plant east of Lawrence.

Commissioners sought to bring the former plant into the city limits because the city hopes to purchase the property and convert it into a business park.

Work remains to be done, however, to purchase the property, which has been held by a trust since Farmland went bankrupt earlier this decade.

City Manager David Corliss said he anticipated commissioners to soon meet in executive session to put together a new offer to buy the property as part of the bankruptcy process.

The city continues to discuss with the Kansas Department of Health and Environment what will be needed to clean up the property, which has damage from years of nitrogen fertilizer spills.

Corliss said the city also remains in talks with an Overland Park-based group that has purchased some rights to the property and may have an interest in redeveloping the ground.