Private developers building a $9.5 million apartment, office and retail structure on the southwest corner of Ninth and New Hampshire without any taxpayer subsidies certainly was an attractive vision.

Now, after the project has been approved by the city and the building permit has been pulled, the development group led by Doug Compton is asking the city for a little help. The group’s timing is a little off, but it may not be unreasonable for the city to take steps to support a project that could have a significant positive impact on downtown Lawrence.

The developers are planning a seven-story structure with 55 apartments on the top five floors, office space on the second floor and retail space on the ground floor. To provide parking for apartment tenants, Compton’s group is asking the city to reserve, at no charge for two years, 65 parking spaces in the parking garage just south of the new development. After that the developers would pay $195 per year per space. The developers also want the city to pay for about $280,000 in infrastructure improvements, including sidewalk replacement, landscaping and street lights.

The requests are not insignificant, but they seem more reasonable when you consider that the development area still is a TIF (tax increment financing) district in which increased sales and property tax revenues are used to pay the cost of public improvements to support new development. The TIF was created to support the Downtown 2000 project, which never got off the ground, so the city was stuck with the bill for the new parking garage. However, the 20-year TIF designation is still in effect and the city now has an opportunity to recoup some of its investment.

The city wouldn’t lose any significant revenue from the parking garage, which is rarely near its capacity, although the developers might consider what their backup plan is if demand for the garage increases and some future city commission decides it no longer can reserve space for the apartment tenants. The infrastructure improvements are similar to what the city probably would have funded for the original Downtown 2000 project and also can be financed with TIF funds.

It would have been nice if Compton’s group had made their funding requests as part of their original proposal rather than tacking them on after the project had been approved. Nonetheless, the city should try to work with the group and either approve the subsidies or make a compromise offer.

Residential development is a key component to maintaining the vitality of Lawrence’s downtown, and the city should be willing to offer reasonable support to attractive projects like the one planned at Ninth and New Hampshire.