• Fans of a proposed Lowe’s home improvement store in northwest Lawrence now have another reason to curse the stock market. Lowe’s northwest Lawrence plans are in serious jeopardy due to the national economy. Lawrence architect Paul Werner — who has been a driving force in convincing Lowe’s to reconsider the area after a previous Lawrence site was rejected by city commissioners — confirmed to me that the company has put the project on hold. Rezoning and development plan issues for the site just west of Wal-Mart at Sixth and Wakarusa were scheduled to be heard by Lawrence-Douglas County planning commissioners this month, but now they have been “deferred indefinitely” at the applicant’s request. Werner stopped short of calling the project dead, but the latest news clearly isn’t positive for folks who want to see the home improvement retailer come to town.

“Lowe’s is following the economy like everyone else,” Werner said. “I think they want to get through the end of the year and then take another look at it.”

Werner said Lowe’s corporate group that studies new store openings met about three weeks ago — the day after one of the major declines in the stock market. The group then decided to pull back on the project. I’m not sure if the Lawrence project was the only store the company decided to pull back on, or whether several other projects are in the same boat.

One thing that does seem to be unique about this project is incentives. As we previously reported, the idea of whether the city would allow a special taxing district for the project has come into play. Originally, word was that the project could get done without any such public incentives. But then we heard that Lowe’s made an informal inquiry about having a small special taxing district, and was told by some city leaders that would be a very tough political sell.

Werner said his understanding is the Lawrence project — if it proceeds without any incentives — would be the only project in Lowe’s current portfolio not receiving some sort of incentive. But Werner also said he didn’t think the incentive issue was the key point in the decision to put the project on hold.

“Obviously, an incentive would help,” Werner said. “But I don’t think that is the big factor in this. I think it is more just corporate wanting to get through the end of the year and reassess.”

If you remember, this project represented the city’s second bite at the Lowe’s apple. The city in late 2010 rejected a plan by Lowe’s to build on a site near Sixth and Folks Road, roughly in front of Free State High. City commissioners, though, had indicated they felt more positive about this new proposal.

Up to this point, Werner’s good feelings about the latest proposal had been growing as well. He said his firm sent 140 letters to residents around the site. He said he didn’t receive one comment in return from property owners objecting to the store. In fact, he said he received 15 letters urging the store to be built and seven from folks who said they wanted to see the specific plans before offering their support.

As we previously reported, the Lawrence Association of Neighborhoods has expressed serious concerns about the project and the impact it would have on traffic and planning for the intersection. But I don’t believe the West Lawrence Neighborhood Association, the group most directly impacted by the project, has taken a position. Now we’ll wait and see if it even needs to, or whether this project becomes like so many around my house — unfinished and the source of endless finger pointing.

• I’ve been getting a lot of questions about the name but even more questions about when Fuzzy’s Tacos is going to open in Downtown Lawrence. Well, today’s the day. The business opened at 7 a.m. today on Massachusetts Street right across from the Douglas County Courthouse. (Actually, it had a soft opening last night.) As we previously reported, the company — which is a chain that has its roots in Texas — plans to differentiate itself in Lawrence’s crowded Mexican food scene by serving up “Baja-style” food. That means a heavy emphasis on fish and shrimp tacos, although the restaurant does offer shredded beef and chicken too. All the tacos also come dressed with Feta cheese and a garlic sauce, which make them different from some other offerings in town. The restaurant also is a bit of hybrid in that it has an order-taking system like a fast food restaurant — and most menu items are between $1.99 to $5.99 — but the restaurant also offers beer, wine and margaritas. One area that the restaurant is leaving no doubt about is hours. Add it to the list of downtown businesses that are touting the open later, open longer philosophy. The restaurant will open at 7 a.m. everyday (its menu includes breakfast tacos, burritos and sandwiches.) It will close at midnight on Sunday through Wednesday, and will stay open until 3 a.m. Thursday through Saturday.

• If you were like me last night (and if you were, did you think the couch was kind of lumpy?), you might have seen all the furniture being hauled out of the Starbucks at Seventh and Massachusetts streets. No, the store isn’t closing. But it is undergoing a renovation. The store is remaining open during the morning and the day, but is closing at 6 p.m. through Thursday so crews can work during the night. I stopped by but had no luck in finding out whether the store will have a new look or is just getting routine maintenance.

• You may have noticed that there is construction work underway at what used to be the Kaplan Testing Center site at the southeast corner of 10th and Massachusetts Street. According to a building report it will be the home of an Army Career Center. I’m not sure whether it will be an additional location for the Army or whether it will simply replace its existing recruitment center, which I believe is in the Louisiana Purchase Shopping Center. (My wife dropped me off at their office once.) Surely, nothing can go wrong with having an Army office in the heart of Downtown Lawrence along a public sidewalk where any group can peacefully gather with their signs and whatnot. I’m certainly not making any political statement here. Just looking into my crystal ball and seeing what might transpire on that very public corner in the future.