40 years ago: Hundreds of apartments in Lawrence complexes stand empty

From the Lawrence Daily Journal-World for May 5, 1972:

  • Developers were admitting that they had “overshot the market” in the wake of the revelation that at least 800 apartments were currently standing vacant in Lawrence complexes. Most authorities were predicting the construction of many more of the smaller type of apartment houses, such as duplexes and four-plexes, as well as an increase in single-family construction. A recent survey indicated that large apartment complexes had a 76.5 percent occupancy rate, compared to nearly 90 percent about three years earlier.
  • Speculation had been heard that Kansas University was a possible site of the Kansas City Chiefs preseason football training camp this summer. Also rumored was that the Chiefs might play some pre-season games at KU if their new stadium was not yet completed.