From the Lawrence Daily Journal-World for Oct. 8, 1987:

Representatives of Cleveland developer Jacobs, Visconsi & Jacobs Co. presented their case this week for a suburban mall at the corner of Armstrong Road and Iowa Street. During a marathon five-hour meeting in a courtroom-like setting at Central Junior High School, JVJ’s representatives argued that downtown areas in other university cities had not deteriorated or lost strength despite one or even two suburban malls nearby. Recalling that local voters had rejected an enclosed downtown mall in last spring’s election, JVJ’s witnesses said that the vote “in reality” meant that the public had rejected policies in the city’s comprehensive plan intended to make downtown the retail center. Representatives of the city-county planning staff spoke against the rezoning, saying that the largely agricultural setting of the 61.4-acre Armstrong property made it a poor site for the proposed mall.