Construction on an apartment complex adjacent to Kansas University will move forward, despite the city denying the developer’s request for a parking variance, according to city leaders.

The City Commission is expected to approve a right-of-way use permit next week for the $75 million apartment complex planned at 1101 and 1115 Indiana St., City Manager David Corliss said at Tuesday’s City Commission meeting.

Demolition of existing buildings on the site, now home to Berkeley Flats apartments, is expected to begin in the coming weeks, Corliss said.

Bulldozers will steer clear of the home of Georgia Bell for now, however.

Bell, who is in her 90s, lives in a house that would have been left in the middle of the apartment complex as first planned. But she agreed to sell her home of 70 years to developers, who will raze it instead.

Corliss said demolition of Bell’s house would begin after she moves out, expected by February.

The right-of-way use permit will allow developers to block off the sidewalk during construction.

Corliss said construction would be a lengthy process, and the adjacent stretch of Mississippi Street has heavy foot traffic from KU students.

“We’ve got to make sure that pedestrians have good access,” Corliss said.

A message left for Jim Heffernan of Chicago-based development group HERE LLC was not returned Tuesday.

The apartment project appeared in limbo earlier this month, when the commission unanimously rejected developers’ request to use nearby KU parking lots to meet the city’s parking code.

Previously, developers said the parking exemption was vital to the feasibility of the project, which has struggled to garner financing. They wanted to eliminate 100 parking spaces in the proposed parking garage for the project, which would save several million dollars in development costs.