A proposed retail shopping center on Iowa Street just south of Kansas Highway 10 seems like an appropriate plan for a high traffic intersection that clearly is destined for commercial development.

Lawrence city commissioners will be asked Tuesday night to approve land-use and zoning changes to allow plans to move forward on the development known as KTen Crossing. A group based in North Carolina is proposing a 250,000-square-foot shopping center at the site and has letters of intent from several probable tenants. The retailers, the developer said, will create 442 jobs and generate $1.27 million a year in sales tax revenue for the city, along with $207,000 in additional property tax.

A company representative told a public meeting last week that the firm won’t seek any financial incentives, such as property tax or sales tax rebates, for the project and that the developers “expect to pay our fair share for public infrastructure.” He also pointed out that the property already is inside city limits, meaning the city is committed to providing city services for whatever development occurs at the site.

None of the concerns that have been raised about the development seem sufficient to nix the project. Some officials would rather have the additional retail development at the northwest corner of the city, but despite the availability of properly zoned land in that area, developers prefer the retail density on South Iowa. The developers say they tried to minimize competition with downtown Lawrence by not designing a “lifestyle center” with smaller shops and the feel of downtown. The reality is, that although downtown Lawrence is a gem, it is not the city’s retail center and would be unlikely to attract the same stores as the new development.

Those chains do, however, draw many shoppers from Lawrence and the surrounding area to stores in suburban Kansas City, and it would be great to keep those retail dollars in Lawrence. Some also say the project would contribute to undesirable “sprawl,” but, as noted at the outset, commercial development is almost guaranteed at that site and the retail development seems preferable to most other options.

The proposed zoning and plan changes are coming to the City Commission with positive recommendations from both the planning staff and the Lawrence-Douglas County Planning Commission. Allowing plans for this development to go forward seems like a good move for the city.