Lawrence Journal-World opinion section

It’s disappointing to learn that the owners of the Eldridge Hotel have at least temporarily scrapped plans to expand into a vacant lot just south of the hotel.

The planned expansion, which would have added 50 rooms to the hotel along with additional banquet and restaurant space, would have been a welcome improvement over the unsightly vacant gravel lot in the 700 block of Massachusetts Street.

The owners of the hotel, led by members of the local Fritzel family, didn’t provide any reason for their decision, which was a bit surprising considering that the plans had successfully completed the city planning process, including approval of about $400,000 in rebates for sales tax paid on construction materials for the project.

The owners originally has said they wanted to start construction at the end of last year, but delayed the start supposedly to accommodate their downtown neighbors who were concerned about the disruption of vehicle and pedestrian traffic during the holiday shopping season. Apparently some new problems have arisen to prompt the latest decision.

This is the second time the hotel has scrapped expansion plans for the vacant lot, but the Eldridge now owns the lot, which means the expansion probably could be restarted fairly easily — at least until city approvals for the project expire. The Fritzel family has a number of irons in the fire, including a revamp of the Alvamar golf course and country club property. Hopefully, the Eldridge project won’t take a back seat for too long.

The expansion of this local historical landmark would have been — and still would be — a welcome contribution to the downtown landscape.