photo by: Nick Krug

The Lawrence Journal-World press facility, located at the northeast end of Massachusetts Street.

A large building at the entrance to downtown Lawrence soon may be demolished, which at least temporarily would leave a significant vacant space along parts of Massachusetts and New Hampshire streets.

Plans have been filed to demolish the former Journal-World production plant at 609 New Hampshire St. The World Company — which owns the Journal-World and LJWorld.com — has filed for a demolition permit from the city, but since the building is in the historic district of downtown, city commissioners will be asked to approve the demolition.

A leader with The World Company said the buildings are hindering redevelopment of the property, and the structures are no longer needed for the Journal-World’s operations.

“The World Company is considering the removal of the existing press room, warehouse, distribution center, mail room and related offices because the structures are no longer needed in today’s publishing environment, and because we’ve received feedback during the nearly two years we’ve been marketing the property that the presence of the structures is impeding the sale of the site,” said Dolph Simons III, the president of the newspaper division for The World Company. “Also, trying to maintain those vacant structures is both difficult and a financial burden.”

The building, which used to house the Journal-World presses and other production equipment before that work was outsourced to The Kansas City Star in 2014, is one of the larger buildings in downtown. The site, which is actually a series of connected buildings, is about 1.5 acres in size and has frontage along Massachusetts and New Hampshire streets. The proposed demolition does not include the Journal-World’s current offices, which are located inside the historic News Center building at Seventh and New Hampshire streets.

Scott McCullough, the city’s director of planning and development services, said normally demolition permits are administratively approved in the city. But since the building is in a historic district — although the building itself is not on a historic register — city commissioners are required to hold a hearing on the demolition. The city’s Historic Resources Commission also will be asked to vote on the proposed demolition.

McCullough said city officials may want more specific plans about how the property would be redeveloped before approving any demolition.

“A replacement plan always helps us understand what project is coming,” McCullough said. “I don’t think it is a code requirement, but it is an expectation that we have a replacement plan.”

Leaders with The World Company in June 2014 announced that they were working to put together a plan that would build a conference center, hotel, apartments, retail space and an open-air plaza on the property, which is situated at the northern entrance to downtown.

Plans for that project, however, have not been filed with City Hall. Simons said the company still is very interested in seeing the property redeveloped.

“Rather than an industrial building at Sixth and Massachusetts, we think Lawrence would greatly benefit from retail space, a hotel, restaurants and possibly a conference center,” Simons said. “This location is the gateway to downtown Lawrence as you come over the bridge. To have the north end of Massachusetts vibrant with activity can only be good for Lawrence.”

A timeline on when the Historic Resources Commission or the City Commission may consider the demolition request wasn’t yet clear, McCullough said.