The west side of Riverfront Plaza is pictured in this file photo from 2012.

The Lawrence City Commission will soon decide whether the city will significantly expand its presence in the Riverfront Plaza building.

At its meeting Tuesday, the commission will consider leasing a wing of the top floor of the building, which used to house the Riverfront Mall, for its Planning and Development Department and municipal court.

To accommodate city operations, city staff estimates the building would require about $850,000 in tenant improvements and cost tens of thousands more annually than its current arrangements, according to its memo to the commission. The memo notes the proposed lease would provide about 40 percent more space and bring together both divisions of the city’s Planning and Development Department.

Director of Planning and Development Scott McCullough said allowing those divisions to work side by side will benefit city staff and customers.

“It’s going to be a facility seen through the eyes of the customer, and should create a lot of efficiencies for how we provide the services,” McCullough said.

Currently, the city’s planning division is located in City Hall, and the development division, which deals with such things as permits and code enforcement, is located in leased space on the bottom floor on the east side of the Riverfront building. The municipal court currently operates out of a building on New Hampshire Street that is leased by the city. That building does not always have adequate space for court proceedings and lacks private areas for prosecutors to meet with defendants, according to the memo.

The Riverfront lease proposal is part of a larger effort to consolidate the city’s operations. In preparation for Tuesday’s discussion, City Manager Tom Markus told the commission at its last meeting that the lease could lead to the city purchasing that wing of the building.

“One of the thoughts behind the rental is to see how it works without making a complete commitment to buy the property,” Markus said. “But what we’ve negotiated is a right of first refusal on the property so that we can actually acquire it.”

The proposal is for the city to lease the western part of the top floor, which previously housed the customer service center for Midco phone, cable and internet. The city owns the land the Riverfront building sits on, and the building itself is owned by the Simons family, which previously owned the Journal-World. As part of the meeting, the commission will also consider taking a walking tour of that portion of the building, which members of the public may also attend, according to the memo.

The city currently pays about $187,000 annually to lease the municipal court building and the bottom floor of the Riverfront building, according to the memo. Under the proposed Riverfront lease, the city would pay an average rate of about $275,000 per year over 10 years. In addition to providing 40 percent more space, the memo notes that it will open up space in City Hall once the development division relocates.

City staff estimates a total tenant improvement expense of $850,000, which would come from the city’s Capital Improvement Plan and equipment reserve fund, according to the memo. As part of its agenda Tuesday, the commission will consider authorizing the city manager to enter into an agreement with TreanorHL for architectural design and construction management services at a cost not to exceed $64,000. If approved, the goal is to have the space ready for the move in by October 2018.

The City Commission will convene at 5:45 p.m. Tuesday at City Hall, 6 E. Sixth St.