photo by: Nick Krug

Jane Bateman, owner of Jane Bateman The Interiors Store, 2101 B West 28th Terrace, lays out pieces of fabric Monday, Dec. 28, 2009 in her store.

A storefront in the shopping center at the northwest corner of 27th and Iowa streets is going from one thing that I don’t understand to another — from taxes to drapes. A deal has been reached for longtime retailer Jane Bateman Interiors to move into the spot that has housed the satellite office for the Douglas County Treasurer’s office.

The move will mark the end of a 33-year run for the store at its current location of 2101 W. 28th Terrace.

“We have a lot of stuff in the corners to move,” Bateman said.

A lot of that stuff has to do with drapes and other types of window coverings. The 38-year old company — it previously was in downtown for five years — has made a living off drapes, blinds, shades, valances, slip covers, pillow cases and a host of other fabrics for the home. I could go into further detail, but my neighbors would tell you there is much I don’t understand about drapes, and the remnants of an unfortunate experiment involving a couch, nacho cheese sauce and a cantilevered spoon is evidence that I learned just a tad too late about slip covers. (Personally, I still think physics was largely to blame there, but others disagree.)

photo by: Nick Krug

Jane Bateman, owner of Jane Bateman The Interiors Store, 2101 B West 28th Terrace, lays out pieces of fabric Monday, Dec. 28, 2009 in her store.

Bateman said she’s excited about making the move because it will put her business close to several other stores that cater to folks doing home makeovers. Factory Direct Appliance, Sherwin-Williams Paints and Paradise Floors are all located in the shopping center.

“I can see us working back and forth a lot with those types of businesses,” Bateman said. “We like the idea of synergy.”

Bateman is making the move because her store has lost its lease on its existing location. There’s been a change in ownership of Advanced Homecare, which had been the landlord for Bateman’s building. My understanding is that the new owners of Advanced Homecare have expansion plans — more on that in a moment — and now require the Jane Bateman Interiors building.

The Douglas County Treasurer’s office space became available after the treasurer’s office struck a deal to open a satellite location near 31st and Iowa Street in the shopping center in front of Best Buy and Home Depot. Allison Vance Moore, a broker with the Lawrence Colliers International office, helped broker the deal for Bateman to move into the new spot.

Bateman expects to be open in the new location near Aug. 1. Renovation work on the space is expected to begin within the next week. As for the treasurer’s office, we’ve previously reported that the satellite was to close on June 24. I haven’t been by to see if it has closed, but I assume so. Based on the last report I had, the new location is scheduled to open in four to seven weeks. The main treasurer’s office and a satellite location at the Dillons at 3000 W. Sixth Street remain open to take your tax payments.

In other news and notes from around town:

• As I mentioned, Advanced Homecare has sold to a new set of owners. The medical equipment company has been purchased by Breathe Oxygen and Medical Supply, which is an affiliated company of Topeka-based Midwest Health, which operates Lawrence’s Pioneer Ridge retirement community.

The Advance Homecare brand currently is undergoing a name change to Breathe Oxygen and Medical Supply. Dennis Bahr, a regional manager and an owner of Breathe, said the company plans to make Lawrence a prominent part of its operations. The company has a store in Topeka, but I’ve been told the two Lawrence buildings that were purchased as part of the Advanced Homecare deal will give the company more warehouse and office headquarters space.

“With the acquisition, we see a lot of growth potential for the Lawrence area,” Bahr said.

The company sells oxygen tanks and other breathing supplies to both individual customers and institutions. The company has has other types of medical equipment such as a canes, crutches and safety equipment to prevent falls and such. The company has contracts with multiple long-term care and hospice providers throughout the region.

Advanced Homecare previously was owned by Lawrence businesswoman Sandra London. During London’s tenure, the company struck deals to provide services to 73 long-term care facilities in the region, and approximately quadrupled the size of the business. The company had 13 employees at the time of the sale. Bahr said the new company is keeping the Advanced Homecare staff and anticipates some additional staffing will be needed in the near future.

“I really want to give a large thank-you to the community for supporting us over the years,” London said.

• I mentioned Pioneer Ridge Retirement Community earlier. Some of you may have noticed construction work that is underway near that company’s facility at Wakarusa and Harvard. Well, that’s the beginning of a major expansion for the center. As we reported in October, the company filed plans to build an approximately $15 million expansion that will house 76 new independent living units. The new units will be just east of the company’s existing facility.

Here’s a look at the renderings that previously were filed at City Hall for the project.

One view of a proposed 76-unit independent living facility at Pioneer Ridge in West Lawrence. Photo courtesy Midwest Health and City of Lawrence.

Previously, the company had said the project would take about 10 to 12 months to complete, but I’m not sure of the current timeline for completion.