Schumm files plans for new multistory commercial/condo building on Vermont Street; Sprouts set to open; update on Bauer Farm development

photo by: Nick Gerik

A fisheye view of two vacant lots in the 800 block of Vermont Street, Tuesday, June 30, 2015.

I thought my garden was doing well, but it is no match for the one that sits in the 800 block of Vermont Street. That longtime downtown vegetable garden soon may have a $6 million, four-story office and residential building coming out of the ground.

Former Lawrence City Commissioner Bob Schumm is the longtime owner of the vacant lot, which is just south of the former Headmasters building. For years, he and others have grown vegetables there. Now, he’s filed plans at City Hall for a new building that would continue the trend of multistory, mixed-use buildings that encourage more people to live downtown.

photo by: Nick Gerik

A fisheye view of two vacant lots in the 800 block of Vermont Street, Tuesday, June 30, 2015.

As it currently stands, the project may add a new level of luxury living in downtown. Schumm said preliminary plans call for eight condo units on the top two floors of the building. Those units would be about 1,800 to 1,900 square feet in size.

“They would be nice, large units,” Schumm said.

Schumm said the size may shrink in future versions of the plans. He said another option is to have 12 condos averaging about 1,200 square feet in size. Schumm said the project currently is focusing its efforts on the overall size and exterior of the building to comply with the city’s downtown design guidelines and historic resources code. The property is just south of the historic Lucy Hobbs Taylor building at 809 Vermont, which dates back to 1871.

The Lawrence-based architecture firm Hernly Associates is designing the project.

Rendering of concept for proposed multi-use building at 815 Vermont.

Rendering of concept for proposed multi-use building at 815 Vermont St.

Schumm confirmed he is in discussion with a bank to take a portion of the ground floor commercial space in the building. The second floor of the building would be be divided into “high-tech” office space. Schumm said plans call for high-speed fiber optic broadband service in the building and common areas that could be shared by multiple businesses. He said the space will be designed to accommodate smaller firms looking for high-quality office space.

“We would rent it to a large company too, but there are an awful lot of one- and two-person companies that want to be able to just walk in and plug their computers in and get to work,” Schumm said. “That’s a popular concept right now.”

The project also will include underground parking that would utilize a “car elevator” rather than a traditional entrance and exit ramp. That system will allow below-ground parking spaces. The elevator system, Schumm said, allowed for about a half-dozen more space than would have been possible with a traditional ramp system.

The project will have to win necessary design approvals from City Hall. The project also may spark an incentive debate at City Hall. Schumm confirmed that he’s considering seeking incentives for the project. He said he’s voluntarily reduced the height of the building so it can be a better fit with the historic property to the north. The project also is providing more parking than is required, and additional setbacks.

“All of that changed the economics of the project dramatically,” Schumm said.

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There’s also one other item of note on the project. Technically there are two vacant lots that will house the building. Schumm owns the northern lot, while a company led by Lawrence businessman Thomas Fritzel owns the southern lot. Fritzel was part of the public-private partnership to build Rock Chalk Park, which of course was a controversial item that Schumm helped guide through the City Commission during his tenure.

But Schumm told me that Fritzel is not a partner on the project. Instead, Schumm has secured an option to purchase the vacant lot from Fritzel, if the project wins the necessary city approvals.

“And let me stop the rumors before they start,” Schumm said. “The price we agreed upon is above the fair market value the appraiser has on the property. I’m on my own with this one.”

In case you are wondering what a vacant lot on Vermont Street is valued at, the appraiser has that one at about $182,000. To be clear, though, I don’t know what the price is between Schumm and the Fritzel entity. Schumm only said he was paying more than appraised value.

As for the timeline of this project, Schumm said he hopes to win approval later this year, and have the project open by late 2016.


In other news and notes from around town:

• Speaking of gardens, after all this rain, I need to either learn how to operate a hoe or see if I can land a production deal to serve as the site of Chuck Norris’ next jungle action movie. I’m a big Chuck Norris fan, so I think buying some produce rather than growing it may be on my list of things to do. And indeed there is news on the produce and grocery front. Sprouts Farmers Market, Lawrence’s newest grocer, is set to open tomorrow, July 1, at 4740 Bauer Farm Drive.

The company plans to open the doors at 7 a.m., and it is offering some promotional deals to the first 200 people who are in line when the doors open.

The Lawrence store is the company’s fifth in the Kansas City area. If you are having a hard time picturing where the company’s Lawrence location is at, it is near the corner of Wakarusa and Overland Drive. The company built a new 27,000 square foot store in the Bauer Farm development just south of Free State High School.

The company, based in Phoenix, is the latest entrant in the growing healthy foods sector of the grocery market. (Natural Grocers has entered the market, The Merc has expanded, and essentially every traditional grocery store in town has made improvements to its healthy foods section in recent years.) Sprouts has a strong focus on fresh produce and organic foods, but it also offers meat, seafood, dairy, frozen foods, bulk foods, vitamins, household items and several other products.

And some of you have asked whether the store will carry beer. (I know, you are just asking because you understand the importance of hydration in a healthy diet.) Actually, I think you may be asking because the nearby Wal-Mart store and its grocery has not carried beer, presumably because of its location near Free State High. I haven’t been in there recently, so I don’t know if that is still the case with Wal-Mart. Regardless, city officials last week approved an off-premise cereal malt beverage license for Sprouts, so I assume the store will carry 3.2 beer to go.

The store is the latest project in the Bauer Farms development, which has caught a new gear in 2015. As we previously have reported, an XpressWellness urgent care center is being built in the Bauer Farm development. It is the project underway in front of Meadowlark Estates near Sixth Street and Folks Road.

The development also is slated to get some new residents. As we’ve previously reported, plans have been filed for 145 new apartments to be built just west of the Sixth and Folks Road intersection. Look for a mix of studio, one-bedroom, two-bedroom and three-bedroom apartments, plus a 12,000 square foot clubhouse. The project also is important because it will require the completion of Bauer Farm Drive. That east-west road currently dead ends in the development, but in the future it will be a new way to get from Folks Road to Wakarusa Drive.

With the new development, look for a new traffic signal on Sixth Street near the main entrance to Bauer Farm Drive. The city is in the process of creating a benefit district that will charge commercial areas on both sides of Sixth Street for a new traffic signal at Sixth and Champion Lane. It likely will take several months for the traffic signal to be installed, however.

And, while it isn’t technically in the Bauer Farm development, let’s not forget Spin Neapolitan Pizza. As we’ve previously reported, the pizza joint will open in a new building across the street from Bauer Farm. It will be next to Wal-Mart at Sixth and Wakarusa. There’s room there for one more restaurant as well. I’m starting to hear some rumblings about that one, and hope to have some information soon.