“We have had some inquiries from customers that would require us to add more space,” Hill said. “There is nothing definitive on that front, but it takes time to build the space. If we have the space, we may find a customer that will help us fill it. It is an investment in the future.”

That’s exactly the type of talk that local economic development leaders love to here. At 200 jobs, the company is a major employer, but more so than that, it is a company that has its headquarters and leadership based in Lawrence. The company sells a lot of cardboard boxes that leave the city limits, which means the money that pays for those boxes comes from somewhere else and gets deposited in Lawrence’s economy.

Hill is part of one of Lawrence’s more important industrial families. Justin Hill — along with his brother Stephen — is a great-grandson of J.D. Bowersock, who built an industrial empire along the Kansas River in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Much of the industrial complex is where Lawrence City Hall and the former Riverfront Mall is today, and was powered by the hydroelectric dam that still carries the Bowersock name.

The Lawrence Paper company was among those Bowersock businesses, and it went on to — at least in one way — change the look of American business forever. The Lawrence Paper Company is the firm that convinced the influential Ball Brothers — makers of the Mason jars — to use cardboard boxes instead of wooden crates to ship their fragile wares. If cardboard boxes were good enough for glass jars, surely they were good enough for almost anything else. And indeed, cardboard box use took off. Basketball and boxes — just two of Lawrence’s gifts to America.

In terms of today’s economy, Hill is in a bellwether business because companies usually start ordering more boxes when they see signs the economy is about to boom. Hill said he can’t report that a big boost in the economy is imminent.

“Business has been a little flat,” he said. “Nothing spectacular.”

As for the expansion project, the warehouse is proposed for an area that already has an existing concrete pad. The property also already has the proper zoning, so the project just needs some technical approvals from City Hall. Hill said he hopes the project will be completed by the end of the year. Once the project is completed, The Lawrence Paper Company will have a little more than 400,000 square feet of production and warehouse space under roof at its Lawrence facility.

In other news and notes from around town:

• Maybe those KU students who will graduate this weekend won’t need a cardboard box to pack up all their belongings. A new study ranks Lawrence as the second best small metro for job-seeking college graduates.

The American Institute for Economic Research ranks Lawrence as the No. 2 spot among all metro areas that have fewer than 250,000 people. This study appears to be a little bit different than some other studies that primarily focus on financial data — wages and such — to rank a community. The group said its rankings are based on “migration patterns and city characteristics from 2005 to 2014.” In other words, it looks at where well-educated, young professionals are moving, and apparently Lawrence is doing well in that category.

The study touts Lawrence’s “progressive politics” and its “indie music clubs,” and also says Lawrence has “maintained a free-thinking spirit.” But even though Lawrence ranked No. 2 on the list, there are some concerning words in the report. “Although over half of Lawrence’s population is highly educated, and its quality of life ranks high, the city does not have the most favorable economic conditions,” the study reports. “Rents are high for a small city, and average earnings are the second lowest on our list.”

In other words, I think it says Lawrence really excels in quality of life, but has not yet fully turned those quality of life advantages into economic advantages. That is not a new theme in Lawrence, but it is one that I expect will get significant discussion by community leaders.

One of Lawrence’s newer community leaders has particular reason to be proud of this latest list. Tom Markus, Lawrence’s new city manager, previously held that job in Iowa City. The institute ranked Iowa City as the No. 1 small metro for job-seeking college graduates. The study says Iowa City scores high on both quality-of-life and economic conditions.

“Among the smallest metros, Iowa City, home of the University of Iowa, won with a growing technology corridor, and abundance of bike paths and city accessibility due to transit, low rents, lots of restaurants and bars, and a diverse population,” the study reports.

In general, the study said it found three large drivers that influence where young college graduates decide to land: 1. A strong economy is a lure; 2. Millennials want work-life balance and value things such as low commute times and green lifestyles; 3. Neighborhood diversity is important, including racial and ethnic diversity and communities that have a reputation for tolerance.

Here’s a look at how other regional communities ranked. The study broke communities into major metro areas of more than 2.5 million residents, midsize metros of 1 million to 2.5 million, small metros of 250,000 to 1 million, and smallest metros of less than 250,000.

• Denver: No. 4 on Major Metro list

• Austin, Texas: No. 2 on Midsize Metro list

• Kansas City: No. 8 on Midsize Metro list

• Oklahoma City: No. 19 on Midsize Metro list

• Lincoln, Neb.: No. 3 on Small Metro list

• Fort Collins, Colo.: No. 4 on Small Metro list

• Omaha, Neb.: No. 9 on Small Metro list

• Des Moines, Iowa: No. 11 on Small Metro list

• Colorado Springs: No 15 on Small Metro list

• Columbia, Mo.: No. 6 on Small Metro list

Town Talk column