WRITER: Chad Lawhorn

News and notes including plans for vacant I-70 industrial lot, closing of city's lone gun range, and bankruptcy for Mac shop

Today, I have a tale of a hole in a roof, a gun and a MacBook computer. It sure sounds like a bad IT day, but don't let your imaginations run wild. Rather, it is news and notes from around town, featuring one business that is expanding and two that have closed. — Let’s start with the business that fixes holes in roofs and does all other types of roofing work in the Lawrence area. Lawrence-based Alpha ...

Lawrence home sales fell by biggest amount yet in 2022; housing prices certainly did not

Lawrence’s housing market is in a slowdown — in every way except one. Housing prices aren’t falling at all, according to the latest numbers from the Lawrence Board of Realtors. Lawrence homes sales in June fell 13.5% compared to June 2021 numbers. For the year, Lawrence home sales are now down 7.8%. At the halfway mark of 2022, home sales have now posted year-over-year declines in all six months of the ...

Plans filed to expand historic Turnhalle building at Ninth and Rhode Island; site would become performance venue

What is generally thought to be the oldest community building in Lawrence has new owners — and new plans to become a performance venue on the edge of downtown. Plans have been filed at City Hall to expand the Turnhalle building, 900 Rhode Island St., as new owners seek to turn the old stone structure with its historic stage and balcony into a performance and event business. The new owners of the building ...

Demolition work underway on Oliver Hall, old facilities building at KU campus

It’s demo days at the University of Kansas. Demolition work has begun both on Oliver Hall and the old Facilities and Operations building on the KU campus. As the Journal-World has reported, KU received approval to demolish both buildings as part of a campus initiative to reduce deferred maintenance costs. The sites of both buildings are planned to remain largely undeveloped after demolition is complete. ...

Halfway through the year, Lawrence is the one metro area in the state that has lost jobs

At the halfway point of 2022, the Lawrence metro area finds itself in a position it would rather not be in: It is the only metro area in the state that has fewer jobs now than it did a year ago. The job losses for the Lawrence metro aren’t huge. Jobs located in the Lawrence metro — which comprises all of Douglas County — are down by 300 compared with the same period a year ago. That’s only a 0.6% ...

Habitat for Humanity ReStore plans to move from East Lawrence to south Iowa Street

A longtime supplier of bargain building materials is planning to make the move to south Iowa Street. But no, this isn’t a sign that a new, big discount chain is entering the market. Instead, it is Lawrence’s existing Habitat for Humanity ReStore. The nonprofit has announced a deal to move the store from its longtime East Lawrence home to a spot in a shopping center at 27th and Iowa streets. The ReStore ...