WRITER: Chad Lawhorn

Developer eyes another senior housing project for downtown, shifts direction on plans for big 11th and Mass development

Another affordable senior housing project is likely to develop near the downtown intersection of 11th and New Hampshire streets, Lawrence developer Tony Krsnich told me. But what’s not likely to come to the lot next door — the highly visible corner of 11th and Massachusetts streets — may be even more interesting. Plans for a big gateway-type project with a tall building for a hotel, offices or upscale ...

Tax values of Douglas County homes up 7% overall; see which areas had largest increase

Inflation is down and so too are housing sales, but Douglas County homeowners are seeing another round of increases in the home values used to calculate their property taxes. Home values across the county increased by a median of 7.3% in 2024, according to new numbers from the county appraiser’s office. While still an increase, it is a slightly smaller one than a year ago. Many homeowners last year saw ...

Lawrence sales tax collections, home sales both start slowly in 2024

I know the most important numbers in Lawrence at this time of year are the single-digit variety (A No. 2 seed? A No. 3 Seed? Gulp, a No. 4 Seed, and how do I stop this sky from falling upon my head?) Regardless, let’s take a look at a couple of local economic numbers, which also haven’t given fans a whole lot to cheer about. — First, sales tax numbers. After now seeing two months worth of sales tax ...

Douglas County leaders struggle to explain what their plans are for taxing Airbnbs, day cares and other home-based businesses

After scrapping a plan to more than double the property taxes of owners of Airbnbs and other such short-term rental properties, Douglas County officials are struggling to explain what comes next. What they are not saying is that Airbnb and Vrbo owners have permanently dodged the prospect of having their property classifications changed from residential to commercial, which would mean their tax assessment rates ...

Sold out online, but on the shelves in downtown Lawrence; new shoe store focuses on sought-after sneakers

To the uninitiated, Elevate, the new storefront at 943 Massachusetts St., might look like nothing more than a shoe store. But to those who are into sneaker culture, the new store might come off more akin to a magic shop. “Most of the shoes here are sold out online,” Ethan Bentzinger, a co-owner of Elevate, said, pointing to a wall full of shelves with bright shoes that a middle-aged man like myself can ...

Large new sports bar and restaurant opens in historic building along downtown's New Hampshire Street

If it is a battle between beer and TVs, it is a little hard to say which one would be the victor at downtown Lawrence’s new sports bar and grill. The new Mr. Brews Taphouse has 48 different beers on tap, while having 16 televisions, although two of the televisions are of the 85-inch variety. So, the math on that is 85 times 2, minus 48 and . . . maybe I need to take a burger break. That burger lineup also ...