photo by: City of Lawrence

The City of Lawrence released a final site plan for the future Pallet Shelter Village at 256 Michigan St. Friday, Aug. 4, 2023. The light gray text and drawings on the plan illustrate the original layout of the site prior to demolition, while the black text and drawings show the finalized site design plan for the Pallet Shelter Village. The legend in the bottom right corner of the page lists each building size and what function they serve.

The City of Lawrence has finalized a site design plan for the future Pallet Shelter Village on North Michigan Street.

The city, in a release Friday morning, shared the plan, which provides a precise layout of the site at 256 N. Michigan St. set to feature 50 prefabricated 64-square-foot cabins for people experiencing homelessness.

The city collaborated with Professional Engineering Consultants on the design plan. The engineering firm also performed a thorough site analysis, per the release, which was “essential to ensure the infrastructure and improvements required for the site are properly constructed before the project progresses.”

The plan includes proposed bike and car parking, the proposed boundaries of the site’s permanent fencing and other structures besides the 50 Pallet shelters. That includes a “community tent” near the center of the site, a laundry trailer and hygiene trailer and a pair of 100-square-foot offices. Another larger building marked as a storage area is also included on the eastern edge of the property.

“Completion of the site design plan is another step forward in the city’s goal to rapidly build emergency shelter capacity to meet the needs of our community,” the release reads. “The Pallet Shelter Village is a pathway to permanent housing that provides a transition for people experiencing homelessness.”

The plan comes about two weeks after demolition work began at the site. At the time, the city noted that demolition work to remove the existing structures on the property would take about three weeks, after which permanent fencing for the site will be installed.

The city delayed the Pallet Shelter Village project by about six months in early June, citing a handful of issues that are currently being addressed; demolition on the site, permanent fencing installation and the lack of a site analysis and plan were all previous roadblocks.

Friday’s release doesn’t address a prominent element that caused the delay, though: the contract for the outside agency that will operate the site. As the Journal-World reported, the city didn’t receive any bids from social service agencies interested in operating the temporary shelter site.