photo by: H2B architects

A rendering shows a proposed mixed use building that would provide senior housing and commercial space near 11th and New Hampshire streets.

An affordable housing project intended to pave the way for a transformation of the southern end of downtown Lawrence could soon be granted the last incentives it needs before beginning development.

Developer Tony Krsnich’s New Hampshire Lofts project will be on the agenda for Wednesday’s Public Incentives Review Committee meeting. The committee will be deciding whether to recommend that the Lawrence City Commission approve Krsnich’s request for a 15-year, 95% property tax rebate via Lawrence’s Neighborhood Revitalization Act and for an industrial revenue bond sales tax exemption on construction materials to help develop the project.

As the Journal-World reported, Krsnich signed a deal giving him redevelopment rights to the entire chunk of Allen Press properties at the southern end of downtown Lawrence about two years ago. But Krsnich is looking to start with an affordable housing project on the vacant lot located at 1000 New Hampshire St. It would add nearly 50 units of rent-controlled affordable housing for residents 55 and older, including six studio units, 35 one-bedroom units, six two-bedroom units and one three-bedroom unit.

That residential space would comprise approximately 54,000 square feet and sit on top of another roughly 15,000 square feet of commercial space on the first floor of the planned four-story building. Its current design is similar to that of the Penn Street Lofts Krsnich developed in East Lawrence’s Warehouse Arts District a few blocks away.

A letter from Krsnich to the PIRC included with the agenda for Wednesday’s meeting notes that he’s not yet found a tenant for the planned first floor commercial space, but he’s targeting a combination of office and restaurant space. How that space will ultimately used will be dependent upon a commitment from a tenant, he said.

photo by: H2B Architects

A rendering shows a proposed mixed use building that would provide senior housing and commercial space near 11th and New Hampshire streets.

The affordable housing project would only be the first part of what Krsnich hopes to develop in the area, though. He’s previously told the Journal-World he expects potential partners could express interest in adding things like a grocery store or mixed-use developments nearby.

A technical report included with the PIRC meeting agenda for Wednesday notes that the project has already received a few other financial incentives, from both the municipal and state level. It received $450,000 of the City of Lawrence’s American Rescue Plan Act funds designated for affordable housing projects, plus another $100,000 from the city’s Affordable Housing Trust Fund. It was also granted $2.78 million by the Kansas Housing Resources Commission.

Krsnich’s letter to the PIRC touts those funding awards as victories for not just the project but for the city and county as a whole.

“It is another remarkable achievement for the City of Lawrence and Douglas County who will benefit from one of the largest allocations of state and federal tax credits,” the letter reads.

Most recently, Krsnich was also successful in securing millions in state and federal housing tax credits for the project. As the Journal-World reported, the state of Kansas approved $8.9 million in federal affordable housing tax credits plus another $8.9 million in state credits — good for nearly $18 million that will help construction on the project begin by the end of the year — just a few weeks ago.

At that time, Krsnich told the Journal-World the property tax rebate and industrial revenue bond issuance are the final approvals he needs before beginning the project. Krsnich has previously received similar incentives packages for his other affordable housing developments in the Warehouse Arts District.

Under the terms of the Neighborhood Revitalization Act, the city, county and school district receive 100% of the property taxes on a property designated as a Neighborhood Revitalization Area. Any rebate approved for a property is on the value of any new improvements made to it.

The odds of earning that approval seem to be good, at least based on the language from city staff in the technical report.

“The New Hampshire Lofts projects will meet one of the city’s foremost goals of increasing affordable housing stock in the community,” the report reads. “In addition, the development of vacant parcels into productive use will enhance the local economy, producing adequate returns on the investment of public dollars in the short term and substantial returns in the long term.”

That’s also reflected later on in the technical report, where city staff notes that this project would help the city “far surpass” its short-term goal of created 100 new affordable rental units between 2019 and 2023 well ahead of schedule.

This isn’t the only property in downtown Lawrence that’s been working its way through the process of seeking approval for these specific types of incentives as of late. The Lawrence City Commission at its last meeting granted preliminary approval to a similar request to help local businessman Doug Compton’s First Management renovate the former Borders bookstore building at Seventh and New Hampshire streets into a corporate headquarters for the company.

That was approved on a 3-2 vote, albeit with a 65% rebate instead of the 95% figure Compton initially requested and which is being considered in the New Hampshire Lofts request.

If the PIRC opts to recommend approving the incentives this week, granting the property tax rebate and sales tax exemption on construction materials would then appear on a future City Commission agenda. If it’s approved by that body, the incentives package will still have to go on to the Douglas County Commission and the Lawrence school board so those two governments can determine whether they wish to agree to the package as well. It’d then return to city commissioners for final approval after those meetings.