photo by: Bremen Keasey

City Commissioners voted Tuesday night to add First Presbyterian Church, located at 2415 Clinton Parkway in Lawrence, to the city's landmark registry.

Lawrence city commissioners approved a request on Tuesday to add a Lawrence church to the local register of historic places, after a discussion about how a building’s historic status can affect nearby development.

The commission voted unanimously to approve the nomination for the First Presbyterian Church building, 2415 Clinton Parkway, to the local list of historic places. The city’s Historic Resources Commission voted in December to recommend approval of the church. Lynne Zollner, the city’s historic resources administrator, said in a presentation to the commission that state and national architectural historians have supported that the church is architecturally significant.

The church had sought historic status before for the entire property, not just the building, but the commission in September voted against that because of concerns from the commissioners over the size of the parcel it would apply to and how nearby properties would be affected, as the Journal-World reported.

That meeting in September was the second time commissioners considered a request for the church property to be listed as historic. The first time, in June 2024, commissioners voted to send the nomination back to the Historic Resources Commission, with some saying at the time they were concerned the church was attempting to use the city’s rules on historic properties to halt development in the area. A historic designation can require additional layers of review for projects that are proposed near a historic property.

Jeff Southard, who was representing the church at the meeting, said because the proposal only included the building and not the entire parcel of land, it lessened the number of properties that could face a lengthier review process from seven to four. Additionally, Southard said there was “no question” the church is a historic structure, and it worked with the city to reach a compromise.

“We met you halfway by designating just the building; please meet us the other way,” Southard said.

A few people representing Park 25 apartments, located at 2401 W. 25th St. near the church, spoke against approving the historic status, saying it would potentially create more costs for the students and workers who live in the apartments.

Another person who spoke was Greg Musil, an attorney representing Fountain Residential Partners. That company has been involved in ongoing litigation with the church, which sued the company and the city in Douglas County District Court in late 2021 after the company proposed developing more than 60 duplexes on property across the street from the church, as the Journal-World reported. A judge ruled in favor of the city in June 2024, but there is an ongoing appeal.

Musil referenced that litigation during his comment, but also requested some clarification of exactly how the current rules would affect development if the church got its historic status.

Zollner said as written, the city’s rules would mean any structures that fell within a 250-foot “context area” surrounding the historic structure would face an additional review and design process. Because the lot that Musil asked for clarification about is currently vacant, it would not go through that review. But if in the future, there are structures that overlap with the context areas, any new permitting for construction would go through that process.

Zollner said the HRC would review guidelines about the context areas in future meetings, including during its upcoming April meeting. Commissioners also said they supported having more discussions, especially about how those context areas could potentially stifle development.

Mayor Mike Dever said he felt this process for deeming the church historic was a “perfect example” of why it will be important to review the city’s rules for historic landmarks. The city wants to ensure it can protect certain structures, but it sometimes manifests as “control over other people’s property.”

“(Let’s) fix these rules so we’re not having these conversations again,” Dever said.

In other business, commissioners:

• Voted to set a public hearing to discuss awarding tax incentives for the development of the Q39 restaurant in downtown Lawrence.

The developers of the award-winning Kansas City barbecue restaurant had asked in February for a financial incentives package, including the creation of a special tax district and industrial revenue bonds, to help move the project forward. But the commission in February voted to defer the item, as the Journal-World reported.

Now, commissioners will hold a public hearing on May 6 for creating the special tax district to support the restaurant. The restaurant was beginning to work on renovations to the former Journal-World printing plant building near Sixth and New Hampshire streets in November for a larger project, but ended up seeking incentives for the restaurant after another developer dropped out for the renovation of the entire 70,000-square-foot building, as the Journal-World reported.

Since the commission’s vote in February, a report by the consulting firm Baker Tilly found that the project needs the special tax district — which would subject sales made at the restaurant to a special 2% sales tax that is over and above the standard sales tax rate — to be financially viable. With the incentives package, the project is projected to have a rate of return of about 4.8%, which Baker Tilly said is still below the 6% to 11% rate of return that most restaurant real estate projects expect, as the Journal-World reported.

The commission did not discuss the Q39 incentives request on Tuesday before its vote. The item was on the commission’s consent agenda, which is a list of items usually considered routine that can be approved in a single motion.

• Authorized the city to apply for national historic preservation status for the Municipal Stadium in East Lawrence’s Hobbs Park, with an aim to revitalize the structure and the park.

The request comes from The Municipal Stadium in Hobbs Park Legacy Project, a group of local organizations including the East Lawrence Neighborhood Association, Watkins Museum of History and the Kaw Valley Kickball League. By having the stadium on the National Register of Historic Places, the city could utilize rehabilitation tax credits or grants to help restore the structure. A city memo noted the city previously used similar tax credits on the Santa Fe Depot, the Union Pacific Depot and the Carnegie Building.

Both the Historic Resources Administrator and the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board have unanimously voted to recommend the City Commission approve the application. Zollner previously said the stadium would be eligible for national historic status, as the Journal-World reported.

Andrew Stockmann, the curator of exhibitions at the Watkins Museum and head of the Legacy Project group, said the effort is centered on protecting the “community value and historical value” of the stadium and park. Not only is the stadium used every week during the summer by the Kaw Valley Kickball League, but in Stockmann’s research through old Journal-World archives, he found the Kansas City Monarchs of the Negro Leagues played there against the semi-pro Lawrence Colts in August 1949. That Monarchs team included future Hall of Fame manager Buck O’Neil, who became the first Black coach in Major League Baseball.

Stockmann estimated the cost for the application will be about $15,000, and the group plans to raise its own funds for the application. If the stadium achieves historic status, Stockmann said the Legacy Project hopes to analyze the structure’s concrete seating bowl to make improvements and possibly restore features that used to be at the stadium, such as a concession stand or in-ground dugouts.

Along with the stadium’s historic status, the group also hopes to get the Murphy-Bromelsick House, on the northwest corner of Hobbs Park, listed on the Kansas Register of Historic Places.