photo by: Chad Lawhorn/Journal-World

Lawrence City Hall is pictured on Oct. 11, 2024.

Lawrence city commissioners will consider approving financial incentives for affordable housing complex in East Lawrence that’s being spearheaded by a longtime local developer.

Developer Tony Krsnich’s Flint Hills Holding Group sent in an application to the city for Industrial Revenue Bonds that would allow the development at 716 East Ninth St. — currently known as 9 Del Lofts 11 — to not pay sales tax on construction costs.

The project would include a four-story building with 36 one-bedroom apartments, plus six ground-floor units that will allow for an office or store in the front of the unit. 24 of those apartments would be rent-controlled units, which would be reserved for people who earn 60% or less of the area’s median income. The remaining units would not be rent-controlled.

The city already has awarded $450,000 to the development through the city’s Affordable Housing Trust Fund, which comes from a local sales tax measure that voters approved back in 2017, as the Journal-World reported.

Krsnich has developed multiple similar projects in East Lawrence, including the original 9 Del Lofts, Poehler Lofts and Penn Street Lofts, which have all added affordable housing in the area. Krsnich noted in a letter to the commission that the need for affordable housing is still “higher than ever” as evidenced by the fact there are dozens of applicants on waiting lists for those complexes, and the proposed new project would help with the housing need.

“This project presents a unique opportunity to serve this need and provide affordable housing opportunities downtown,” Krsnich said.

Krsnich also said in the letter he applied for incentives at the federal and state levels through their low-income housing tax credit programs, and the project is under consideration to receive those incentives from the state. A city memo noted that the Kansas House of Representatives recently adopted House Bill 2119, which could end the state’s match on the tax credits for affordable housing. The Senate is considering the bill at the moment. The deadline for projects to be considered by the state’s program is May 23, 2025, and it could be the last opportunity for developers to take advantage of those funds.

Krsnich said in the letter that the city’s participation was crucial when he sought state and federal incentives for his previous housing projects, saying the city’s help made them “stand out” against other applications.

In other business, commissioners will:

• Consider approving the Parks, Recreation and Culture department’s new Master Plan.

As the Journal-World reported, the Master Plan was approved to move forward to the City Commission in February by the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board and the Lawrence Cultural Arts Commission.

The Master Plan was developed over about two years by the department staff with the help of multiple consulting firms. The playbook aims to outline the department’s realistic goals and objectives throughout the next five or 10 years. Some of the key recommendations in the plan include creating a pricing policy — something the department’s director said might be pursued this year to offset potential cuts, as the Journal-World reported — using part of the city’s tax on hotel stays to support programming and establishing a foundation for the department to generate private funding through donations.

Other recommendations included in the plan touch on expanding the walking and biking trails in the city, upgrading playgrounds for better safety and accessibility and formalizing the city’s public art program.

The plan calls for the city to study two possible long-term projects, as well: a new outdoor pool on the west side of the city and an outdoor event space like an amphitheater.

• Consider a revised final development plan that would install and repair antennas on the Oread Hotel.

According to a city memo, Verizon Wireless is proposing to repair existing antennae located on top of the Oread Hotel, 1200 Oread Ave. Those antennae are disguised as flag poles, and the company will update the internal equipment of the poles and replace the concealing structure.

Additionally, Verizon proposed adding two additional antennae on the west side of the roof to “provide capacity for increasing demand in the area.” Those antennae are proposed to be disguised with a concealment wrap.

Commissioners need to approve the plan because it involves changing the previously approved locations for antennae on the building.

• Receive a presentation about the Douglas County Tenant Experiences Report, which could help inform future policy decisions about affordable housing.

The presentation will provide details on the results of a survey conducted by KU’s Life Span Institute and the LiveWell Sexual Violence Prevention Work Group that was done in 2023 to learn more about renters in Lawrence and Douglas County.

The survey results, which were released in 2024, found that nearly half of the renters surveyed were cost-burdened by rent, meaning they were spending over 30% of their income on rent. Additionally, it took an average of three months and five applications for survey respondents to secure a rental.

The survey notes that these findings are not universal for renters in Lawrence, because there was a “special emphasis” on reaching out to more residents of lower income to learn more about those specific experiences.

The report also made some recommendations for helping renters in Lawrence, including adding a rent control or stabilization ordinance, creating a Tenant Bill of Rights and implementing more inclusive screening practices.