photo by: Chad Lawhorn/Journal-World

A piece of property west of the South Lawrence Trafficway and Bob Billings Parkway interchange is shown with Lawrence homes in the background on April 30, 2026.

Lawrence leaders next week could take a step toward a major commercial and residential development west of the South Lawrence Trafficway by annexing almost 300 acres into the city limits.

At its meeting Tuesday, the Lawrence City Commission will consider a comprehensive plan amendment, an annexation request and several related rezoning requests for roughly 288 acres southwest of Sixth Street and Kansas Highway 10.

This annexation would be one of the largest in the city’s history. It’s being sought by a development group led by Wichita businessman Phil Bundy, who is planning a mixed-use commercial and residential development called Beacon Landing there.

The requests were considered by the Lawrence-Douglas County Planning Commission at its meeting on July 20, and planning commissioners forwarded them to the City Commission with recommendations that they be approved.

The proposed annexation has been working its way through the local planning process for a while now. The Planning Commission was originally going to consider it in April, but that vote was delayed for a couple of reasons. Part of it was because some landowners decided to pull their property out of the annexation request, shrinking it from 650 acres to the current 288. But it was also because Bundy removed some properties that were farther west, because he believed that would make it easier to win approval from planners.

At one time, Bundy had said the annexation would pave the way for 1,000 to 1,200 single-family homes west of the SLT. However, the annexation as proposed now would have slightly more commercial space than it has residential space.

If the rezoning requests are all approved, 126.7 acres will be zoned for commercial development, 87 acres will be zoned for single-family or duplex development and 23.5 acres will be zoned for high-density apartment development. A 51-acre area would be reserved as open space.

Bundy has expressed confidence that his group will eventually annex the entire 650 acres it originally planned and build all of that single-family housing. And the group does say a large housing project is high on the list of priorities, although this one wouldn’t be a single-family development. In its application materials, the group says “one of the very first projects planned” is a high-density development of “as many as 500 permanently affordable dwelling units.”

For the commercial side of the development, Bundy’s group has said it plans to pursue a STAR Bond district, which is a way to capture local and state sales tax dollars. (That is not up for a vote on Tuesday; it would require a separate approval process.)

The group has previously said it plans a multipurpose arena with up to 5,000 seats and an indoor cycling track, and the most recent application materials say that “a regional sports and entertainment venue” is still part of the concept.

“While it’s early in the overall development process, the (commercial center) district is slated for numerous large primary employers,” the developers wrote in their application.

City staff is recommending that the commission approve the comprehensive plan amendment, the annexation and all of the rezoning requests.

In other business, the commission will:

• Receive an update on the financial stability of the city’s employee healthcare fund.

Staff has raised concerns about the fund’s sustainability throughout the 2027 budget process. As the Journal-World has reported, the proposed 2027 budget includes about $15 million in additional spending on compensation and benefits, and almost half of that, around $7 million, would go toward the city’s contribution to the healthcare fund.

Commissioners will hear about several possible changes to the city’s healthcare plan design, including changes to deductibles and co-pays and adding a high-deductible plan option with a healthcare savings account.

The commission is not expected to take any action on the healthcare fund on Tuesday.

• Continue discussion on the 2027 budget. The commission is expected to discuss its ideas for adjustments to the recommended budget, including a proposal from Vice Mayor Mike Courtney. The budget is scheduled to be adopted roughly a month from now, Sept. 15.

• Consider calling a special meeting for Tuesday, Aug. 25, to receive an update on the Municipal Services and Operations Campus and the Lawrence airport. This meeting would be for informational purposes only, and the commission would take no binding action.

The Lawrence City Commission meets at 5:45 p.m. Tuesday at City Hall, 6 E. Sixth St.