photo by: Chad Lawhorn/Journal-World

This farm field at the northeast corner of Queens Road and Wakarusa Drive is slated for an apartment development.

A developer is asking the city of Lawrence for an incentive to build more than 100 units of housing in northwest Lawrence, and city leaders will consider it next week.

At its meeting on Tuesday, the City Commission will consider the request from Nebraska company MRES Lusso Holdings LLC for $35.3 million of Industrial Revenue Bonds for a sales tax exemption on construction materials.

City staff did not provide many details about the development in its report, other than that it would be a 131-unit multifamily development near the intersection of Wakarusa Drive and Queens Road, and that it would not provide affordable housing. But the Journal-World reported in November 2025 that a development group out of Nebraska called Metonic was looking to build about 125 units of “luxury, class A” apartments or townhomes near Wakarusa and Queens.

As the Journal-World reported, the project was proposed as a townhome development with 10 buildings spread throughout the 10-acre site. Some of the structures would come with attached garages, and Metonic’s president said the townhome units would be significantly larger than many apartment units in the area. Also planned for this development were a pool, a clubhouse and smart home technology.

The Industrial Revenue Bonds that the developer is requesting wouldn’t constitute a debt or financial liability for the city, the report from staff said, and its impact on local sales tax revenues was estimated at about $80,000. Staff noted that the development is not requesting any property tax incentives: “Upon completion, the development would be added to the tax rolls at its full assessed value.”

While city staff said the development doesn’t meet the affordable housing requirements for the city’s economic development policy, it also said the commission “may weigh the limited nature of the requested incentive, the City’s documented housing shortage, findings from the recently completed housing study identifying the need for additional housing production, and the fact that the project would add new taxable value immediately upon completion” in making its decision.

Another item related to Industrial Revenue Bonds is on the agenda, too, this one involving the Q39 restaurant at 639 New Hampshire St. in the former Journal-World printing plant building.

Commissioners already took the key vote on this project’s bonds in 2025, the vote on their intent to issue them. This week’s vote is the final approval for the $3.9 million in bonds, which is normally considered routine.

In other business, the commission will continue discussion of the city’s 2027-2031 Capital Improvement Plan, a list of infrastructure projects the city intends to fund in coming years. The commission gave its initial feedback on the plan at its meeting on May 19.

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