photo by: Chad Lawhorn/Journal-World

Markings of recent trail maintenance at Rock Chalk Park are pictured on May 8, 2026.

I can’t seem to get Costco off my mind.

The thoughts are about $80 million deep. As I wrote last week, that’s a conservative estimate of how much money the store — which opens in northwest Lawrence on Oct. 29 — will send to the state of Kansas in sales tax dollars over the next 20 years. That’s also the amount of money the city of Lawrence could potentially capture for local projects if it would take the step of creating a STAR bond district that includes the Costco store.

But what local project? And why bother? The second question is easy to answer. It’s $80 million of money that the city won’t get its hands on otherwise. The first question also is pretty easy: The city has more wants that wallet. Take housing, for example. The city is convinced we need more of it, has identified the area west of the South Lawrence Trafficway as a spot for it, but needs tens of millions of dollars of infrastructure before it can happen.

So, what project? An entity seeking to develop west of the SLT has proposed many — a bicycle racing arena, an RV park, a flight school, an indoor soccer complex and more. None of those flew with the public. Call it an $80 million Hail Mary, but I’ll throw out one more.

Trails.

Lawrence loves trails. People here love to walk on them, jog on them, bike on them. The biggest complaint the community has about trails is that City Hall hasn’t yet figured out how to build a loop trail around the city.

Why don’t we use the $80 million from Costco to finish that loop trail AND build the needed infrastructure west of the SLT that will open the area to new housing development? Lawrence conceivably could be healthier both physically and financially with such a plan.

Let’s take a look at how it would work. First, remember the goal: We are trying to come up with a tourism project that is substantial enough to qualify for the state’s STAR bond program, but we don’t want a tourism project so elaborate that it sucks up all the money. We want plenty of money available to install housing infrastructure. That’s the sweet spot we are looking to hit.

To hit that spot, the city would do the following:

• Create a STAR bond district that includes the area west of the SLT, the Costco site, the lots next to the Costco store that are expected to develop with new retail uses, and the entire trail system in Rock Chalk Park, which is next door to Costco. Additionally, the district would include a ribbon of land between Rock Chalk Park and the Kasold Drive area, where the city hopes to build a key section of the Lawrence Loop trail.

• Use STAR bond money to build the missing piece of the Lawrence Loop trail. Using STAR bond money for that $5 million section would free up local dollars to complete the other, smaller unbuilt sections of the Loop. As a bonus, you could also use STAR bond money to make improvements to the existing trails at Rock Chalk Park, and to create a safe, convenient SLT crossing for hikers/bikers.

• Find a developer interested in building a new adventure-themed hotel on the property west of the SLT. Pick a site far enough west that it will need a long road and sewer line, both of which could be used to serve future homes. Pick a site that needs a new sewage pump station and water tower, both of which could be used to serve future homes. Use STAR bond money to build that infrastructure. Basically, locate this project on the far edge of where you expect city development to be in 15 to 20 years. Such a location would provide the city with more than a decade’s worth of needed residential infrastructure.

The tourism pitch to the state would be straightforward. We already have a robust trail network, and the STAR bond project would expand it and improve it. A themed hotel that would employ guides, rent bikes and gear, organize day trips to the Flint Hills and other Kansas wonders, would be a tangible way to bring dollars into the state’s economy. The location is logical. It is between two of the area’s biggest trail networks — Rock Chalk Park and Clinton Lake.

It also happens to have — right in the middle of it — a Costco that can pay for nearly all of it.

Of course, there is no guarantee the state would approve such a STAR bond deal. But there’s a real chance it might. The state approves a lot. (There is a dinosaur park in Derby?) Lawrence should at least ask. If it is committed to building houses west of the SLT, if it is committed to building a Loop trail, I’m not sure what it has to lose.

I’m sure it has much to gain, and it goes far beyond new homes and new trails. It could gain a new vision for how growth and development can happen in Lawrence. At last week’s meeting, City Commissioner Amber Sellers made a simple but important statement. She said Lawrence growth should create a community benefit that “leans on the vibe and culture of Lawrence” rather than one that tries to “shoehorn” its way into the community.

I think that is a true statement but a faulty map. Lawrence has proven time and again that development discussions lead us down a path of disagreement over what Lawrence needs and what it should become.

At some point, we really need to find our way. A community with as many wants as Lawrence is going to face an incredible tax bill if we become a place that builds about 50 homes a year and has a stagnant population.

We need a trailblazer, and perhaps they are sitting in City Hall right now.