Recently the city staff has received a recommendation from their site consultant to secure a new site for the location of City Hall. The site being recommended is the former Sally Mae site, located on the bluffs near Sixth and Iowa streets. This was a huge surprise to many of us.

Allow me to start with a little history in the development and continued nurturing of downtown Lawrence. I was on the City Commission when the current City Hall opened in 1980. The location of City Hall was a huge controversy, and the public vote was very close, 51% to 49%. City Hall was built where it is today in an attempt to strengthen the area, which was very much industrial. The 600 block of Massachusetts Street was partially blighted as well as the 700 block. The planning theory was that by placing City Hall on this site that it would anchor the north end of Massachusetts Street. It proved correct.

Prior to City Hall being developed, under the visionary City Manager Buford Watson, the city had completely rebuilt Massachusetts Street, which we enjoy today. It was a massive undertaking.

During the 1980s and well into the 1990s many of us fought off a suburban mall that developers wanted to locate at 31st and Iowa. That development would have decimated the central business district, because the proposed mall would have duplicated the exact number of square feet of retail that was located in the downtown. That number was 450,000 square feet. Avoiding this development was fortunate because many of these second-tier malls are now closed.

All of us who worked to stop this mall used every advantage possible in order to succeed. Many other municipal buildings were added to keep downtown strong. The police department was repurposed as the senior center. The city and county shared the newly built law enforcement building, which strengthened the south end of downtown. The county refurbished the Courthouse. A new arts center and, more recently, a new library were built. The downtown churches have been rejuvenated with interior and exterior rehabilitation work completed. Many individuals have invested money in their properties because they saw the city and county demonstrating their support to secure the downtown.

Downtown Lawrence is one of the gems of our community. Visitors flock there when they come to town. We enjoy many nice restaurants with an inviting ambiance to choose from. When visitors compliment me on how nice our downtown is, I thank them and say, “This didn’t just happen all by itself.” It took decades of care and good planning by many individuals.

With all the above history, and I am sure I have not included all the important other building additions, why would we consider the relocation of City Hall to another part of town? I feel it is almost rude to suggest that idea. The proposed site is difficult to get to, lacks visibility and is not too much newer than what we have now.

I understand the need for more space and the fact that the current building has limitations that need to be fixed. I am not married to the current building. That being said there are many sites in the downtown that are ripe for development that would help secure and promote the downtown. To name a few, the Riverfront Mall, the Borders Book Store, the former Journal- World building, the land east of the Reuter Organ building (you could connect to the Reuter building and make a really nice enhancement of that area) or take one of the many city-owned parking lots and develop a new, modern City Hall.

I think the first question that needs to be answered by the City Commission is “Shall City Hall remain in downtown Lawrence”? That is the question that needs to be answered first, and then take the direction they offer. Please continue to support our downtown Lawrence.

— Bob Schumm served 12 years on the Lawrence City Commission and three terms as Lawrence mayor. He is a longtime downtown commercial property owner.