photo by: Chad Lawhorn/Journal-World

Lawrence real estate agent John Esau has a view of the KU skyline from a fifth-story balcony in the 800 Lofts building on Jan. 8, 2025.

A little more than a year ago, Lawrence real estate agent John Esau was given a tall order — about five stories tall, actually: Convert the five-story 800 Lofts building in downtown Lawrence from an apartment complex to condos.

The owners of the building at Eighth and New Hampshire streets– Lawrence businessmen Doug Compton and Mike Treanor — were interested in whether there were enough people who would buy the 55 living units in the building, thus converting them from traditional apartments to condominiums.

Would people pay more than $200,000 for a one-bedroom living unit? What about in a building that has no garage or dedicated resident parking spaces, but rather requires you to use downtown public parking?

Esau had a hunch they would, and he can now say he was right. After a little more than a year of sales, all but three of the 55 apartments have been sold and converted to condos. He expects the remaining three won’t last much longer.

“I knew there was pent-up demand,” he said. “It just goes along so well with the idea of live, work and play.”

photo by: Chad Lawhorn/Journal-World

The 800 Lofts building near Eighth and New Hampshire streets is pictured on Jan. 8, 2025.

Esau said he thinks as word of the successful conversion spreads, more developers might give thought to new condo projects in downtown. City leaders have long said they want more people living in downtown, partly because residents will create demand for a greater mix of businesses in the district

Apartments, though, have been the more common living option than condos. In the early 2000s, developers built the Hobbs Taylor Lofts at 730 New Hampshire, and decided to make all the living units there condominiums. That was a new idea for downtown Lawrence, but in the years that followed, the next three large residential buildings — the 901 New Hampshire building, the 888 Lofts building and the 800 Lofts building — all came on the market as apartment projects.

Apartments, of course, create new residents in downtown, but condos not only create new residents but also new financial investors in the district.

“I do know a lot of these are purchased with LLCs,” Esau said, referring to an easily formed type of corporation known as a limited liability company. “I think some of them are viewing it as an investment.”

Esau said he didn’t have data on how many of the buyers were living in the units full time, but he said he knew some were. But he said some of the units certainly are used by their owners as short-term rentals — VRBO or Airbnb units — because downtown is an attractive neighborhood for tourists, he said.

Esau said many of the new owners appear to have connections to KU.

“They are spending a lot of time here because their kids are here at school, and hotels are hard to find here on the weekends,” Esau, an agent with KellerWilliams real estate, said. “Plus, there are some KU alums who just want to find a place to come back to. That has been a big seller.”

The change to condos also has the potential to change the age demographic somewhat in downtown because Esau said another popular type of buyer is the west Lawrence resident who wants to downsize from a large suburban-style home but still likes the idea of owning rather than renting.

That idea of a changing age demographic in downtown might be one to keep an eye on. The largest apartment project under construction in Lawrence currently is an approximately 50-unit complex near the intersection of 11th and New Hampshire streets. As we’ve reported, that’s a project by Warehouse Arts District developer Tony Krsnich. That apartment complex specifically is for residents 55 and older who meet certain affordable housing income guidelines. Krsnich has another site in mind for a similar 55-plus project in downtown — basically across the street from the project that is underway — but hasn’t yet finalized that development.

photo by: Chad Lawhorn/Journal-World

The living room of a one-bedroom apartment in the 800 Lofts building is shown on Jan. 8, 2025.

As for the 800 Lofts building, buyers there are choosing from studio, one-bedroom and two-bedroom units. Esau said studio units have been selling for about $175,000, one-bedroom units for about $230,000 and two-bedroom units for nearly $325,000. Like many condos, the condo owner pays for all taxes and maintenance costs that are directly tied to the living unit. However, condo owners also pay a monthly homeowners association fee that pays for costs of shared spaces, like the roof, the lobby and other such areas. Esau said those HOA costs range from $300 to $400 per month, depending on the size of the condo.

While the prices of the condos are likely higher than average on a per-square-foot basis, Esau noted that it is difficult to find any house in Lawrence for $230,000. The question then becomes whether living in a smaller space fits with your life. He said he’s finding there is a growing segment of the home-buying market that is more “minimalist” in nature and would rather spend money on vacations and experiences rather than physical items. For those buyers, the smaller space isn’t a downside.

In terms of parking, Esau said potential buyers often do inquire whether there is a parking garage on the property. However, he said the lack of a garage hasn’t ultimately been a hurdle in most transactions. That may be because the property is located next door to a city-owned surface parking lot that is available for longterm parking with a permit from City Hall for about $240 per year.

The fact that the building doesn’t have a parking garage beneath it — an element that would have added millions of dollars to construction — is one of the reasons there are living units for sale at or near the $200,000 range, he said. One-bedroom units in Hobbs Taylor Lofts, which has a parking garage, often are listed above $350,000, with some luxury units listed for more than $500,000, according to recent online listings.

The 800 Lofts conversion raises the question of whether some developers may be open to trying to make a downtown condo project work without the expensive parking garage. Downtown has a unique zoning category that does not require new buildings to provide off-street parking, given that there is a multitude of public parking in the district.

Esau said developers also may want to consider whether there are available buildings in downtown to renovate into condos rather than building something new from the ground up. The 800 Lofts building was a partial renovation, although several stories were built new above the original ground floor.

Esau said if developers were to decide to build brand new — on one of the city-owned parking lots that the city has opened up for development ideas, for example — they would need to be realistic about the number of people who could afford the units. In a renovated space, the price point likely would allow for a larger group of buyers.

Either way, though, Esau said he thinks there are developers thinking about such ideas.

“I think there are people looking, as we speak, who have new ideas for New Hampshire, Vermont, some of the city parking lots,” he said. “I think creativity and being realistic about the demand will be important, but what I’m encouraged by is that people are embracing and looking at the options. That is healthy for downtown.”