photo by: Chad Lawhorn/Journal-World

The US Bank Tower at Ninth and Massachusetts streets is pictured on Sept. 4, 2025.

Downtown Lawrence’s tallest office building may soon have a new owner. A big “for sale” sign recently went up on the US Bank Tower building at the southeast corner of Ninth and Massachusetts streets.

As the name implies, US Bank is a major occupant of the building, with its Lawrence headquarters located on the first floor. However, there are four floors above that, and they have a number of smaller, professional offices, including the offices for the Stevens & Brand law firm and the Douglas County Community Foundation, among others.

US Bank, however, doesn’t appear to own the building. A Minnesota-based limited liability company is listed as the owner, and the tax bills are sent to a lakefront home in that state, according Douglas County property records.

In total, the building is a little more than 60,000-square feet, according to an online real estate listing for the property. But, it probably could be expanded to be a lot bigger than that. Only about half the property is consumed by the five-story building. On the other half of the lot, the building is only one-story tall.

Local real estate broker Allison Vance Moore with Colliers is the listing agent on the property. She said she is “fielding a lot of interest” in the property, and pointed me to an online real estate listing that highlights how the property could be redeveloped into something quite different than what it is today.

“Prime infill site in a walkable, amenity-rich corridor ideal for adaptive reuse or mixed-use transformation,” the online listing reads.

The listing also touts an “open redevelopment zoning framework,” and local regulations that could allow for “rooftop activation.” The listing specifically mentions the property might be suitable for a hotel, retail, and apartment uses, in addition to upscale offices.

One other potential idea: Lawrence City Hall.

No, the brochure doesn’t mention that possibility, but it literally was the first idea mentioned when a local resident alerted me to the building being put on the market.

As we have reported, city leaders are actively looking for a new location for Lawrence City Hall, as concerns grow that the existing City Hall at Sixth and Massachusetts streets is no longer large enough to meet the city’s needs.

Longtime residents probably remember that when the Bank Tower building was constructed in 1970, Lawrence City Hall was one of its first tenants.

At 63,912 square feet, the Bank Tower is significantly larger than the existing City Hall. Architects last year said the city had about 35,000 square feet of usable space at the current City Hall. The Bank Tower seemingly fits the size that city officials have said is needed to meet the city’s needs. City commissioners were told by architects in September 2024 that about 50,000 square feet of space was needed to adequately meet city employee needs.

Having some room for future expansion also would be good, commissioners were told. That might make the question of whether expansion on the Bank Tower lot is feasible a key one. For instance, could you build another five-story tower next to the existing one?

You may remember commissioners were asked to approve the purchase of the former Sallie Mae call center building at 2000 Bluffs Drive to convert into a new Lawrence City Hall. Commissioners, however, rejected that idea, in part, because of opposition to moving City Hall out of downtown.

The Bank Tower property easily solves that objection. At Ninth and Mass, it is basically in the center of downtown. But, a lot is unknown about whether the property would really meet the city’s needs.

photo by: Chad Lawhorn/Journal-World

The US Bank Tower at Ninth and Massachusetts streets is pictured on Sept. 4, 2025.

For one thing, the online brochure I’ve seen doesn’t list an asking price for the property. Commissioners were prepared to spend about $16 million to buy and refurbish the property at 2000 Bluffs Drive last year, we reported at the time. Whether that amount of money would be adequate to purchase and refurbish this property is beyond my expertise. It is worth noting that real estate prices in downtown have been all over the board, depending on the property, its condition and when it sold. According to a brochure prepared by Colliers, the nearly 50,000-square-foot building that formerly housed Borders bookstore sold for $10.6 million in 2017 while the 51,000 square foot Allen Press property near 11th and Mass. sold for $6.4 million in 2023.

The county appraiser has the land and building valued at $3 million, according to county records.

How soon the property could be vacated for City Hall use might be another question. Several businesses have leases for space in the property. How long those leases are set to last wasn’t clear from the material I saw. However, the brochure also made clear there is quite a bit of space in the building that is currently vacant.

The brochure lists there is a little more than 40,000 square feet of vacant, usable space in the building currently. That already exceeds the amount of space the current City Hall has. About 25,000 square feet of additional space would become available when existing leases expire.

The biggest question, though, might be whether Lawrence City Hall is the highest and best use for the property? In other words, the city might have significant competition from developers who believe the property could be turned into something more significant in the center of downtown.

The brochure by Colliers leans heavily into that idea, especially the idea of turning the building into upscale living space.

“Located within a highly walkable district, directly adjacent to public parking and surrounded by restaurants, transit and cultural amenities, the property is ideally positioned for modern urban living,” the brochure states.

If indeed, the property can be turned into a substantial amount of new living for the downtown district, city leaders might actually see that type of development as more beneficial to downtown than a new City Hall.