photo by: Chad Lawhorn/Journal-World

The former Borders bookstore building at Seventh and New Hampshire streets in downtown Lawrence is pictured on June 23, 2026.

News and notes from around town:

• It has been my experience that an overly-stuffed closet can create several things: delays in the morning wardrobe selection, grumblings from your housemates, and the occasional avalanche that leaves you temporarily trapped under 1980s memorabilia that almost certainly will fund your retirement (despite what the grumblers say.)

If that stuffed closet is in downtown Lawrence, though, it actually might help create something else — a change in Lawrence’s development code. Lawrence-Douglas County planning commissioners recently recommended that self-storage units be allowed to locate in downtown. Part of the reasoning was that more people are living in downtown, and as developers try to hold down the cost of housing, cutting back on closet space may be one cost-savings strategy.

“My friends who live in Hobbs-Taylor are lined up and ready to rent space,” Lawrence architect Paul Werner told planning commissioners, referencing the Hobbs-Taylor Lofts condo development in downtown.

As I reported last week, a plan has emerged to convert the former Borders bookstore building at Seventh and New Hampshire streets into an indoor, climate-controlled, self-storage facility. The Borders building has been vacant for 15 years, and owner Adam Williams said he would like to explore the feasibility of converting the building into a storage facility.

However, downtown’s zoning codes don’t currently permit such a use. Last week’s meeting of the Planning Commission was the first step in changing those codes. Lawrence city commissioners will have the final say on whether the codes should be changed, but planning commissioners unanimously agreed to recommend a change. But commissioners did so with a caveat: The city should maintain the ability to be picky about where a storage facility could locate in downtown.

Planning commissioners recommended that the code be changed so that indoor storage facilities could locate in the downtown district, if the facility received a special use permit from the City Commission. That’s different than what originally was proposed. Planning commissioners were being asked to recommend a code change that would allow storage facilities to be built on any property that had downtown district zoning, as long as the site met a few provisions. Such a development, under that scenario, would not have required any public hearing before approval.

Planning commissioners rejected that idea as being too fraught for the special fabric of downtown Lawrence. The proposed code change now would require that any downtown storage facility win a vote of the City Commission. Under that process, city commissioners have wide latitude to deny a project if they think the location isn’t a good fit.

City commissioners are expected to consider the proposed code change in the next few weeks. If approved, though, that doesn’t mean the Borders building is on its way to becoming an indoor storage facility. Rather, the project would now have a mechanism to apply for approval.

Williams told me last week that he hasn’t made any final decision on whether to pursue the storage unit idea. He would still like to find an office user or other type of traditional tenant to occupy the large building. But he said the storage facility merits consideration. Williams — ike his architect, Werner — said he too has heard from people who live downtown and have storage needs. He also knows of retail shop owners in downtown who are renting storage units outside of downtown to store extra merchandise because there aren’t options available downtown.

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Lawrence’s development code has changed a lot in recent years, with one of the more notable changes being it is easier to build a multi-story building that combines apartments and commercial space. And, such buildings aren’t limited to just the downtown area.

If you happen to frequent the college bar district near 14th and Ohio streets — the area housing The Wheel, The Hawk, The Bull — you can see the idea in action, as a few such buildings have been constructed.

Soon, you may see it in a different type of locale: Right next to the Lawrence Country Club golf course.

Plans have been filed for a new three story building that will house a mix of living units, office space and a golf training facility to be built on a vacant lot at 501 Rockledge Road. If you are having a hard time picturing that location, it is a little triangle-shaped, piece of ground just north and west of where Rockledge Road branches off from McDonald Drive. Directly behind the property is the LCC golf course. If you are familiar with the course, the piece of property is right behind the No. 8 green.

Werner — who is the owner of Lawrence-based Paul Werner Architects — owns the property and is the developer behind the project. The plans filed at City Hall call for the three-story building to have five one-bedroom apartments and three two-bedroom apartments. The apartments would occupy about three quarters of the building. The remaining space, about 3,500 square feet, would be for an unidentified office user and a golf training facility.

“The bottom floor is essentially a walkout basement,” Werner told me. “It is basically a perfect fit for a couple of golf simulators. I’ll work with a couple of guys to have them teach lessons out there.”

The project has its necessary zoning in place, and now is seeking site plan approval, which can be done by planning staff. Werner said he hopes to have the project completed by mid-to-late 2027.

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Just up the road there are plans for a significantly larger apartment development. Unlike Werner’s project, it is a bit too far away to be called golf course living, but you might be able to see the course from there. The project is slated to be atop one of Lawrence’s more distinctive hills.

The project is dubbed The Bluffs and is a redevelopment of what some people may remember as the former Sallie Mae campus, which used to house large customer service centers for federal student loan programs. The site is basically at the northeast corner of the interchange where Sixth Street, Iowa Street and McDonald Drive converge.

We’ve reported that Lawrence businessman Doug Compton is working to redevelop the property, and that demolition of the buildings took place a few months ago. Now, the plans at City Hall show details on the proposed apartment development at the site.

The site plan calls for 131 apartments spread across five buildings on the site, with a few of the buildings being as tall as four-stories with rooftop decks. Plans also call for a clubhouse with pool. The plans indicated that the development will start by building two apartment buildings housing 61 units. The remaining three apartment buildings are slated for a later phase.