Sixth Street is one of the most populous roads in Lawrence due to the number of businesses that can be found alongside. However, those who travel down the road notice building 1400, located at the intersection of Sixth and Michigan streets, has been vacant for over a year because of problems the owners are having with the location.
Purchased in the spring of 2006, the owners originally planned to open a Church’s Chicken eating establishment by the end of the year. Soon after their purchase, the owners realized there were issues that were needed to be brought up with the city of Lawrence regarding their property’s potential to have a successful business.
“The first issue the owners explained regarded safety of their customers,” Douglas county city commission member Paul Patterson said. “The location has two exits; one onto Michigan and the other onto Sixth Street. If the business were to open without change, then their drive thru lane would turn right into cars entering the lot from Sixth Street.”
The property’s exit onto Sixth Street is not only a safety concern, but also problematic for business says Patterson.
“There is a lack of parking available on the lot,” Patterson said. “In order to have an efficient business the owners are purposing that the particular exit be barricaded so sufficient parking can be made and they can eliminate safety problems.”
While parking and the two exits on the property are of concern, the location still has an issue with size. The lot is a total of 18, 687 square feet, but the property line ends right in middle of where the owners hope to put a drive thru lane. The potential drive thru area, located on the east side of the building is the only location logical for a drive thru, as the west end is desired for parking spaces.
“There is a fifteen foot setback which causes difficulty for a successful business,” the property owners’ business lawyer, Terrence Campbell said. “We were asked to meet a list of requirements given to us by the city of Lawrence, but were unable to meet all the requirements with the fifteen foot setback.”
Campbell and his clients sorted out all of the issues and proposed a variance to the City of Lawrence. However, it took over a month for an answer from the city.
“There were roughly about 15 agencies, such as utilities and parks, that had to give approval to the owners for their variance,” the current City of Lawrence planner of building 1400, Mary Miller said. “It took 21 days to get approval from all agencies and over a month to inform the owners.”
In addition to seeking approval from various agencies in Lawrence, the owners discussed their issues with businesses and home owners around the property.
“There was no opposition from anybody regarding our variance,” one of the property owners, Zarif Haque said. “We developed something that has utility and a nice look to it.”
On March 1, 2007, the property owners were granted the variance they needed to come one step closer to business. The variance grants the owners to go ahead and barricade the sixth street exit on the property and put in their drive thru lane. While the variance gives the owners hope and relief regarding their business future at 6th and Michigan, there still lies a challenge in the future.
“We took a step in the right direction but it’s a work in progress,” Campbell said. “We don’t have a building permit yet because of a series of ordinances we still have yet to meet and work out.”
Campbell believes there is no way to predict when construction on the location would begin, as it all depends on when the building permit is granted to his clients.
“I don’t have an exact date on when construction would begin because we don’t have the permit yet, but I believe my client hopes to start by fall of 2007.”
A lot of planning and work is being done in hopes of having a successful restaurant in the current vacant building. Changes are being made that look to make the property a successful restaurant in the future, but there are still those who doubt any change will do the property any good.
“I don’t think it will work,” a home owner whose house is located directly to the east of building 1400, Jo Barnes said. “I’ve been here 50 years and seen a lot of establishments come in and out of this location.”