MEMO

 

TO

City Commissioners

County Commissioners

FROM

Lawrence/Douglas County Economic Development Board

 

RE

Recommendations Regarding Future Industrial Parks

DATE

6/3/05

 

CC

Lawrence/Douglas County Economic Development Board

Mike Wildgen, City of Lawrence

Craig Weinaug, Douglas County

Linda Finger, Planning Office

 

 

As per your request, the Lawrence/Douglas County Economic Development Board has met and answered the majority of your questions regarding industrial parks in Douglas County prior to 2012.  The ED Board will meet on June 24 to develop a recommendation for open space development.  The ED Board recommends open space and industrial park projects prior to 2012 are pursued in companion.  This ED Board recommendation regarding Industrial Parks and the upcoming ED Recommendation regarding Open Space are considered part and parcel of the same recommendation, but for practical reasons is presented in components."

 

In completing our task, we analyzed the following:

1)                Current weaknesses in our industrial park inventory

 

a.       Lack of industrial land available located near Interstate 70 – There are currently 249 industrial acres available in Lawrence, with only 31 (or 12%) of the inventory along I-70.   In addition, only 3% of our vacant inventory is located within 1 mile of I-70 as compared to 83% of vacant inventory located along K-10.

b.      Lack of industrial lot sizes over 31 acres –

In 2004, 26% of our prospect acreage requests were for industrial lots over 31 acres.  Currently there are only 2 lots available over 31 acres.  There are no industrial lots available over 100 acres, which represented 13% of our requests in 2004.

 

 

 

c.       Current absorption rate of industrial land of lots fewer than 10 acres will result in complete absorption of land by 2012 –

15-20 acres of industrial land is absorbed each year.  With 162 acres available that can provide less than 10 acre lots, our inventory will be completely depleted in 8 years.  In addition, since industrial parks can take 3-5 years to prepare, it is likely that Douglas County will be complete depleted of land by 2012 at the latest.

d.      Only one industrial park in Douglas County has stringent restrictions and covenants of tenants.

Douglas County typically competes with Johnson County and surrounding areas that have industrial parks with stringent guidelines.   Once East Hills Business Park is full, there will be a major void in our inventory.

 

2)                  ECO2 Industrial Park Program Report 

 

a.       Reviewed six industrial areas near Lawrence that were identified by ECO2 and Douglas County Planning Office.  Those include:

1.                  Lawrence Airport – 300 acres

2.                  Midland Junction – 380 acres

3.                  Farmland – 280 acres

4.                  Southeast Area – 187 and 680 acres

5.                  6th Street and South Lawrence Traffic way – 200 acres

6.                  I-70 and Lecompton Interchange – 320 acres

b.      Discussed the following criteria for each area:

1.                  Transportation access

2.                  Amount of acreage

3.                  Average slope

4.                  Extraordinary costs to extend infrastructure

5.                  Inclusion in existing or regional plan (UGA, Transportation 2025, etc)

6.                  Number of property owners

 

 

After much discussion, the Board unanimously approved to recommend two industrial parks be developed before 2012.  The Board agreed that an industrial park located near I-70 and K-10 is essential for the attraction of new companies and expansion of existing businesses.  By providing a variety of industrial parks with regard to size of lots, location, aesthetics allowed; we will have a more complete inventory to meet the needs of business growth.  The following are the two areas recommended for consideration for industrial parks, which should be pursued simultaneously.

 

1)    Area near the Lawrence Municipal Airport

The Board recommends a 300 acre park near the airport that can provide some larger tract sizes (some 31 acres and above lots).  This area is located close to I-70, is already included in existing plans for infrastructure extension, is located in the Urban Growth Area and already has some infrastructure in the area.  This land will require extension of sewer, which is estimated at over $2,000,000, or an alternative on-site lagoon may be developed.   This land will also be located near the Lawrence Municipal Airport, which may provide an added benefit to businesses.

 

2)    Farmland Industries Area Contiguous to East Hills Business Park

a.       The Board recommends redevelopment of the 467 acre Farmland Industries area that will provide 284 useable acres for industrial park use.  This land has an average slope of 5%, is already included in existing plans for infrastructure, has fewer than 4 property owners and is contiguous to East Hills Business Park, therefore providing consistent use within the area.  In addition, the Board contends that the community has an obligation to redevelop the area as it is a gateway to our community.  This area will require environmental clean up, which some of the costs may be covered by Kansas Department of Health and Environment.  In addition, this area will require an estimated $13,500,000 to develop the entire area with infrastructure at one time, or the infrastructure could be developed in 5 phases which is estimated to cost $18,000,000.

The Board recommends 1-10 acre lot sizes for this area based upon the topography of the land and history of industrial land consumption in that area.

b.      The Board also discussed the proposed Southeast Area plan located at K-10 and Franklin Road.  The average slope for this area is 5%, infrastructure extensions are already included in existing plans, and there are over 10 property owners for the 187 acre industrial area.  The Board recommends that the portion of the area that is within the Horizon 2020 for industrial would be the second priority of the K-10 area.

 

On June 24th, the ED Board will meet again to discuss potential open space projects and open space components to each of the industrial areas. 

 

The questions that the ED Board has not answered are infrastructure issues and an implementation plan for the two industrial areas mentioned above.  We request that the City and County Commissions approve the identified industrial areas before we begin development the implementation plans.

 

We have scheduled a meeting in June (24th) and July (25th) to begin working on those tasks.  Please provide guidance as to the information above prior to our next meeting.

 

THE ED Board will meet on June 24 to develop a recommendation for open space.  The ED Board recommends projects prior to 2012 are pursued in companion, industrial parks and open space.  This ED Board recommendation regarding Industrial Parks and the upcoming ED Recommendation regarding Open Space are considered part and parcel of the same recommendation, but for practical reasons are presented in components."