photo by: Nick Krug

A new city-owned, $5.4 million parking garage could be part of the plans for a proposed downtown grocery store and apartment building.

At its work session Tuesday, the Lawrence City Commission will review and provide input on updated plans for the grocery store project, including changes to the developer’s parking plan and economic incentives request.

Plans for the project call for constructing a mixed-use building on the site of the former Borders building, 700 New Hampshire St., with a Price Chopper grocery store on the ground level and about 70 apartments above. Last year, the development group, led by Lawrence businessman Mike Treanor, requested a tax increment financing district, sales tax exemption on construction materials and a $2.25 million loan from the city to help complete the project.

The developer is no longer requesting the loan, but has requested that the financing district be expanded and a portion of the proceeds used to help fund the construction of a city-owned parking garage that would also have spots reserved to serve the building, according to a city staff memo to the commission. Developers are proposing the building’s underground parking garage be only one level and that the city build a parking garage on the west side of New Hampshire Street, which is the site of an existing city-owned surface parking lot and would be across the street from the grocery store project.

The developer’s estimated cost of the garage is $5.4 million. The memo states the grocery store project will likely be able to contribute approximately $2 million in revenue toward the parking garage over the 20-year life of the financing district.

The city previously requested that the developer expand the capacity of the building’s underground parking garage to serve the grocery patrons and residents. The memo notes that a city-owned off-site parking garage would expand the number of public spaces available in the area of the project by about 300 spaces.

City funding for a new parking garage is not included in the city’s proposed capital improvement plan. The memo states that the city may wish to explore the most advantageous location for a garage as well as opportunities for additional amenities that may be identified during the upcoming downtown master plan process.

The City Commission will convene at 5:45 p.m. Tuesday at City Hall, 6 E. Sixth St.