MIDDLE MARKET HIGHLIGHT, FEBRUARY 2007

Lawrence, Kansas
Dan Marcec

The city of Lawrence, home to the University of Kansas, is relatively well-rounded when it comes to commercial real estate. Along with the university, businesses utilizing both office and light manufacturing space tend to dominate the commercial arena, but there is not a monopoly on any specific kind of business contributing to the diversity of the city. For example, Lawrence’s largest private company is a call center, which takes only government contracts through inbound calling. Some industrial companies of consequence include a garage door manufacturer, Del Monte foods and a plastic cup manufacturer.

However, despite a healthy climate in these areas, the chamber of commerce currently is seeking to bring in more business in the bioscience sector, ideally taking advantage of the university’s research capabilities.

“We work to attract business in all areas, but biosciences is one of the industries we’d like to see flourish here because we feel like we have several assets in that area — one being the University of Kansas and its top rated pharmacy school right at our doorstep,” says Beth Johnson, vice president of economic development for Lawrence Chamber of Commerce. “The university undertakes a tremendous amount of research, and some of that could lead to small business startups.”

Thus, the Chamber continues to make progress toward taking better advantage of research at the university and is targeting possible companies that would fit into the business climate in Lawrence. In essence, the Chamber is attempting to be a go-between for the university and outside companies in order to highlight the advantages of a bioscience community in the city. When companies are ready to move their business to Lawrence, the Chamber’s role is to help them develop their opportunities within the market. At the current time, there is not a location where companies can come in to an already-functioning infrastructure, but an agreement is underway to provide such a facility.

The proposed agreement would allow an option for the Kansas Bioscience Authority (KBA) to purchase the speculative commercial building in the East Hills Business Park, located at 3813 Greenway Drive. The development is a collaboration between the state of Kansas, the city of Lawrence, Douglas County, the Lawrence-Douglas County Biosciences Authority Inc., the University of Kansas, Douglas County Development Inc., and the Lawrence Chamber of Commerce in the form of a commitment to bioscience advancement.

“To have a facility to market as an incubator-type space would be advantageous to building a bioscience community in Lawrence,” Johnson says. “It is expensive to have one’s own facility, and with this new facility we could link new companies up with our partners for basic business resource needs in a place where small businesses can come in and grow without having to worry about setting up individual infrastructures.”

The project would include a commitment to renovating and equipping the building for use as a bioscience facility, including wet lab space. As a result, economic development specifically focused in the bioscience area would have a better point of attraction.

In general, the east side of Lawrence along the K-10 corridor and areas in West Lawrence are where new growth is centered. One major development is the Farmland Industries property, a piece of land that the city and county have been in discussions to purchase. In addition, Great American Insurance recently signed a large lease in West Lawrence, which should help attract higher-end companies into the city’s newer office space.

“One of our focuses for 2007 is looking at the possibilities for obtaining back-office space and larger employment-type centers; we want to focus on bioscience as well, and I see us more involved with that sector, making a push to attract businesses here to tap into resources we already have locally,” Johnson says. “To develop relationships with new companies is the most important thing; we have lots of local contacts we feel can help us with outside businesses, and the plan is to show how we can make our community the most competitive.”



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