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Commission sends large Mississippi Street infill to ARC, asks building code review be included
Summary
A proposed four‑story single‑family infill with an underground garage at 1218 Mississippi St. was referred Aug. 21 to the Architectural Review Committee; staff asked that a building‑code reviewer participate due to the project’s unusual scale and likely code implications.
The Lawrence Historic Resources Commission on Aug. 21 referred a proposed infill project at 1218 Mississippi St. (HRC‑25‑0020) to the Architectural Review Committee (ARC), and requested that a plans reviewer from Building/Code join the ARC review. Staff (Historic Resources Administrator Lynn Braddock Zollner) and the applicant’s architect presented a contemporary design intended to transition between the 50‑foot Mississippi Street parking garage to the south and the smaller historic homes in the Hancock Historic District to the north. The proposal places a below‑grade five‑car parking garage accessed from Mississippi Street with three full stories and a penthouse above, exterior stone columns and a rooftop deck. The plans include retaining walls and show substantial grade changes across the lot. “While there are design details that help it blend, overall height when viewed from Mississippi Street and a large fourth‑floor deck do not meet some of the Oread design guidelines and Chapter 22 standards,” staff said, noting that the site partially lies within the National Register district and that staff is pursuing a boundary change to match the current platted lot. Staff recommended ARC review to address specific guideline exceptions and potential building code changes. Architect Jared Hoke described the design intent as a transition bridging the scale of the university parking garage and the residential fabric and said the design draws elements from nearby Italianate and modern structures. Commissioners discussed the rooftop deck, roof form options (parapet vs. glass rail), tree and landscape screening, and the need to coordinate with code reviewers to avoid repeated redesigns during permitting. Motion and vote: The commission voted 6–0 to send the project to ARC and requested that building code/plans‑review staff participate in the ARC review process so code and design issues could be addressed concurrently.
