The Historic Resources Commission on July 17 issued a certificate of approval for demolition of the structure at 1420 Crescent Road, which lies in the context area of the Chi Omega House, after KU Endowment told commissioners it has funding and a design team in place and intends to proceed quickly to remove the existing building.

Staff noted the property has been altered repeatedly and that the primary facade and much of the interior historic fabric have been significantly changed by previous rehabilitations. "Even though it does have significant history ... it has lost a lot of its integrity, particularly on the interior and then, of course, on that main facade," Lynn Braddock Zollner said.

Monte Soakup, representing KU Endowment Association, told the commission the organization has hired PGAV Architects and has raised more than $10 million for the project. He said the endowment is prepared to proceed with demolition as soon as approval is granted and estimated the design process would run six to eight months, with permitting and construction to follow; he estimated construction could begin sometime in 2026. "We literally would could potentially start on Monday or Tuesday of next week as soon as we get the site fenced," Soakup said when describing the demolition timeline.

Soakup said the plan is to remove the structure and leave the sidewalk and pedestrian areas intact behind fences; some existing surface parking to the north of the site might remain short-term while the design proceeds. The endowment said the new building will house an entrepreneurship hub affiliated with the University of Kansas; the school of business and other university programs are stakeholders in the project, Soakup added.

Commissioners acknowledged approving demolition without an already-submitted replacement design is uncommon, but several members said safety, traffic and timing with the campus calendar supported an expedited demolition. "It's uncommon for this board to approve demolitions without reviewing a design ... this isn't a precedent for other projects," Commissioner Stan Hearnley said; the commission stressed it expects to review replacement designs in subsequent proceedings.

Action: The commission voted to issue the certificate of approval for demolition, finding the structure has lost integrity and that expedited demolition is warranted; the motion passed in a roll-call vote (4-0 among participating commissioners). The commission also emphasized to staff and the applicant that replacement designs will return for normal review.

Provenance: Staff presentation and KU Endowment representative remarks appear in the public hearing transcript; the commission's motion and roll-call vote are recorded in the meeting minutes.