Thursday, August 16, 2007
Breathing room was the only thing in short supply at The Crossing Tuesday night. Students packed every square inch inside the barroom and on the outside porch.
Crowded nights like that occur regularly at The Crossing. And despite a proposal to build a hotel at 12th and Indiana on The Crossing’s land, manager Phil Mears said the bar had four years remaining on its lease and the patron-packed nights would continue.
“We don’t have any future plans other than what we know,” Mears said. “We fully anticipate being open for the entire school year and next.”
The Crossing, along with Beat the Bookstore and the recently closed Yello Sub, could be demolished to make room for Eldridge on the Hill, a hotel proposed by developer Gene Fritzel Construction and designer Paul Werner Architects. The group submitted an application to City Hall in July. The proposal will likely be up for a public hearing in September.
The Crossing, Eldridge on the Hill is not.
The seven-story, brick and stone structure would include five floors of hotel rooms and two floors for extended stays. A restaurant and bar would be on the first floor.
The proposed design also calls for a traffic circle between the current site of The Crossing and the Docking Family Gateway north of the Kansas Union. It would be similar to the circle around the Chi Omega fountain.
Mears said none of three people behind the project, Thomas Fritzel, Paul Werner and Robert Patroff, owner of The Crossing’s land, had spoken with him or Dave Boulter, The Crossing’s owner.
He said The Crossing re-negotiated a five-year lease with Patroff last year. Mears said the only way the developers could demolish the bar was if they bought it out through an option in the lease.
Beat the Bookstore is another business that would be demolished if the proposal passes. The store, which has been open since May, is one of 27 franchises across the country that specialize in buying and selling used books.
Dan Keating, co-owner, said that since its opening, his store has been more successful at buying back books than any other franchise. That success makes the possible demolition harder to face.
“We really like this location,” Keating said, “but if we have to go, we have to go. We’d still like to find a new place in town somewhere.”
They will only need to do that if the proposal passes, which may not happen easily. Two factors are necessary for it to pass: compliance with historic zones and approval from the Oread Neighborhood Association.
The proposed structure would be surrounded by the Oread and Hancock Historic Districts. Werner said the Eldridge on the Hill plan called for a facade similar to houses in the area and renovation of the nearby Oread Apartments. The developers hope those steps will solidify the proposal’s chances for approval. They might not be enough.
A proposal last year for condominiums at the same location failed, largely because the high-rise structure did not meet historical standards. Despite Eldridge on the Hill’s designers’ steps to historicize it, the hotel’s large size is similar to that of the failed condominiums.
“This new building might not fare any better,” said Sandra Day, Lawrence city planner. “It could still ultimately have a recommendation for denial.”
But Eldridge on the Hill does have neighborhood support. Day and Werner said that, unlike last year’s failed proposal, the Oread Neighborhood Association endorsed this new structure.
The developers are unlikely to please students though. Although Beat the Bookstore is a new business, The Crossing has been a popular hangout of students for years. Diana Hall, Horton senior, said she would miss the bar if it were demolished.
“The Crossing is all about tradition,” she said. “It’s part of the KU experience. When I’m here, it’s like I’m in my hometown.”
—Edited by Tara Smith
Corrections: Nov. 29, 2007
Correction to the Crossing closing date
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