By Dominique Sexton, Sierra Club Kansas Wakarusa Group
As reported in our March 2026 Waypoints article, Wichita developer Phil Bundy has sought approval since 2023 for a project on land directly west of the Haskell-Baker wetlands at the junction of US 59 and K10 highways. The most recent iteration of this project has been dubbed “The 1059” (formerly the New Boston Crossing and TEN59). This project was portrayed as an entertainment hub for the City of Lawrence with a multi-use sport complex, potential indoor mini golf, hotels, a tire shop, offices/medical facilities, a gas station, several different fast food/fast casual restaurants and a “Barefoot Trail." Long a central issue for the local Wakarusa Group, this year the the Kansas Chapter endorsed opposition to the proposal.
For his current vision, Bundy's company K10 Development LLC applied for a STAR bond incentive to link The 1059 with its Beacon Landing project on the west side of K10. They claimed that Beacon Landing would provide much needed housing and additional commercial opportunities for Lawrence. The Lawrence City Commission accepted the application on June 9, 2026 to allow evaluation by City staff before further deliberations by the Commission. Even though acceptance of the application did not mean the project would be approved, some citizens already had concerns.
Linkage of these two projects was a strategic move by the developer to avoid the tainted legacy of The 1059. The 1059 version reimagined the unsuccessful New Boston Crossing proposal and was opposed by the Baker University Wetland Discovery Center and the Haskell Indian Nation University Board of Regents (HINU), while Beacon Landing offers new housing, a critical resource in an area the City of Lawrence has targeted for growth.
The 1059 provides the greenwashing for the Environmental Sustainability and Quality of Life Enhancement portion of the tax incentive application, which would funnel two million dollars to HINU and the Haskell Greenhouse. It is not clear whether HINU was consulted about their inclusion in the application, which might be interpreted as a way to forestall HINU opposition to the project. A local newspaper reported that the Mayor suggested the HINU funding to the developer. You can read the application and public comment for yourself.
A key detail in the financial structure of the STAR bond was the inclusion of Costco as the primary source of tax revenue to jump start this proposal. Originally slated for opening on Thanksgiving 2026, Costco bumped up it’s opening date to late October. This caused the City staff to ask the Commission whether the Costco tax revenue should be included in their evaluation of Bundy's Star bond application.This inclusion would mean that all of the the Costco tax revenue would be diverted from the City's general fund and used to pay off Bundy's STAR bond.
On Tuesday, October 13, 2026, the Lawrence City Commission voted unanimously to deny the continued due diligence of the STAR bond’s financial structure. The City would lose tax revenue from Costco for a project that lacked concrete numbers, stable vision, and sufficient detail for the Commission to approve.
Anyone interested in how these processes work should watch the City Commission meeting. This agenda item starts at timestamp 25:30. Keep in mind that this denial does not stop the project - it simply stops one financial vision for the developer. Bundy has stated that STAR bonds are not off the table and he is working with City staff to create a simpler, smaller STAR bond structure. We are not sure when this information will be available for further review.