Ames City Council took the first step Tuesday in the planning process for the Campustown Revitalization Project by selecting the Lane4 developing company as the master developer.

Lane4 Director of Development Hunter Harris and contact lawyer Korb Maxwell were present at the meeting to give the City Council a rough idea of how the redevelopment could look when finished by displaying some of the group’s previous endeavors. Lane4 has developed other campus town-type sites, including an area near the University of Kansas medical center.

“We feel this area is under-retailed and in need of revitalization,” Harris said of Campustown on Tuesday.

Harris said Lane4 has developed the first phase of the market research study to determine the demands for retail, lodging, housing and office space in Campustown.

“This is the university’s and the city’s process,” Harris said. “We’re here to be facilitators.”

The City Council will negotiate a master development agreement for Lane4 to ensure the developing company that the city will not consider proposals from other companies. Lane4 will have 180 days to work on the project before the developer reports back to the City Council.

Of those 180 days, Lane4 will take 90 to hear input from various Campustown constituents and will begin work on the plan following that time period.

City Manager Steve Schainker said the project has only just begun, and there has yet to be any sort of plan put into place. After Lane4 reports back to the City Council, the city will potentially make negotiations with the developer to proceed.

Harris said there has been some market research done in the area. Along with this research, the developer will host a series of workshops to get input from the community. Lane4 will need to receive input from a number of different entities impacted by the Campustown area, including businesses, students, the university, the historical preservation society and Campustown residents, among others. Harris said he hopes to hear these constituencies’ reactions as they move forward.

“We want this to be an open door process,” Harris said.

However, Ames business owners have expressed concerns about the implications of the project.

Rob Josephson, owner of Mayhem Comics and Collectibles, 2532 Lincoln Way, said he felt the city has kept Ames business owners in the dark thus far in the redevelopment process. He said that business owners should have been part of the process “from the get-go.”

“We’re not sure about our future in Campustown,” Josephson said.

Cathy Brown, program manager for facilities, planning and management and member of the Campustown Redevelopment Committee, said she appreciates the business owners concerns about being involved.

“The project has not progressed to the level of detail to understand how individual business and properties will be impacted by potential development,” Brown said.

She said that for request for qualifications process to determine criteria for a developer began in October and was presented to City Council.