The first 'pillar' goes before the council
The first of 10 pillars proposed by the 2015 Vision group was being edged into place Monday when the City Council approved plans to convert a Haymarket District block into an Arts & Humanities Center.
It’s not a done deal by any means, but the council’s approval was a step toward converting the block bounded by R, S, Eighth and Ninth streets into a collection of art galleries, performance spaces, specialty shops and condominiums.
Not only would the block get an extreme makeover, but the plans envision a new north entrance to the Haymarket District being created at Ninth Street.
The block is now occupied by the former Central Plains Millwork (which is already being privately renovated), two University of Nebraska Press book warehouses and the offices of the Nebraska Press Association and Nebraska Press Advertising Service.
All of the buildings would have to be extensively renovated, except for the university press’s Bison Books warehouse at 800 R St., which would be demolished.
Legislation approved by the council envisions converting the brick University Press building at Ninth and R into a satellite of the Sheldon Memorial Art Gallery.
The Bison Books warehouse to the west would be torn down and replaced with an up to five-story building with about 40 condos, parking and first-floor commercial space.
The Nebraska Press Association building and parking lots would become a sculpture garden and other arts-related areas.
In a statement to the Lincoln City Council, UNL Chancellor Harvey Perlman expressed support for the project, saying the Bison Books building is “relatively non-descript and, in my judgment, adds little to the environment of the Haymarket.”
But he called the University Press building on the east end of the block a “wonderful red brick, two-story warehouse” whose open space and high ceilings could be ideal for displaying art. He suggested the first floor could be used for poetry readings, small musical performances and writing clinics.
But he said development of the rest of the block would probably be necessary for the university to proceed.
“We would not want to be the sole pioneer in an area and then have to wait for additional development to take place,” he said in a statement to the council.
The downtown area was declared blighted in 1984, making the block eligible for tax increment financing. It’s expected to cost an estimated $17.2 million to redevelop the block. The increased value would be used to leverage $1.2 million in tax increment financing, an urban renewal financing tool that diverts the increased property tax revenue back into the project, usually through public improvements.
According to city documents, the TIF could be used to buy property, demolish it, prepare the site and spruce up the surrounding area.
The block now generates about $19,000 in property taxes annually, and while those property taxes will continue to be paid at that level, additional property tax revenue generated by the revitalization would be used to make payments on a bond that will help fund the project.
The Nebraska Press Association’s executive director, Allen Beermann, was not at the council meeting but said his association has had about a half dozen briefings on the Arts & Humanities plan since August, with another scheduled next week.
If the plan goes through, he assumes his building would have to be bought by the city or university and then demolished.
“We want to be good neighbors,” he said. “We’re interested in having a nice entryway to the city too… but we have to protect our association, our members. We have a big investment in this.”
The formerly Central Plains Millworks, a shop for sawing and milling lumber on the corner of Eighth and S, is already being converted into an office and retail building called The Sawmill Building by WRK, a development firm headed by brothers Will and Robert Scott.
“It’ll probably be one of the nicer buildings in town,” Robert Scott told the council. “We’re very excited about what’s going to be happening on this block.”
The city will now invite developers to submit their redevelopment proposals. Once developers are chosen to do the projects, their plans will go back to the council for approval.
Reach Deena Winter at 473-2642 or dwinter@journalstar.com.
It’s not a done deal by any means, but the council’s approval was a step toward converting the block bounded by R, S, Eighth and Ninth streets into a collection of art galleries, performance spaces, specialty shops and condominiums.
Not only would the block get an extreme makeover, but the plans envision a new north entrance to the Haymarket District being created at Ninth Street.
The block is now occupied by the former Central Plains Millwork (which is already being privately renovated), two University of Nebraska Press book warehouses and the offices of the Nebraska Press Association and Nebraska Press Advertising Service.
All of the buildings would have to be extensively renovated, except for the university press’s Bison Books warehouse at 800 R St., which would be demolished.
Legislation approved by the council envisions converting the brick University Press building at Ninth and R into a satellite of the Sheldon Memorial Art Gallery.
The Bison Books warehouse to the west would be torn down and replaced with an up to five-story building with about 40 condos, parking and first-floor commercial space.
The Nebraska Press Association building and parking lots would become a sculpture garden and other arts-related areas.
In a statement to the Lincoln City Council, UNL Chancellor Harvey Perlman expressed support for the project, saying the Bison Books building is “relatively non-descript and, in my judgment, adds little to the environment of the Haymarket.”
But he called the University Press building on the east end of the block a “wonderful red brick, two-story warehouse” whose open space and high ceilings could be ideal for displaying art. He suggested the first floor could be used for poetry readings, small musical performances and writing clinics.
But he said development of the rest of the block would probably be necessary for the university to proceed.
“We would not want to be the sole pioneer in an area and then have to wait for additional development to take place,” he said in a statement to the council.
The downtown area was declared blighted in 1984, making the block eligible for tax increment financing. It’s expected to cost an estimated $17.2 million to redevelop the block. The increased value would be used to leverage $1.2 million in tax increment financing, an urban renewal financing tool that diverts the increased property tax revenue back into the project, usually through public improvements.
According to city documents, the TIF could be used to buy property, demolish it, prepare the site and spruce up the surrounding area.
The block now generates about $19,000 in property taxes annually, and while those property taxes will continue to be paid at that level, additional property tax revenue generated by the revitalization would be used to make payments on a bond that will help fund the project.
The Nebraska Press Association’s executive director, Allen Beermann, was not at the council meeting but said his association has had about a half dozen briefings on the Arts & Humanities plan since August, with another scheduled next week.
If the plan goes through, he assumes his building would have to be bought by the city or university and then demolished.
“We want to be good neighbors,” he said. “We’re interested in having a nice entryway to the city too… but we have to protect our association, our members. We have a big investment in this.”
The formerly Central Plains Millworks, a shop for sawing and milling lumber on the corner of Eighth and S, is already being converted into an office and retail building called The Sawmill Building by WRK, a development firm headed by brothers Will and Robert Scott.
“It’ll probably be one of the nicer buildings in town,” Robert Scott told the council. “We’re very excited about what’s going to be happening on this block.”
The city will now invite developers to submit their redevelopment proposals. Once developers are chosen to do the projects, their plans will go back to the council for approval.
Reach Deena Winter at 473-2642 or dwinter@journalstar.com.
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