Create an 'arts & humanities center'

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BY BOB REEVES / Lincoln Journal Star

The brick building on the corner of Eighth and S has a long history as a shop for sawing and milling lumber.

But when its owners, Hoppe Lumber Co., wanted to a more lucrative use, they partnered with WRK, a development firm headed by brothers Will and Robert Scott.

And now workers are turning it into The Sawmill Building, an office and retail complex that continues the theme of warehouse conversions in Lincoln’s Haymarket.

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The Sawmill Building on the corner of 8th and S. (Dan Eldridge)

The Sawmill Building on the corner of 8th and S. (Dan Eldridge)

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Audio slideshow: 2015 Vision's plan for arts and humanities

(Audio by Bob Reeves, produced by Laura Meerkatz / JournalStar.com)...

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While planning that project, the Scotts began looking at the entire block bounded by R, S, Eighth and Ninth streets as a potential future home of art galleries, performance spaces, specialty shops and condominium housing.

The brothers are part of the 2015 Vision group, which has identified the block as one of 10 pillars of its vision for a dynamic and vibrant Lincoln.

It’s called the Arts and Humanities Center — and of all the proposals from the group of business leaders and developers — it could be one of the first to come to fruition.

The plan has a price tag — an estimated $17 million to redevelop the entire block, with $1.2 million from the city, mainly in the form of tax-increment financing.

It has the support of the university, one of the block’s major occupants. It has mixed feelings from the arts community.

But it has a strong start. Work on the Sawmill Building is going well, Will Scott said, and it should be ready for occupancy by spring.

Bahr, Vermeer and Haecker Architects and Weitz Construction Co., the project’s general contractor, already signed on to be tenants. WRK will move its office there from another converted Haymarket warehouse. A restaurant specializing in bread and soup is on the table.

What goes, what staysThe rest of the block is occupied by two book warehouses for the University of Nebraska Press and the offices of the Nebraska Press Association and Nebraska Press Advertising Service.

The plan sees new uses for all of these.

It proposes converting the University Press’ brick building at Ninth and R into an art exhibit area, possibly a satellite of Sheldon Art Gallery, plus venues for drama, music and other events.

A wood-and-stucco warehouse to the west, also used by the press, would be torn down for a proposed high-rise with 40 condo units and retail and service space. The plan also calls for turning the press association building and parking lots into a sculpture garden and other arts-related areas.

“The whole project has an incredible potential to enhance our community, and further enhance the entertainment component in our downtown,” Will Scott said.

So far, the only part that’s for sure is the Sawmill Building, which is being rebuilt with private money. It will be eligible for tax-increment financing, using the increased property taxes resulting from the redevelopment to pay for related public improvements.

The proposed residential propery will require more private investment, and will garner more tax-increment funds, which Will Scott said could cover some of the costs of developing the rest of the block.

“This project has extraordinary potential,” said University of Nebraska-Lincoln Chancellor Harvey Perlman.

A Sheldon satellite

Creating a “Sheldon branch” in the Haymarket would allow the museum to display more works from its world-renowned collection of modern American art, not displayed now because of lack of space, Perlman said.

And it could attract a different audience, people who visit the Haymarket’s smaller galleries and specialty shops.

The project fits the 2015 group’s goal of “creating vibrant, energetic areas to attract young people to Lincoln and to keep them there,” Perlman said.

The university is studying the feasibility of opening a Sheldon satellite or other university arts and humanities programs, Perlman said.

“I am not far enough along to identify these other units at this point,” he said.

A number of other art museums around the country have created successful branches in less formal settings, said Janice Driesbach, Sheldon director.

A nearby example is the Des Moines Art Center in Iowa, which has a downtown gallery in a Wells Fargo building, open weekdays for downtown workers. Major art museums in San Diego and Charlotte, N.C., also have started satellite branches.

Driesbach agreed the idea has possibilities, but added the Sheldon’s emphasis has been attracting more visitors to its “signature building” on the UNL campus.

Private money needed

Any redevelopment of the University of Nebraska Press properties would require private donors, Perlman said.

Its book storage areas could find more efficient warehouse space elsewhere, Perlman said.

On Wednesday, the City-County Planning Commission approved an amendment to the Lincoln Center Redevelopment Plan to include the 2015 group’s proposals for the arts and humanities block. It will come to the City Council in February.

A good first impression

Drawings of the Arts and Humanities Center show a glass-walled structure where the Press Association building is now.

The proposed high-rise would have a modern look on the north and east sides — and an old-fashioned style facing Haymarket. The block would give an eye-catching first impression to people coming off Interstate 180.

The press association is taking a “wait and see” attitude to the proposal, said executive director Allen Beermann.

The press and advertising associations invested quite a bit in remodeling their office, and they like the location because of its visibility and proximity to downtown.

They also like having parking for home Husker games.

“If you’re interested in buying our property, show us the money,” he said. “But we want to be good citizens. If this whole thing is a gateway to Lincoln, we don’t want to obstruct progress.”

Mixed feelings

Gallery and property owners in the area didn’t know all the details of the proposal, but offered cautious support.

“Generally speaking, our attitude is that any growth and development is a good thing,” said Rick Noyes, co-owner of Noyes Gallery at 119 S. Ninth St.

That was the site of the original Haymarket Art Gallery, which was followed by the Burkholder Project, offering art studios and exhibit space, the Haydon Art Center and other art venues over the past two decades.

“The more galleries there are, that just makes the pie bigger,” Noyes said. “I think this is an exciting time for downtown Lincoln.”

But Judith Andre, owner of Mission Arts and Gallery 9, 124 S. Ninth St., had mixed feelings about adding more sales galleries and using tax-increment financing to help build them. Several galleries clustered together make gallery walks and other cooperation possible, she said.

But she questioned the need for more.

“We could be nearing a saturation point,” she said.

Many larger cities have successful art districts. The Crossroads District in Kansas City, Mo., for instance, includes several downtown blocks of studios and galleries converted from warehouses, and is now a prime destination for tourists and art buffs.

Property values have gone up, and there’s a proposal to freeze tax increases on buildings used for artistic purposes to protect the area’s artsy character.

Lincoln City Councilman Jon Camp, who owns eight buildings in the Haymarket, applauded the 2015 group’s proposal.

“It adds to the strengths of what’s already here,” he said.

The Haymarket offers amenities not found anywhere else in Lincoln, contributing to the appeal of the entire city, he said.

And he believes there’s a slowly growing demand for downtown housing — because more people want to be where the action is.

“As long as you don’t flood the market (with housing), it’s going to work well,” he said.

Reach Bob Reeves at 473-7212 or breeves@journalstar.com.