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UNL gets 10 responses on research park query

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BY MELISSA LEE / Lincoln Journal Star

Tuesday, Aug 19, 2008 - 12:13:41 am CDT

The ideas are pouring in.

The University of Nebraska-Lincoln announced last month it was looking for input from developers on how to move forward with its proposed research campus at State Fair Park.

After Friday’s deadline for informational proposals, UNL said it’s received 10 responses, including submissions from local and national developers and several developers with research park experience.

Story Photo

Who’s interested



University of Nebraska-Lincoln officials said Monday they received 10 responses to a request for information issued last month to gather ideas for a proposed research campus. Members of a selection committee will read the submissions, talk with standout developers and use their new insight to craft a formal request for proposals. That process will produce an official Innovation Campus developer.

Thus far, the interested developers are a diverse group:

  • National Development Council, New York, NY

    The nation’s oldest nonprofit community development organization boasts services like training, technical assistance and financing to create jobs, develop affordable housing and generate investment in underserved urban and rural communities.

  • HDR, Princeton, N.J., and CUH2A, Lawrenceville, N.J. CUH2A

    A division of HDR, has worked on government, corporate and academic facilities, such as the Birck Nanotechnology Center at Purdue University, a cancer research building at Johns Hopkins University and the new Durham Research Center at the University of Nebraska Medical Center.

  • Craig Davis Properties, Cary, N.C.

    The real estate company owns numerous properties including Venture Center, an office development on Centennial Campus at North Carolina State University, a prestigious research campus whose success UNL hopes to emulate.

  • Stratus-Heery International Inc., Los Angeles

    The higher education consulting firm has helped create master plans for Mills College in Oakland, Calif., Grambling State University in Grambling, La., and Ventura Community College in Ventura, Calif., among other projects.

  • KUD International LLC, Long Beach, Calif.

    With offices in Long Beach, New York and London, the management and development company has helped with SBC Park in San Francisco, which includes a $300 million baseball stadium for the Giants and more than 120,000 square feet of entertainment and retail facilities. The company is working on a tech park in Israel.

  • Higgins Development Partners and HWS Consulting Group, Chicago

    Since 1980, Higgins has created over $5 billion in development value. One active project: SkySong, a mixed-use development consisting of 1.2 million square feet of office, research, retail, residential and hotel/conference center space that’s a partnership between Arizona State University and the City of Scottsdale.

  • Sampson Construction and Swisher Garfield Traub Development, Lincoln

    Sampson has played a significant role in developing the UNL campus, working on Memorial Stadium’s North Stadium improvements, Courtyards and Village residence halls and parking structures. Garfield Traub has helped develop more than 27 million square feet.

  • Woodbury Corp., Salt Lake City, and WRK LLC, Lincoln

    Woodbury and WRK LLC, led by Robert and Will Scott, they are partners in several projects in Lincoln, including the arts and humanities block and a proposed arena project west of the Haymarket.

  • Noddle Companies, Omaha

    The commercial real estate development company has worked on more than 100 projects, including Aksarben Village, Shoppes at Elk Creek and Harvey Oaks Plaza in Omaha.

  • B&J Partnership, Ltd., doing business as Speedway Properties, Lincoln

    The commercial real estate company owns and manages more than 100 free-standing and common-wall buildings in Lincoln, including retail, warehouse and office space.

“We are very pleased at the response,” said Bill Nunez, director of UNL’s Institutional Research and Planning. “Now we’ll have to read and internalize what we’ve received.

“This is a very involved and important project, and we want to do an outstanding job.”

One submission comes from Utah-based Woodbury Corp. and Lincoln’s WRK LLC, led by brothers Robert and Will Scott. That partnership already is working to change downtown Lincoln: Woodbury and the Scotts are developing an arts and humanities block in the Haymarket that could include galleries, performance spaces, specialty shops and condos.

Woodbury also is a part of the team led by the Scotts that’s working with the city to develop a hotel, retail, offices and condos as part of the proposed arena project west of the Haymarket.

Walker Kennedy III, Woodbury vice president and general counsel, is in Lincoln this week meeting with city leaders about those and other projects. Kennedy said he plans to meet with UNL Chancellor Harvey Perlman to share ideas.

Lincoln, Kennedy said, is “an amazingly untapped market” that could benefit strongly from the proposed Innovation Campus.

“What hasn’t happened is, Lincoln hasn’t capitalized on the growth that can be created by the university,” he said, noting UNL’s record-setting research programs. “Nebraska is a major player. It’s an incredible university.”

Said Will Scott: “I just think (Innovation Campus) is one of the most exciting things for the state of Nebraska and the Midwest. We definitely want to be a part of it.”

Other developers interested in working with UNL include Omaha-based Noddle Companies, Craig Davis Properties in North Carolina and KUD International LLC in Long Beach, Calif.

UNL leaders cautioned they’re far from choosing a developer for Innovation Campus.

A committee of campus leaders will read through the 10 submissions, then, assuming there are standouts, invite three to five developers to campus for further discussions.

Then, armed with newfound insight, UNL will begin the more formal Request for Proposals process.

UNL is scheduled to take over State Fair Park Jan. 1, 2010. Perlman has said he wants to have Innovation Park plans in hand by that date so the university can move quickly to overhaul the fairgrounds.

That UNL has received so much interest from high-caliber developers tells Perlman a research campus is a worthy investment.

“I’m pleased with the quality of the companies that have responded,” he said. “There’s a diversity... and in that sense I’m very pleased.”

He said he’ll take his time picking a developer, looking for the one that can best engage the campus and Nebraska communities to make his vision for Innovation Campus a reality.

Leaders at KUD International LLC believe their company could be the one for the job.

KUD has experience with mixed-use developments like the public-private campus UNL envisions and is now working on a technology park in Israel, said KUD project analyst and business development expert Reed Harris.

The company already has ideas for Innovation Campus, Harris said, such as building housing, parking and retail facilities whose revenue could help fund the campus.

“We can help (UNL) market the park, we can help them design the park, plan the park, then build it,” Harris said. “This project will not only be an economic driver for the university, but also an economic driver for the state — if done properly.”

He said he’s excited to hear what UNL thinks of KUD’s ideas and, if the opportunity arises, pay a visit to campus.

“We’re looking forward to going ahead with this.”

Reach Melissa Lee at 473-2682 or mlee@journalstar.com.


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esad wrote on August 19, 2008 5:48 am:
" They are looking for ideas on how to develope this land?? I thought they already had all of this drawn up and ready to go. Another example of UNL just wanting the land with no idea what to do with it!! "

 Well wrote on August 19, 2008 7:19 am:
" This says it all - they're scheduled to TAKE OVER State Fair Park. Take Over being the operative word. Has Nebraska seen any money yet, or is this now a freebe. "

 Went to School in Lincoln wrote on August 19, 2008 8:13 am:
" Please, please select someone who has experience with this and knows what they are doing. Find someone who has created a technology park in another City and has a successful track record. "

 JJ wrote on August 19, 2008 8:37 am:
" Relax folks. You are getting your investment in the community from here, not some "never-to-be-used" basketball barn in the Haymarket. This is the type of progression this city needs if it is going to grow up and be a real player on the economic stage. "

 Is this a University Mall wrote on August 19, 2008 9:21 am:
" These are all just developers wanting land without having to put up any equity. What will make the project succeed or fail in the long run are the ideas generated there, not the buildings. After all, it isn't a Mall geared toward giving the university its own shopping and play district (is it?). I thought it was a Technology Park? "

 Thats Right wrote on August 19, 2008 9:49 am:
" I went and testified at the hearings concerning the takeover of the State Fairgrounds. The University already had a plan all drawn out. It looks like that was just a sham. It was just a trick to get this land for next to nothing and at an extreme cost to the taxpayer. I do not and will not support this crazy idea that was pushed down our throats. I say the State Fair should stay where it is at the State Fairgrounds in Lincoln. "

 Outside the Box wrote on August 19, 2008 10:47 am:
" Why does it seem like many Lincolnites despise the University? You would think a large employer that brings so much to the local economy would be embraced and supported by the community. Without UNL, Lincoln would be no different than York, Hastings, or Chadron - nice little towns that nobody cares about. It's not UNL's fault that the state fair failed.

The true irony is that so many of the "anti-UNL" crowd are the first to chant "Go Huskers" every Saturday. "

 Wow just wow... wrote on August 19, 2008 10:52 am:
" How anyone can say keep State Fair Park and nix the Technology Park is beyond me. This is an opportunity of a lifetime for Lincoln, UNL, and the state as a whole. We will all benefit. The State Fair is lame at best. And if you're so in love with it, then you are surely willing to drive an hour to get to it, right? I don't understand throwing away the Technology Park for a 10-day event. (I realize State Fair Park hosts more than just the state fair, but none of those events can compare to the benefit the Technology Park will bring.) 2010 can't come soon enough! "

 Chris wrote on August 19, 2008 11:34 am:
" I truly do not understand the disdain for UNL by citizens in the city of Lincoln. UNL is what makes this city dynamic. If you doubt me, go take a trip to Topeka, KS. Topeka is what Lincoln would be without UNL and it is a hole. I realize sometimes you can't see the forest from the trees, but the attitudes of Lincolnites is amazing. A tech park will bring high quality jobs (high paying) to Lincoln. Instead of Lincoln hemmoraging college graduates we might actually get to hold on to some. But instead people are arguing to keep a state fair with declining attendance and land that is VACANT for 50 weeks a year. There's Lincoln Logic for ya. Unbelievable. "

 Bullies wrote on August 19, 2008 12:38 pm:
" For those questioning why so many of us in Lincoln are cynical at best about the University, it is because the University has an arrogant attitude that assumes that it should get whatever it wants, whenever it wants, at the expense of whatever is already there, and that anyone who questions the University or its wisdom is automatically backwards or dumb.

The University play a central role in Lincoln, but it needs to be a community partner, not a dominating force in the city. As it is, people in Lincoln, particularly those not part of the University, often feel runover and bullied. The leadership at the University is far from infallible (just look at the beloved football program and recent decisions related to it - an area where you can be sure a lot of energy was devoted). Here the University wanted the land and it pushed and shoved until it got it, without providing a legitimate reason why this particular land was the ONLY land in the city that could serve its purposes (obviously something that wasn't true). As a result, Lincoln will lose a lot of jobs without more than "plans" for replacing them with "better" jobs. The people associated with the Fair in Lincoln can't necessarily just move to GI just because the fair does. The hotels and restaurants in Lincoln can't just make up the lost business because this "Innovation" Park is coming in. The University has great hopes for this project, but in the short-term it is the city of Lincoln that ends up losing out. Add to that the possibility of losing horse racing in Lincoln and those are even more jobs that are lost. If losing Lincoln kills racing in Nebraska, then there are even more jobs. The long-term economic impact on Lincoln, outside of the University's plans were never fully address or evidently considered by this state's "leadership."

Add to this that tuition rates go up 5+ percent every year and the University is continuously complaining about state funding, and people reasonably start to question what is going on in the Administration building. UNL should focus on its academic role and providing an affordable, high quality eduction and should start considering its relationship with the citizens of the city it lives in. Yes, Lincoln needs UNL, but UNL needs the citizens of this city and state in order to achieve its goals as well. One side of that relationship has failed to keep up its end of the bargain too often late.y "

 JR wrote on August 19, 2008 12:42 pm:
" So here you have people complaining because the university is looking for ideas on how to build the research park. But when they presented plans early on in the process, some of these same people complained because the university had put the cart before the horse ... making plans before they had the land. What you have to understand is anytime you start a big project like this, you have to have a vision, an idea, a plan of what you are thinking. Once you have conveyed those ideas to the public, then you have to open it up for others to offer their ideas. After all, the university is not the expert at development, so why not ask for help. I would be more upset if they had done the opposite, had no plan at the beginning, or stuck with the original one with no outside input. Contact some of these engineering firms and ask them how many projects go from conception to fruition with little to no change. I think you might be surprised. "

 thinking... wrote on August 19, 2008 12:46 pm:
" To "Wow, just wow" --- 2010 will just be the last State Fair in State Fair Park. You'll likely not see anything of the great technology park until 2030. Hope you're really young right now so you can still enjoy it. Everyone who characterizes UNL as a land grabber has it right in my opinion. "

 Joe wrote on August 19, 2008 12:52 pm:
" Is it just a coincidence that all these announcements from the university are made public during fair week? "

 They FEAR Change wrote on August 19, 2008 1:14 pm:
" That is why the elderly here (of which there are too many) protest the UNL and hold on to the decrepit Fair. There will be some part time jobs lost only to be replaced (eventually) by higher paying jobs held by YOUNG PEOPLE. That is what gets their goat, so to speak. "

 Tacres wrote on August 19, 2008 2:35 pm:
" I cautiously support Innovation Park mainly because the Nebraska State Fair has become such a trivial use for this land. The University of Nebraska-Omaha has benefitted tremendously from the redevelopment of the Ak-Sar-Ben property, thanks mostly to the massive help from its benefactor, Walter Scott. Similar sources of private money will be necessary to make Innovation Park successful. Mostly however, I am concerned that this property's close proximity to the Theresa Street Sewage Treatment Plant will harshly limit its ultimate success. "

 DR wrote on August 19, 2008 5:47 pm:
" I have no problem getting input. I do question the legitimacy of "perlmans vision." I think it should be what's best for the city and University, therefore it should be their vision, not just Perlman's vision. Perlman should also walk a few buildings over and ask for some input in the Masters Planning Dept. There are students right now who are looking for internships, their are professors with years of experience, but Perlman never shows up to ask their input. They teach planning at UNL, start there!!! "

 DBM wrote on August 19, 2008 7:11 pm:
" This will do more for the state than if the state fair ran all year. I guess the people that are against this like living in the 19th century -- where the fair belongs. "

 Just wait wrote on August 19, 2008 9:54 pm:
" I can't wait until those of you who slam "old people" become old. With the attitudes you hold now, you ought to be really grumpy old men. How stupid that you think older people fear change. How would you know. Just because they don't share your "vision" that automatically makes them wrong. UNL has taken the wrong approach on this land grab, and those of you who support it are just as crooked as they are. Innovation Park (or whatever they want to call it) would work just as well somewhere else, but we all know UNL is the one who fear change. They don't want to go anywhere else because they fear it will fail. "

 CS wrote on August 19, 2008 10:13 pm:
" If, by jobs, you mean temporary, part time, cleaning and security or traffic control, or cooking in a shack, then good riddance. There enough of those jobs here now-I could work two of them full time and not pay my student loans. Eventually Lincon and NE will have to learn to deal with their college educated workforce in a way that doesn't involve sticking them in a call center or customer service "technical" job, or into some govt. make work position. It is sad that one of the higher paying jobs around here that isn't middle management is babysitting inmates at the prison, and that is only because it sucked so much that no one would apply and you would get mandatory overtime 2-3 days a week. "

 Jim wrote on August 20, 2008 7:52 am:
" Maybe finding companies interested in coming to do research would be a good idea before they build this thing. But putting the cart before the horse is the way UNL usually does things. "

 Chris wrote on August 20, 2008 5:29 pm:
" RE Bullies: If you think the University didn't make their case for why they needed land close to the campus, then you weren't paying attention, and it can't be the University's responsibility to personally inform every citizen. It is the citizen's responsibility to educate themselves. To help you along, the University needs this land so private enterprise can locate close to researchers in university facilities to help commercialize the breakthroughs they are bringing on line, and to utilize labor that the University can offer via graduate/research assistants. From these companies that the University surveyed, the main requirement is close proximity to these facilities.

That one was free, from now on you have to educate yourself. Do you want to know why people don't value MOST community input in relation to the University? Because they hold the University to higher standards of accountability than they hold themselves to. That is called hypocricy. Highly opinionated and highly uneducated is a bad combination. "

 Jim wrote on August 20, 2008 6:32 pm:
" You can't have 260+ acres in central lincoln with main transportation arterials surrounding it being used for one large 10 day event and a hundred or so events that go unnoticed. It is simply not well used land at this time. Whether it be a technology park, a mixed use development or a research park with some residential units- it doesn't matter to me just as long as it is not wasted like it has been for years with the State Fair.

In the end you have to think of the economic benefits. And don't give me this "26 million" or whatever "economic impact". That is like saying there are WMD's in Iraq. "

 UNL grad student wrote on August 20, 2008 6:38 pm:
" Another point about the "anti-UNL" bashing that is going on:

I'm guessing some of you went to UNL and many of those people didn't live in Lincoln until they moved here to go to UNL. Just think how many people UNL pulls into Lincoln at a young age and then the city gradually grows on them and then they end up living here, buying a house and raising a family. I'm guessing that a substantial majority of the residents in Lincoln have a tie to UNL just like that weather it be you, your parents or your grandparents in some way, shape or form.

So stop the UNL hating when it comes to them trying to continue to grow the University. City Campus currently has no land at all to grow on besides up. Thus, this is the only way to expand UNL's research potential. "

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