DEENA WINTER / Lincoln Journal Star | Posted: Friday, June 10, 2005 7:00 pm
The last time Lincoln drafted a master plan for downtown, the Haymarket area was identified as a place with potential and one-way streets and skywalks were all the rage.
The city's new proposed master plan discourages skywalks, proposes converting some one-way streets to two-way and recommends building roads and an arena near the already bustling Haymarket District.
Times and plans change.
Rather than stowing pedestrians in skywalks and allowing traffic to fly by downtown restaurants and shops, the new plan puts people on streets, makes the streetscape more inviting and slows drivers so they can get a better look at it all.
"People are recognizing that street activity is very important," Assistant Planning Director Kent Morgan said. "You want to keep pedestrians on the street."
Much of the old Downtown Master Plan copies of which are hard to find today was accomplished, said Morgan, caretaker of the old plan, who spearheaded the new one, which was released to the public Wednesday.
It's a vision for the next 20 years, but recommends the city get going on seven "catalyst projects" quickly, topped by a proposed civic square at 13th and P streets (the former Douglas 3 theater).
The list also includes developing P Street into the primary retail strip, building a new arena near the Haymarket and redeveloping a portion of the 14th and Q street block home of Starship 9 into a hotel or housing with ground-floor stores and parking.
The 14th and Q site could be an option for hotel developer John Q. Hammons, who is looking for a site for an extended stay hotel near the university, Morgan said.
Even though city officials have not yet approved the plan, the National Arbor Day Foundation has already taken note of its vision and plans to redevelop its headquarters at 12th and P.
It will turn the former Plaza 4 theater into a modern building with a rooftop garden and trees growing inside. Developers Will and Robert Scott will redevelop part of it into retail and restaurant space, which will fit the plan's P Street marketplace theme.
Robert and Will Scott have also plunged forward with other ventures that are in sync with the plan.
The identical twin brothers grew up in Colorado, went to school in Lincoln, left for a few years but returned after having children. They went into business together about a year ago.
Will Scott, a member of the master plan steering committee, said the plan had a lot to do with their decision to buy the former Greyhound depot at 10th and P, which they plan to develop into some kind of retail venture.
And it played a role in their purchase of the former Rock n' Roll Runza at 14th and P, which is being renovated into a Noodles & Company restaurant, with a catering service on the second floor.
"We believe in the urban environment," Will Scott said. "Our urban environment should be much better than it already is. I think we have the makings of an incredibly active and entertaining core."
Two other developers have offered to buy the city's old K Street power plant primarily used to store documents for the city, county and state in a warehouse district the master plan consultant identified as teeming with potential for development into modern housing.
They were motivated and encouraged by the city's consultant, George Crandall.
Downtown boosters hope other developers will be inspired to follow suit.
But will they?
Lincoln developer Rick Krueger said the plan wouldn't motivate him "one way or another" to invest downtown.
He doesn't think the plan meshes well with recommendations of another consultant on the city's Antelope Valley Project and believes some of its assumptions about office and retail needs are optimistic.
"I would like to be proved wrong on this but I have to take a skeptical look at it," he said.
The plan's proposed design standards which would govern certain downtown areas could be a hindrance to developing downtown, he said. Smaller local shops should be given the freedom to do what they want downtown, he said.
"Those people have their own vision and they want to do their own thing," Krueger said. "The easier you make it for people to realize their vision, the more people dream, and that's where we want to be."
With or without a master plan, architecture will evolve, with skywalks and places like the Centrum Shopping Center designed during the era of the enclosed mall going in and out of style, Krueger said.
"Are these design standards going to stand the test of time? I don't know," he said. "Over time, we keep changing. I kind of like that."
Reach Deena Winter at 473-2642 or dwinter@journalstar.com.
Now what?
The Downtown Action Team, a steering committee of sorts, meets June 29 to discuss community feedback to the draft Downtown Master Plan. In the coming months, the plan will be voted on by the Downtown Lincoln Association, city-county Planning Commission, Lincoln City Council and County Board (because it would be incorporated into the city-county Comprehensive Plan).
On the Web
The draft Downtown Master Plan is available at www.ci.lincoln.ne.us. Click on "Downtown Master Plan" and then "draft report documents."
A few highlights
Proposed in the Downtown Master Plan:
* Move Nebraska Historical Society Museum; develop site into retail.
* Convert from one-way to two-way P Street between Ninth and Tenth and 13th Street from O to K.
* Back-in angled parking on streets where bike lanes are planned downtown.
* New roads to Haymarket and along portions of Centennial Mall and M Street to accommodate arena and convention center.
* Recommended redevelopment of Journal Star building at Ninth and P, which the master plan calls "the best retail site in downtown."
Proposed downtown master plan
To kick-start downtown development, the National Arbor Day Foundation is moving forward with plans to renovate its building at 12th and P the old Plaza 4 theater. Plans include a rooftop garden, trees growing inside and restaurant and retail space.