January 27 at Lincoln South Rotary - Downtown Lincoln Association

Todd took us on a journey of the past - present - and future of Downtown Lincoln.

 

From https://downtownlincoln.org/: Founded in 1967, the Downtown Lincoln Association was originally established as a merchants’ association by downtown retailers who recognized the need for an organization to serve downtown’s unique needs. DLA has since evolved to a multi-faceted organization supporting a wide range of programs and activities including maintenance, economic development and advocacy. DLA is also the umbrella for the Downtown Neighborhood Association. The association works closely with the Lincoln Haymarket Development Corporation to support Haymarket revitalization and attractions.

 

In years past, downtown was vibrant with large department stores. With suburban sprawl, malls were cropping up throughout Lincoln. In the 70s and 80s we saw a loss of $1million in retail activity in downtown.

 

Soon there was the birth of the "O Street Gang" - an unofficial group of businessmen. They were dubbed the "movers and shakers" in Lincoln - if anything got done one or more of them was likely involved. They were concerned with the competition of downtown retailers with the malls.

 

There was a lot of planning during the 90s and 2000s. Lincoln organizations worked with citizens, including some of the members of the "O Street Gang". We began to see many mixed-use buildings - reduced retail - more offices and some housing.

 

In 2010 a master plan was developed with the primary component being a downtown arena - in the Haymarket. There was a lot of growth building up with companies showing their support of revitalizing the center of the city. He pointed to companies like Assurity that relocated, infusing dollars and economic opportunities into the downtown area of Lincoln.

 

He pointed out that much of the development happened after the bond issue for the Arena passed. People were more confident in the future of downtown Lincoln because of that citizen support.

 

Todd mentioned that the addition of the entertainment district has been a big draw for employees to the downtown and Haymarket. Employees  see the opportunity to work and play nearby. With more residents moving downtown, there was continued development, including a grocery store. It was like creating a small town.

With more traffic - and varied times - business is increasing. It is not just an infusion such as a lunch rush - but there is activity all day long. It is an interesting challenge for the businesses who have changed their staff shifts to handle the traffic.

 

Though there was a loss of 8 to 5 employees, there was growth in the 24 hours residents.There are plans and proposals for additional housing - apartments and condos and even student housing.

 

What do we see for the future? According to Todd - we need a convention center.

 

Though downtown Lincoln and the Haymarket is current very vibrant, we continue to lose conventions. The arena does not handle all types of groups. Convention-goers like small business and would shop in addition to spending money for hotels and restaurants.

 

They are in phase 2 of the newest master plan which will include a convention center without raising taxes because they are developing a public/private partnership.