These two blocks east of the Lincoln Marriott Cornhusker Hotel, one with several private owners and the other owned mostly by the city, were named as one of the site finalists for a new Lincoln convention center.
KENNETH FERRIERA, Journal Star
The southern portion of the Gold's Building site is one of three finalists for the location of a new Lincoln convention center.
KENNETH FERRIERA, Journal Star file photo
Assemble Lincoln included the downtown post office as one of three finalists for a potential site for a new Lincoln convention center.
KENNETH FERRIERA, Journal Star file photo
This image from the REV Development website shows a conceptual design of a potential convention center built on the vacant site where the southern part of the Gold's Building was demolished.
Assemble Lincoln, the committee overseeing the development of a downtown convention center, has narrowed a list of nine potential sites to three finalists.Â
Two of them are private sites based on proposals from landowners or developers and one is a public site: The U.S. Post Office in the Haymarket.
The other two sites under consideration are the southern portion of the Gold’s Building bordered by 10th, 11th, O and N streets, and two blocks near the Lincoln Marriott Cornhusker Hotel.
The Post Office, which is right next to Pinnacle Bank Arena at 700 R St., has long been considered a prime spot for a convention center, but U.S. Postal officials have been unwilling, so far anyway, to move the main post office out of the Haymarket.Â
Last year, Congressman Mike Flood, who represents Nebraska's First District, promised to continue efforts to clear the site for future development, but he told the Journal Star it was clear it wouldn't be moved in time for the site to be developed for a convention center.Â
Deb Schorr, who is on the Assemble Lincoln committee and is Flood's district director, said there have been conversations about it over the past few months, but the situation hasn't changed and timing could still be an issue for a convention center.Â
Still, she and Sen. Eliot Bostar, chairman of Assemble Lincoln, said the committee didn't want to eliminate it as a possibility.
"At this point we kept it on the list because we do know there are leaders in our community who are working diligently to access that site for alternative development," Bostar said. "It didn't seem prudent at this time to remove it from consideration."
The site near the Cornhusker, which Assemble Lincoln is calling the "Garfield Public/Private Site," was considered a good possibility early on, in part because of its proximity to the state Capitol.
It spans two blocks known as Block 65 and Block 90.
Block 65, which is bordered by M, N 13th and 14th streets, is owned by the city, except for the Sharp Building.
Block 90, bordered by M, L, 13th and 14th streets, is owned by New Generation LLC, Speedway Properties, Agee Partners and the R.H. Rogers Trust.
REV Development is renovating the old Gold's Department Store into a hotel and restaurant and wants to turn the southern half of the old building, which has been demolished, into a convention center and create what it's calling the Gold's District. The proposal also includes the option of adding a connected hotel.Â
A REV Development spokesperson said the company was honored to be selected as a finalist.Â
"This is a very exciting time for Lincoln, and we would like to extend our appreciation to the Assemble Lincoln Committee and Legends for their diligent efforts."
Among the criteria Assemble Lincoln looked at in narrowing the sites was the size of the lots, access, environmental impacts, potential construction hurdles and how well they are connected to complementary venues and amenities, Bostar said.Â
Both the Gold's and Cornhusker sites meet minimum size requirements, both are in the downtown core and are near the state Capitol, and a preliminary review did not turn up any environmental issues, he said.Â
They are also both in the Capitol District, and proximity to the Capitol is important because of the lack of available large meeting space for state government, Bostar said.Â
"And considering the financing mechanism that will be used to at least partially fund the development of this project, it makes sense to deliver added value for the operation of the state itself."
Last year, senators passed a “turnback†amendment in LB727 that will allow 70% of the state sales tax collected on meals, drinks and other retail purchases near the proposed new convention center to be allocated to the project.
The committee will now do a more extensive analysis of the sites and hope to make a final recommendation by the end of the year.Â
There will be additional open houses as the process continues.
Work began on a convention center before Assemble Lincoln was formed last September, including two studies to determine the viability of it, including one that identified five potential locations.
The Post Office and site near the Cornhusker were among them.
The turnback tax will cover much of the cost, but there will likely be private investment. For instance, Bostar said, it's likely a hotel will need to be built to accommodate convention center visitors, and that wouldn't be covered by the turnback tax.
The cost of the project is estimated at between $111 million and $120 million.
Lancaster County will be the owner of the convention center once it's built and is overseeing the committee's work.
Assemble Lincoln hired a consultant — Legends Project Development — to help shepherd the process through, as well as an architectural firm — Kansas City-based Populous — to oversee the site-selection process.Â
Assemble Lincoln announced in April that it had narrowed its choices to four private sites and had narrowed 1,400 public sites to five.
The committee on Thursday eliminated a private site near Oak Lake owned by Sandquist Construction and one on the southwest corner of Canopy Street in the Haymarket owned by WRK Real Estate.
Assemble Lincoln officials said Thursday's decision to narrow the field to three marks a significant step forward in the efforts to bring a convention center to downtown Lincoln.
“Our commitment to a meticulous and transparent selection process ensures that each shortlisted site is thoroughly evaluated to best serve Lincoln and its residents,†said Michael Delano Jr., senior vice president of Project Development at Legends.
“Every detail is being carefully considered, reflecting our dedication to building the right facility. This transformative project promises to revitalize downtown, boost the local economy, and set the foundation for future community engagement and growth.
These two blocks east of the Lincoln Marriott Cornhusker Hotel, one with several private owners and the other owned mostly by the city, were named as one of the site finalists for a new Lincoln convention center.
This image from the REV Development website shows a conceptual design of a potential convention center built on the vacant site where the southern part of the Gold's Building was demolished.