The future headquarters and operation center of Lincoln Electric System will be annexed into the city sooner than expected.
LES is currently seeking annexation of its land near 98th Street and Rokeby Road in order to get access to city water. And the Lincoln-Lancaster County Planning Commission last week approved several changes in city documents that pave the way for annexation.
LES has already spent $3.4 million paving Rokeby Road from 84th to 98th streets, which included buying right of way, relocating a rural water line and demolishing a house. It is likely LES will be spending an estimated $700,000 to extend a 16-inch city water line from 84th Street to its property.
LES needs to be annexed into the city because the utility company wants to connect with city water. Annexation is a city requirement to hook up to city water lines.
People are also reading…
LES originally anticipated hooking into the rural water system, but the rural water department determined they would need to drill a new well and upgrade other infrastructure, said Kelly Porter, a spokesperson for LES.
LES decided to hook into city water rather than spend money to upgrade the rural system, Porter said.
It won’t be any more expensive to pay for accessing city water than to pay for the upgrades the rural water department sought, she said.
Annexation of the LES site probably would have occurred naturally within the next 10 years, based on growth in that area, said Dave Cary, director of the city’s Planning Department.
It is rare to consider land designed as Tier III, as the LES land is, for annexation, according to the planning documents.
But the area could be considered for annexation early because the LES building can eventually become part of the city’s sewer system, a gravity flow system, Cary said.
LES does not expect to connect to the city sewer system until residential growth moves close to its site, according to planning documents.
LES spent about $3 million purchasing 120 acres of land outside the city limits for its operations center and headquarters. LES needed a large space for its equipment and wanted to build in advance of residential and commercial development, Porter said.
LES, which broke ground on Phase 1 of the headquarters-operation center last week, expects to spend more than $100 million in two phases.
Phase I, which includes the operations center buildings, land, roads, utilities and other site infrastructure, is estimated to cost about $60 million.
Phase II, which includes the LES headquarters that will move from downtown Lincoln, is estimated to cost $40 million, Porter said.
LES expects Phase I to be finished in the spring of 2019, and Phase II should be finished by the spring or summer of 2021, Porter said.
LES will eventually serve the city from two sites — its service center at 27th and Fairfield in northwest Lincoln, and the new LES operations center and headquarters in southeast Lincoln. Â