Downtown Master Plan
On September 26th, 2005, the Lincoln City Council officially approved a new Downtown Master Plan. Fast forward 13 years and over $1.3 billion dollars of investment later, and you will find a thriving and cohesive urban core. Downtown Lincoln is now ready for its next chapter and excited to capitalize on these changes by planning for an adapting market.
Starting in February of 2018, The City of Lincoln and the Downtown Lincoln Association will be partnering with experts (led by P.U.M.A.) to create a new Downtown Lincoln Master Plan that will guide public and private investments to elevate Downtown Lincoln as the premier urban neighborhood in the region.
Downtown Lincoln plans to engage the community throughout this entire process to ensure the heart of our city beats to will of its people. To get caught up to speed, the following will provide answers to these key questions regarding the process:
How did we get here?
This 2005 Master Plan offered a bold vision for Downtown Lincoln’s future — a vision based on the ideas, values, and dreams of a diverse community. It was a vision rooted in an appreciation of Downtown’s legacy within the history of our City and State. Crandall Arambula lead the planning process seeking input of hundreds of community members at over 4 public workshops. The Master Plan laid out both a short term plan providing direction for immediate private and public investment opportunities, as well as a long term plan providing guidance for actions and decisions shaping downtown over the next decade.
What have we achieved?
The City of Lincoln's Planning Department has provided a thorough background report, which reviews the projects from the 2005 plan and 2012 update. It also provides a snapshot of downtown development in recent years.
CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE DOWNTOWN LINCOLN BACKGROUND REPORT
The background report also provides an interactive snapshot of specific projects that have occurred since the last Master Plan.
CLICK HERE FOR AN INTERACTIVE TOUR OF DOWNTOWN DEVELOPMENT
Who is involved?
The consultants working on the project include:
Progressive Urban Management Associates, Inc. (P.U.M.A)
P.U.M.A incorporated in 1989 in Denver, CO and provides expertise in market analysis, real estate economics, urban design, and planning for downtown and community development. They bring expertise serving more than 200 clients in 35 states. P.U.M.A. has helped create downtown strategic, action and/or master plans for cities including Boulder, CO, Denver, CO, Cedar Rapids, IA, Cleveland, OH, Grand Rapids, MI, Milwaukee, WI and several more.
Civitas
Denver based Civitas is a creative collaborative of 20 professionals led by landscape architects, architects and urban designers. Civitas will lead the Urban Design portion of the Master Plan.
Felsburg, Holt & Ullevig (FHU)
FHU is a Lincoln consulting firm founded in 194 specializing in transportation planning, traffic engineering and civil engineering design. FHU will lead the Transportation initiatives of the Master Plan.
The City of Lincoln, DLA and project consultants will meet with several community members during the process including a Project Team representing downtown interests, led by Lincoln development attorney Tom Huston.
What is the timeline?
February 2018: The consultants will make their first visit to Lincoln at the end of February this year to convene with focus groups for the project, including downtown employees, residents and business owners.
Spring 2018: This Spring the consultants will return to Lincoln to generate input from the community and hold several public meetings. During this time, the consultants will identify downtown issues, opportunities, improvements & priorities.
Summer 2018: A general framework will be developed using input provided during the process.
Fall 2018: A final plan will be delivered to the public.
If you would like to stay up-to-date with the process or if you are interested in participating, please email us at info@downtownlincoln.org and let us know what your interests are.