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To the highest bidder? Land at 48th and O

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By DEENA WINTER / Lincoln Journal Star

Monday, Aug 20, 2007 - 08:30:54 am CDT

For sale by owner: Two parcels of property, razed and ready. Northeast corner of 48th and O. No sex shops. Minimum bid: $1.2 million. Firm.

It probably won’t be advertised in a classified ad, but the city is considering auctioning off two parcels of land bordering one of Lincoln’s busiest intersections.

It would be prime property, except the city won’t allow access to it from O Street between 48th and 50th. Right now, the property can only be reached from the north.

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48th and Ost intersection

Map of the 48th and Ost intersection....

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That has been a sticking point in nearly a year of unsuccessful negotiations with developers interested in redeveloping the area with the city’s help.

That kind of city-guided revitalization already happened on the south side of O, but a makeover of the north side has proven elusive — although a Hy-Vee is planned.

The city’s new urban development department director, David Landis, decided the best way to deal  with the property is to sell it to the highest bidder.

“The sooner it’s sold, the sooner it’s on the tax rolls and the sooner it gets developed,” he said.

Landis said Mayor Chris Beutler and the Lincoln City Council are receptive to the idea of selling the land for market value.

To sell the land, the City Council first must declare it surplus.

The property could be auctioned in a variety of ways, Landis said: in writing, in person or by telephone.

He said he would only accept bids at or above the recently appraised value of the land, $1.2 million, and restrict the land from such uses as sex shops or tobacco stores.

After the land is sold, he said, it’s still possible the buyer would want to work with the city to redevelop the property.

Landis wants to sell two parcels the city bought in conjunction with the widening of O Street:

* The vacant Blockbuster Music property  at 4850 O. The city paid Realty Trust Group $1.85 million for the parcel, which had been assessed by the county at $900,000.

* The northeast corner of 48th and O, once home to an abandoned Amoco station. The city paid SHM Investments $923,000 for property, which was assessed at $456,000.

After the city bought the parcels, Councilman Jon Camp and other council members questioned the price, saying it was too high. Now, Camp said the city would “lose” $1.5 million if it sells for $1.2 million.

But city officials say the property is worth less than what the city paid for it. About 9,400 square feet was gobbled up by the wider O Street. And the city closed five access points to the two properties.

A recent appraisal put the property’s value at $1.2 million.

“What  we’re putting on the market is not exactly what we took off when we bought it,” Landis said.

Clint Thomas, real estate agent for the Urban Development Department, said rather than just buy a sliver of property for the street work and pay major damages for leaving it virtually landlocked, the city bought all of the property. He said the damages would have been nearly equal to the value of the property.

Camp called the revitalization of 48th and O overly expensive. And it illustrates his point the city should facilitate, not dictate, development, he said.

“We need to use this as a history lesson and really understand that the city should not be in the development business,” Camp said.

However, he did give Landis credit for thinking of a novel way to dispose of the property.

Reach Deena Winter at 473-2642 or dwinter@journalstar.com.


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Brett Otte wrote on August 20, 2007 1:13 am:
" The city should NEVER have purchased the land. If they want the property developed they originally should have set up the buyers and sellers together, NOT purchase the land themselves and be the middle man. I have a great get rich scheme: 1. Buy property in Lincoln. 2. Get it appraised by the city for your purchase price. 3. The city will then offer you twice what it's worth. "
Lie Spotter wrote on August 20, 2007 4:56 am:
" Mr. Clint Thomas (and maybe even Landis) are not being very truthful here. The blockbuster lot had no access to "O" Street and lost no property to the widening. It was behind the Amoco station. I can see taking the hit on the Amoco Station. But the blockbuster lot was in a bad place to begin with. Somebody had the connections to reap a huge payday for the city to buy that white elephant. Remember that when they raise taxes or cut programs. They need the money to pay their friends overly-inflated prices. "
Mike in DC wrote on August 20, 2007 7:03 am:
" Appraisal values are NEVER what a property is worth. If it was, many residential real-estate transactions couldn't occur; you get a loan for an assessed value, while the lender knows it's worth more; and allowing the borrower to use the loan for extraneous costs of purchasing the property. It's well known that tax assessors don't appraise property for full value, and in Omaha, they've been screwing the rest of the state for years. If everyone actually paid taxes on 100% of the real value property tax rates could be cut--but the legislature and local governments can use low assessment for incentives for agriculture, industry, developers, and to spur local residential growth. The property at 48th and O is difficult because of the access... it was poor before the widening (I NEVER went into the Blockbuster because it was so hard to get to); so by putting the two together and then doing the widening--now the city has reduced the uncertainty of the land without having to pay legal penalties to potential owners. The REAL problem is, that land, subdivided, is not worth much (relatively speaking) because it's too small and too little access for parking and a building. Maybe they could make one of those famous postage-stamp parks Lincoln has so many of. That's a small way of increasing the value of land surrounding the sites and increasing tax revenue (but not much). "
Gerard Harbison wrote on August 20, 2007 7:37 am:
" Why the scare quotes around 'lose'? Jon Camp was right, as he usually is. The city lost more than half its purchase price for this land. That $1.5 million would have been useful last year. It's a good thing they ain't playing Monopoly with their own money; a 60% loss would be a catastrophe for a privat citizen. "
George wrote on August 20, 2007 7:44 am:
" Can we bill Seng or the former owners for the difference? "
Larry wrote on August 20, 2007 8:26 am:
" Your right about appraisal values NEVER being what the property is worth. That's if you've got money and an expensive home or business sitting on it. If your poor or middle class and have an average home, it's almost always one and the same. Appraisal matches the actual worth. Just go online and check it out. It will jump off the screen and hit you in the face! "
Read the article, people wrote on August 20, 2007 8:51 am:
" The property referenced is the Blockbuster MUSIC property, not the Blockbuster VIDEO property. The Music property did have access to O Street, and was commonly used for access to TGI Friday's and the Video store as well. The Music store has been demolished and is the remaining property is what the City owns. The Video property is owned by a separate entity and the building shell is still standing.

APRRAISED values is always what the property is worth. The appraised value is determined by an independent party, not the county. The assessed value is what the county uses for taxes. Lenders give loans based on APPRAISED values of the property, not the ASSESSED value, which is almost always less than the appraised value. If you got a mortgage on your house for the assessed value rather than the appraised value, you would never be able to pay full price for your house. Maybe its different in DC, but here in Nebraska, we use the the appraised value to determine loan amounts. This I can say for certain as I work in the banking industry. "
bad buy wrote on August 20, 2007 8:53 am:
" this land never should of been bought, it should of been taken through eminete domaine. it was an eyesore that was not being maintained by the former owner. instead the city way overpayed for the land. at the same time used eminete domaine to move people out for antolope ditch. who else is tired of bad city goverment out their?. me I am moving from lincoln when lease is up. "
Not again. . . . wrote on August 20, 2007 8:59 am:
" I as a taxpayer am once again outraged at the fiscal irresponsible people in our city's government. I know I would never pay 2 times the assessed value for anything. My banker would laugh at me for a week solid. Why do our city officials think they can do this? I like the idea of using it as green space. The city already owns it and since they decided to limit the access to the properties even more--just make it a nice little park. Some people may actually enjoy the green space there and watch all the crazy people driving through that intersection. "
Assessed vs Appraised wrote on August 20, 2007 9:15 am:
" You are close on your use of the terms Appraised and Assessed. Appraised value is the best guess of Market Value. Assessed Value is the County's value on the property for tax purposes. Frequently these two values, especially in the state of Nebraska, are not the same. Assessed values are ussually below Appraised values, and by Nebraska State Law, Assessed value (at least on residential property) should not be less than 85% of Appraised (market) value. Becareful which terms you use. "
Lincoln's Bright Idea wrote on August 20, 2007 9:20 am:
" Well it seems Lincoln does it again, I wish i had owned that property and let the city buy the land and pay to clean up the site. I bet it was not cheap with the Fuel tanks. Plus pay more than it was worth!. Mow they want to sell land that only can be accessed from the driving North bound on 48th!. Now that is a One Desirable parcel of land. One would think if the city and Traffic Engineers would maybe use some common sense and think if you have access to a site it would be desirable to a Business. I don't know why it is that they just did not put in a Neutral lane thur that area and it would have great access to the property. They can do it on Omaha on Dodge street, why can't it not be done here. I would think Omaha's Dodge St has more traffic than Ost has. I see one Sipulation that it is not a Sex Shop, Well their is one already on 48th so i guess that will not be a problem. Plus they have better access to the 48th TOO!. Way too GO Lincoln!. I just wonder who owed that land,Could it be the Park Place Family, I wonder who that was???. "
bill wrote on August 20, 2007 9:28 am:
" Well...I say we make it into a park! And name it EXPENSIVE! Then we can educate our kids how to be fiscally responsible with tax payers money! "
yup wrote on August 20, 2007 9:38 am:
" Guess this shows that Camp is not only after the fire Department. He is watching or trying to watch out for the taxpayers. Good job Jon! "
John wrote on August 20, 2007 10:03 am:
" A valid point was made on the assessed vs. appraised issue. It was also pointed out the 85% valuation relationship. So the question I would like to ask is who is responsible here. Was the Assessor guilty of setting valuation of the property at only half of its value (and thereby giving the owner a great break on their taxes), at taxpayer expense? Or, was the unnamed party that decided to pay over twice assessed value for the property, guilty of giving someone a great deal at taxpayer expense? Two common factors here are someone and taxpayer expense. The City of Lincoln has quite a history of giving select individuals considerations at taxpayer expense. Until the citizens of Lincoln hold their elected and appointed officials responsible for their actions, this practice will continue. The question was also brought up about eminent domain. The only time that eminent domain seems to come into play in Lincoln is when we are talking about taking property from a small business or individual, to give to a large business (subsidized by the taxpayers). When was the last time eminent domain was used for the benefit of the taxpayers of Lincoln? Schools, roads? Don’t think so. "
Wrong wrote on August 20, 2007 11:12 am:
" "The Music property did have access to O Street, and was commonly used for access to TGI Friday's and the Video store as well." Blockbuster Music did have access to O st but only going west bound. "
JR wrote on August 20, 2007 11:16 am:
" Wait, did I read that right? Jon Camp "did give Landis credit ..." Quick, someone check Camp over ... we might actually have a pulse!!!! My God!!! What's next??? Jon Camp voting for Lincoln and against LIBA or the Chamber??? Naaahhhh ... never happen. "
Honest Phido wrote on August 20, 2007 11:16 am:
" Bill is right. A Park would be great. Perhaps something like the Sunken Gardens or Omaha's Gene Leahy Mall area. "
Dano wrote on August 20, 2007 11:40 am:
" This failure to think ahead should not be a surprise to any Lincoln resident. It is just another in a stream of poorly thought out plans and moves that have wasted tax payer dollars. The land could have been handled by other means and they could have simply bought the right of ways for the waste of widening O st. They property needs to be developed, but adding access point from O Street aren't stopping it. the location may be high traffic, but it is one the hardest to get to. Even if they can enter off the road to buit for Hy-vee, it is still in a bad spot. to further the problem, the widening of O street hasn't helped the congestion. We need north to south streets widend to solve that. Instead of wasting more dollars in this area, spend it to buy the right awsys for 27th and 48th. Those are areas where congestion could be solved quickly and you get the bang for your buck. It may not be the best political move, but is the best economic move. No excuses about it doesn't fit the neighborhoods either. That is the lamest excuse I have ever heard. Didn't fit any of the poorer neighborhoods, when they did it there either, but it is done. It is called progess, stop holding it up. "
Agent wrote on August 20, 2007 11:42 am:
" "...the city should not be in the development business," I couldn't agree more. Thank you Mr. Camp. "
Do I Hear A Dollar? wrote on August 20, 2007 11:44 am:
" Hmmmmm . . . . "Expensive Park" , interesting. How about Talent Plus buying the land to build another TP structure that "blends" with the surrounding environs? Or maybe the wealthy 2015 Vison Group could use the federal funds they now are seeking? Going once, going twice - sold to the lowest bidder! "
Nate wrote on August 20, 2007 11:48 am:
" How about a park? We need to break the monotony of all the concrete there. "
To Lie spotter wrote on August 20, 2007 12:26 pm:
" If you read the article, they are speaking about the previous Block Buster Music property, not the Block Buster Movie Rental property. The Block Buster Music property did have "O" street access as opposed to the Block Buster Movie Rental property which only has 48th Street access. "
KLM wrote on August 20, 2007 12:33 pm:
" The raw numbers on this development may not play to the city's favor, but the revitalization of 48th & O was and remains absolutely necessary to the well-being of our city. Private industry had proven unwilling and incapable of doing anything about this soul-sucking eyesore at the heart of our commmunity, and I'm thankful the leaders of our city finally took the initiative on these projects. It was expensive and unfortunate that the land-owners would take advantage of tax payers as they did, but the cost of doing nothing would have been ultimately far greater and more destructive. "
Thad wrote on August 20, 2007 12:43 pm:
" Maybe they can get a Walgreens to move in there. The next closest one is all the way across the street. "
Geezer wrote on August 20, 2007 1:12 pm:
" Jon Camp hit the nail on the head again. If he had four votes on the council instead of one we would have a city in the black instead of in the red. "
city busness wrote on August 20, 2007 1:20 pm:
" I was looking for a place to open a cigar bar/strip lap dance club, i guess it wont be at 48th and O "
BS detector wrote on August 20, 2007 2:00 pm:
" I've got an idea. How about a "gentleman's club" or mabye a casino?? The location would be great. "
Who's lying? wrote on August 20, 2007 4:19 pm:
" Blockbuster music did to have access to Ost. I used it all the time to get from Blockbuster video back to Ost to head west. "
Small town minds wrote on August 20, 2007 4:31 pm:
" The bidding starts at appraised value which is 60% of what was paid, right? This doesn’t mean that is what it will be sold at. For those people who want to return access to gain access, why would you want to screw up what is know a flowing intersection? Didn’t we just spend a lot of money to rebuild the intersection to make more user-friendly and handle more traffic flows? Screwing that up would be a bigger mismanagement of funds than the POTENTIAL loss of 40% paid a year ago. If you backwards thinking people didn’t think we lived in Crete we wouldn’t have to come back years latter to fix the crap now. "
Another tax payer wrote on August 20, 2007 8:42 pm:
" I think if no one will buy it, let it sit as a reminder of why the city shouldn't get into private business. Please don't dump millions of dollars into it to make it another park. "
Bill wrote on August 20, 2007 8:54 pm:
" What am I missing. I can't see how property at northeast corner of 48th and O can be accesssed from the north unless crossing the southbound traffic lane. "
Tony Gramsci wrote on August 20, 2007 10:10 pm:
" Who cares what Camp thinks? I know why the Journal Star runs to Camp everytime something marginally controversial comes along, but does the guy really have any credibility? Furthermore, doesn't the paper have a responsibility to the community to provide honest reporting instead of trying to stir up trouble. I know the Journal Star needs to turn a profit and keep churning that ad revenue, but where do you draw the line? Obviously, the 48th & O deal isn't as simple as its been made to look. Camp knows this, but his ego is too big to resist the "I told you so." He's the most radical member of the council, and he consistently grandstands and carries on and generally makes a spectacle of himself on issue after issue. He's made a living off of property redeveloped with Gov assistance in the Haymarket, but has the self deception necessary to say that its not for other folks. If all of you anti-city folks are so gung ho about the do it yoursel free market spirit, etc.... why don't you go off the grid and put in your own outhouses and septic tanks like real Republican's would. Put your money where your mouth is. "
Nebraska Singaporian wrote on August 21, 2007 2:09 am:
" Come on, let'sdo something radical for a change, Lincoln! As overpayed as the land may be, it is now public land, and frankly, that whole sector needs to be lit up with some green! We should keep the land public and develop it into a park filled with gardens, trees, a field where people can play soccer and a playground. But there is a lot of space there, so further more, instead of another out-of-the-box-ready-to-go business [i.e. walgreens, runza, and anything else to do with food] we should do something to lift the population and spirit of the city. That section of down is very depressing because it's one big grey mess! Aside from a park and gardene, build a PUBLIC LIBRARY to searve that sector of the city. Be creaive, Lincoln, it should not always be about money, money, money and how to convert every possible section of the city into a revenue sorce; sometimes we just need to relax! "
Mark wrote on August 21, 2007 8:49 am:
" What a mess. I see if you go from the Legislature you become a Dept. Director. I am losing confidence in the city and I think we need to have an audit by a forensic accountant to see if anything is "a miss" in Lincoln. "

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