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Southwest Lincoln development could be scrapped

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BY JEAN ORTIZ / Lincoln Journal Star

Friday, Dec 14, 2007 - 12:07:00 am CST

The developer of what was supposed to be a 1.3 million-square-foot development in Southwest Lincoln with large retailers like Wal-Mart said Thursday those plans could be scrapped altogether.

Rick Kiolbasa of Dial Realty Corp. confirmed the firm has offered the land up as a future home of the state fair.

The land, 250 acres off U.S. 77 and West Denton Road, makes for an ideal site given its access and the improvements developers already have put into it, Kiolbasa said.

Story Photo
(LJS File)

He also mentioned possible interest from a neighboring landowner who, combined with Dial’s land, could altogether offer up 400 acres to the State Fair. He declined to name the landowner.

Dial initially pegged the land for a commercial, residential development called Southwest Village. The development was initially designed to include three big-box retailers, two hotels, restaurants, office or warehouse space and more than 100 townhomes.

A Wal-Mart official confirmed last week the retail giant was no longer interested in the site. Kiolbasa had said last week that the project’s timeline was a year behind schedule, meaning it wouldn’t begin construction until spring of 2009 at the earliest, and that the loss of Wal-Mart as a tenant had everything to do with that.

Kiolbasa said Thursday information was sent to State Fair representatives about two or three weeks ago, including information about the land. They didn’t send along an asking price.

Dial has invested about $5 million in the site, including building roads and bringing in sewer and water lines, Kiolbasa said. The fair could make use of those investments, he said.

Kiolbasa declined to say Southwest Village is completely on the back burner for now. He will remain open to prospective tenants should they come along, he said.

Reach Jean Ortiz at 473-7107 or jortiz@journalstar.com.


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ol'lady wrote on December 14, 2007 12:20 am:
" Let me get this right--their plans fall through, so now they want the state fair moved out there? How generous of them. Get that buck back, no matter what, huh? "
good wrote on December 14, 2007 1:09 am:
" best news in some time the less walmarts in town the better "
And so..... wrote on December 14, 2007 1:41 am:
" Once again....if Wally World doesn't want it then shut things down and give it up. Too bad for the area. Although we didn't REALLY need another Wal-Mart in town. Aren't there OTHER big names that could possibly locate there???? "
Seng Payback wrote on December 14, 2007 3:07 am:
" Perhaps Walmart decided to give Lincoln a little payback for Grandma Seng's inept union-pandering and keeping that Super Walmart from being built in NE Lincoln. Lincoln led Walmart on, then pulled the plug by setting that square-footage limit, so Walmart bided their time, and returned the affront by leading Lincoln on and then pulling out. Thanks for nothing, Grandma Seng. Revenge is a dish best served cold, and we've just had an icy mouthful. "
whatever wrote on December 14, 2007 6:07 am:
" Given the fact that we are in the midst of a recession(I don't care what the "official" stance of the "enlightened" is regarding this matter), building any kind of shopping center would be a very costly mistake. Lincoln needs to focus on attracting jobs to support existing business in Lincoln. Take this to the bank, once this holiday season is over retail outlets and restaurants will start closing in droves over the next 6 to 8 months. And this home foreclosure nightmare will really get bad. Watch for sales tax revenue and property tax revenue to take a very serious hit as people won't be spending and many will simply not be able to pay their property taxes. This thinking was once thought absurd a few months ago, but reading stories the past couple of days over a couple of dozen media outlets shows this to be "conventional wisdom". And I think we all know the media, the Federal Reserve and the "politically and economically enlightened" have been WAY BEHIND the curve in getting a handle on what's really going on out there. "
Getting the cart ahead wrote on December 14, 2007 6:23 am:
" of the horse is what this all seems to be. I find it hard to believe that you would spend over 5 million dollars to get something started and not have anyone with a commitment to be part of it. With todays economy not allowing most people to get ahead, I for one would be just fine not to put a cent into a money waster like a state fair. Surely the citizens can spend their money on something that would be a benefit to keeping someones business afloat and used continuously and not just a few months per year. Yeah I know there are a couple of things going on at the fair grounds, but look at all the waste sitting there day in and day out. I hope the city of Lincoln isn't putting the citizens money into this project with no promise of it even developing like it was designed. Good luck to all! "
Terry wrote on December 14, 2007 6:35 am:
" Hee Hee! Saw this one coming! The land speculators have ALL figured it out. Since they've pushed prices to an insane level, the only way to unload their over-priced property and still turn a profit is to sell it to a government entity! Dial should contact LPS. I'm sure they'd be happy to buy it and build another school. Then they can close a couple more neighborhood schools. The taxpayers and voters will snivel a little, but they'll still let 'em get away with it because "it's what's best for the children." "
Denton wrote on December 14, 2007 6:40 am:
" The roads along there are ALL messed up, and I have to navigate that muddy maze each day. PLEASE tell me someone is going to fix that if the project is scrapped!!! (PS- I wouldn't have shopped at that WalMart anyway...) "
Jeff wrote on December 14, 2007 7:10 am:
" Great - now fix our road - W. Denton Road! "
John wrote on December 14, 2007 8:29 am:
" That is a nice x-mas present. Yippee!! "
Ghost wrote on December 14, 2007 8:56 am:
" Or maybe this is a perfect site for the arena and convention center. "250 acres off U.S. 77 and West Denton Road , makes for an ideal site" "
Ron wrote on December 14, 2007 9:03 am:
" Sounds like a good place for a drag racing strip! "
Ghost wrote on December 14, 2007 9:04 am:
" Or maybe the University could do their developement there and then the fair could stay where it is "
Gee thanks wrote on December 14, 2007 9:14 am:
" Gee thanks. There is nothing on our side of town (big box store nor home improvement stores). Why is it that the lower income neighborhoods have nothing? We really need a Walmart on our side of town! We do the most shopping in those stores! I'd like to see the new fair ground site on the SE part of town. Those are the people that can afford to go to the fair and drop truck loads of money and support it. "
WHAT A JOKE wrote on December 14, 2007 9:25 am:
" SW Lincoln needs the State Fair out there like they need a new improved Denton road. What a joke. The Denton road is totally ridiculous and the thought of the State Fair moving out there is just plain bad. To bad they didn't just leave it as farm land. Now we have a big yucky mess of a road and no improvement to the local shoppers, and the State Fair???? FORGET IT!! "
Come On wrote on December 14, 2007 10:24 am:
" Southwest Lincoln, aka the forgotten. This was the only reason that we were planning on staying in the area. Oh but wait I guess that we could get to the State Fair faster, big deal. I want a Wal-Mart and shopping center there. This really makes me mad... Lets stop forgetting about SW Lincoln. "
Yup wrote on December 14, 2007 10:33 am:
" So, why is less walmarts in town better? I guess you're just anaother walmart hater, but don't you know all the stores sell the same thing walmart sells? "
Murf wrote on December 14, 2007 10:45 am:
" Sure would have bene nice to have a BestBuy out there. Maybe a BigLots or something? Oh well. "
West A Dad wrote on December 14, 2007 12:13 pm:
" What a shame. I think of all the people in SW Lincoln that would have spent money in that development. Including me. Not that I don't like Russ's Market down the street from me, but they don't carry everything I buy. "
Not Forgotten wrote on December 14, 2007 12:33 pm:
" I'm baffled by the number of people complaining how southwest Lincoln is forgotten. We looked at houses in SW Lincoln and realized that the developers in the area don't know what they are doing. There's a lot of residential areas being built, but no plan for retail and no close place for that kind of development. Moving to an area with expectations that things will be built there eventually isn't anyone's problem but your own. "
walmart wrote on December 14, 2007 1:24 pm:
" WHy is everyone so against Walmart? Don't tell me it's because they don't treat their employees right. That is such a cop out. The employees of Walmart are free to go and put in an application anywhere else in town and quit there altogether just like the rest of us are. It may not be feasable to do, but they have that opportunity if they want. "
re:walmart wrote on December 14, 2007 2:08 pm:
" Why is everyone so against Walmart? Go ahead and do some research (book, newspaper, internet) about global market economies and you will see how anti-american Walmart is and with any foresight will see that Walmart will leave this country in shambles – all in the name of a corporate buck. A good place to start; www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/walmart/ "
Dano wrote on December 14, 2007 2:15 pm:
" I would like to know when the developer will finish the road mess. They caused the problem. I was willing to support the development as it was, but if it becomes something else, like the fair, you can forget it. I will fight that for sure. Fix my road before you skip town. "
Sw Resident wrote on December 14, 2007 3:25 pm:
" This would be a great Place to build a casino and bring some real money into the area. Legalize Gambling in Nebraska !! "
keith wrote on December 14, 2007 3:41 pm:
" Wal Mart looked at the whole picture, the money not their. So why should they build...Now they want the state fair moved to this, out of the way site? "
north neighbor wrote on December 14, 2007 4:22 pm:
" Walmart scrapped a planned building in Sioux Falls and Sioux City in the last few weeks as well...there goes your seng consipiracy theory. "
whatever wrote on December 14, 2007 7:52 pm:
" "north neighbor" is correct. Walmart sees some dangerous things on the horizon with this economy. They risk "Woolworthing" themselves. "
How About wrote on December 14, 2007 9:24 pm:
" Hey, how about another Kohl's. I think we need another one. Sick of driving 15 to 20 minutes to get to the only one we have in town. Or another Best Buy, Something other than another Wal-Mart. Just my opinion! "
Wow wrote on December 15, 2007 4:53 am:
" I like the arena and convention center idea. That's brilliant. You could even combine that with the UNL thing. BTW- Not Forgotten, you are totally correct. My folks bought a house in a SW Lincoln development ages ago along with promises that they were going to see a new school and shopping very soon. They lived in that house for 20 years before an elementary school was built. "
Des wrote on December 15, 2007 1:23 pm:
" WalMart has hit saturation point in their stores around the country and their share prices have been falling lately. Also, people in general (not everyone, I know) are making enough money to be able to afford to go to better stores and preferences are changing. That is why Walmart is cutting back on their expansions. Unfortunately, a lot of the big box stores are also running into troubles lately, including Sears/Kmart, so we probably wouldn't get a Kmart back in town, which is too bad. "
bubba wrote on December 15, 2007 3:36 pm:
" I think it's safe to say that locally their are some who know what the bottom line is for some of the local Walmarts, thus the decision to scale back. Even in times of economic contraction there are some areas where it's profitable to build, suffice it to say that when the Worlds most efficient and profitable retailer makes a decision not to build in a location there is VERY GOOD reason. It's just commonsense. "

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