Downtown Lincoln had good news and bad news on Tuesday.

The bad news: A high-rise project planned for a downtown block has been put on ice.

The good news: A new retail incentive program is on the way to help entice entrepreneurs and businesses downtown.

The private group of business leaders known as 2015 Vision plans to raise a half-million dollars for the fund, which will promote retail business along P and Q streets.

Mayor Chris Beutler will ask the City Council to kick in $100,000, in the hopes of attracting 15 new businesses to the corridor in the next five years.

The Downtown Lincoln Association established an offshoot 501(c)3 called Downtown Ventures to operate the incentive program. It will receive and distribute the money, acting as a loan committee.

The idea is to help lure retailers that otherwise wouldn’t be able to afford to locate downtown. The fund could be used to take equity positions, subsidize lease payments or make low-interest loans.

Tom Smith, 2015 Vision member and longtime downtown business owner, said the city hasn’t come close to tapping the full potential of downtown for shopping and dining.

“We believe this program will benefit a wide range of developers and will be especially attractive to recent UNL graduates who can take advantage of this fund to start a business career and remain in our city,” said Smith, chief executive officer of Smith Hayes Financial Services Corp.

The incentive program sprang out of a 2007 retail study commissioned by the city, Chamber of Commerce and DLA. The study indicated a retail support program was needed to inspire more local businesses such as Stella’s and  the Black Market, and restaurants such as Lazlo’s and The Oven.

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