After Friday's deadline for informational proposals, UNL said it's received 10 responses, including submissions from local and national developers and several developers with research park experience.
MELISSA LEE / Lincoln Journal Star | Posted: Monday, August 18, 2008 7:00 pm
The ideas are pouring in.
The University of Nebraska-Lincoln announced last month it was looking for input from developers on how to move forward with its proposed research campus at State Fair Park.
After Friday’s deadline for informational proposals, UNL said it’s received 10 responses, including submissions from local and national developers and several developers with research park experience.
“We are very pleased at the response,” said Bill Nunez, director of UNL’s Institutional Research and Planning. “Now we’ll have to read and internalize what we’ve received.
“This is a very involved and important project, and we want to do an outstanding job.”
One submission comes from Utah-based Woodbury Corp. and Lincoln’s WRK LLC, led by brothers Robert and Will Scott. That partnership already is working to change downtown Lincoln: Woodbury and the Scotts are developing an arts and humanities block in the Haymarket that could include galleries, performance spaces, specialty shops and condos.
Woodbury also is a part of the team led by the Scotts that’s working with the city to develop a hotel, retail, offices and condos as part of the proposed arena project west of the Haymarket.
Walker Kennedy III, Woodbury vice president and general counsel, is in Lincoln this week meeting with city leaders about those and other projects. Kennedy said he plans to meet with UNL Chancellor Harvey Perlman to share ideas.
Lincoln, Kennedy said, is “an amazingly untapped market” that could benefit strongly from the proposed Innovation Campus.
“What hasn’t happened is, Lincoln hasn’t capitalized on the growth that can be created by the university,” he said, noting UNL’s record-setting research programs. “Nebraska is a major player. It’s an incredible university.”
Said Will Scott: “I just think (Innovation Campus) is one of the most exciting things for the state of Nebraska and the Midwest. We definitely want to be a part of it.”
Other developers interested in working with UNL include Omaha-based Noddle Companies, Craig Davis Properties in North Carolina and KUD International LLC in Long Beach, Calif.
UNL leaders cautioned they’re far from choosing a developer for Innovation Campus.
A committee of campus leaders will read through the 10 submissions, then, assuming there are standouts, invite three to five developers to campus for further discussions.
Then, armed with newfound insight, UNL will begin the more formal Request for Proposals process.
UNL is scheduled to take over State Fair Park Jan. 1, 2010. Perlman has said he wants to have Innovation Park plans in hand by that date so the university can move quickly to overhaul the fairgrounds.
That UNL has received so much interest from high-caliber developers tells Perlman a research campus is a worthy investment.
“I’m pleased with the quality of the companies that have responded,” he said. “There’s a diversity… and in that sense I’m very pleased.”
He said he’ll take his time picking a developer, looking for the one that can best engage the campus and Nebraska communities to make his vision for Innovation Campus a reality.
Leaders at KUD International LLC believe their company could be the one for the job.
KUD has experience with mixed-use developments like the public-private campus UNL envisions and is now working on a technology park in Israel, said KUD project analyst and business development expert Reed Harris.
The company already has ideas for Innovation Campus, Harris said, such as building housing, parking and retail facilities whose revenue could help fund the campus.
“We can help (UNL) market the park, we can help them design the park, plan the park, then build it,” Harris said. “This project will not only be an economic driver for the university, but also an economic driver for the state — if done properly.”
He said he’s excited to hear what UNL thinks of KUD’s ideas and, if the opportunity arises, pay a visit to campus.
“We’re looking forward to going ahead with this.”
Reach Melissa Lee at 473-2682 or mlee@journalstar.com.