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.
JEAN ORTIZ / Lincoln Journal Star | Posted: Thursday, December 13, 2007 6:00 pm
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.
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.