Opulence Ultra Club, the downtown nightclub that’s regularly strained police forces since it opened less than two years ago, has closed.

The club, which had been in the lower level of the Gold’s Building at 1033 O St., was shut down by Security National Properties, which owns the building, property manager Kerin Peterson said.

Peterson wouldn’t divulge details on the decision to close Opulence, though she said the numerous criminal incidents that have occurred in or near the club — including a November 2006 brawl that drew every police officer on duty — were a factor.

“It was the best decision for the building. It was the best decision for downtown Lincoln,” Peterson said. “It wasn’t working for downtown Lincoln, clearly.”

In 2007 alone, Lincoln police responded to 44 incidents at the club, plus many others nearby, Chief Tom Casady said. Opulence opened in November 2005.

And police received numerous complaints from neighbors about late-night noise coming from Opulence.

“It’s had its fair share of problems,” Casady said.

Peterson said two possible new tenants have expressed interest in moving into the building, which has seen a number of nightclubs come and go over the years. She said the potential tenants aren’t nightclubs but wouldn’t elaborate.

Opulence’s owner, Robert Adams, couldn’t be reached for comment. But in a March 2006 interview with the Journal Star, he made it clear he had high hopes for the club.

“I wanted to redefine the way Lincolnites view the nightlife,” Adams said then.

In that vein, Adams geared the club toward professionals in their 20s and 30s, featuring Top 40, dance and hip-hop music as well as popular DJs and local bands.

“If you come to our front door and you have a good attitude, we’ll let you in,” he said.

Yet, Opulence battled obstacles from the start, Casady said.

Dance clubs in Lincoln tend to become popular with “high-risk drinkers and thugs,” Casady said, and thus struggle to survive. Like Opulence, they also strain police, an issue that’s increasingly troubling to Casady.

“The same thing that draws people there — that upbeat nightclub atmosphere — also draws a fair share of troublemakers,” he said.

Police have found intoxicated minors at the club and responded to multiple disturbances there. Opulence’s head of security has a long criminal history himself, including convictions for assault, contributing to the delinquency of a child and resisting arrest, according to police reports.

Adams cleared his personal property from the club but left the place “filthy,” Peterson said.

Still, she’s looking forward to offering a new opportunity to downtown visitors.

“We just wanted to be good citizens,” she said. “We found a problem and we were able to correct it.”

Reach Melissa Lee at 473-2682 or mlee@journalstar.com.