Lincoln, Nebraska, approves bonds for new central library
4 min read
City of Lincoln Libraries
Municipal bonds will help finance a new central public library in Lincoln, Nebraska, where the city will take advantage of the availability of a former community college building.
Plans for new building were set aside when the Southeast Community College’s downtown Education Square building became available, lowering the cost of the project.
The City Council unanimously passed three ordinances on Monday, paving the way for the bond-financed project.
The ordinances authorized the issuance of bonds; amended the city’s capital improvement program after a change in plans; and ratified a real estate purchase and sale agreement between the Lincoln City Libraries and Southeast Community College.
The $25 million of municipal improvement bonds approved to help fund the project will be secured by the pledged receipts of the city’s 1.5% sales tax, as well as a portion of its property tax levy authority, according to
Lincoln is rated triple-A by Moody’s Ratings and S&P Global Ratings. The outlook is stable.
The total cost of the project will be $46.2 million, according to
The current 60,000-square-foot Bennett Martin Public Library was built in 1962 with additions in 1968 and 1978, according to the documents. As the area around the downtown library sees ongoing population growth, the city concluded that Bennett does not meet the community’s needs and would incur significant deferred maintenance costs.
The plan had originally been for a new downtown library to be developed on the site of a former sports arena. But the city scrapped that plan, which called for $70 million of general obligation bonds, when it became aware that Southeast Community College was looking to sell its building at 1111 O Street.
When the community college told the city it would be leaving the building in question, “it was too good an offer to say no to,” Lincoln councilmember at-large Sändra Washington told The Bond Buyer.
Washington said the mayor and her staff brought the idea to the City Council in small group discussions earlier this year.
The college had occupied the Education Square building, originally built in the 1970s as the Centrum shopping mall, since 1995, according to a
Southeast Community College’s main campus is five miles away on the outskirts of town.
A spokesperson for Mayor Leirion Gaylor Baird did not respond to requests for comment.
“The cost difference was sizable,” Washington said of the gap between building from the ground up on the city of the former Pershing Center Arena, and remaking the existing community college building.
Meanwhile, she said the city determined it would cost $57 million to repair and modernize the Bennett building.
Now Lincoln is looking at a public-private partnership plan that includes the revenue bonds, $18 million in private contributions and $5.2 million in interfund loans.
“Having the library board jump in and say, ‘This is great,’ and having their foundation say, ‘We can make this a public-private partnership,'” was wonderful, Washington said. “They’ve committed $18 million. About 10 days ago, they had reached 40% of that number. So there really is a private capacity for folks to give, and they’re wanting to give to this project.”
She added, “And construction bids have been coming in a little below estimate, so we’re super excited.”
The city didn’t want to wait to buy the land, she said, so City Council members were glad to see a plan emerge that allowed them to act quickly.
City of Lincoln Libraries
“Being able to move forward on a central library sooner made sense,” Washington said. “A big project in Lincoln is almost always a collaboration.”
City Council members voiced jubilation at Monday’s development, which comes after decades of discussion and planning.
“I think this conversation has been happening for over 20 years… and it’s really good to be at this place,” Washington said at the City Council meeting. “Libraries are more than books. They’re more than people. Libraries speak to the future of our community.”
The coalescing of various pieces of the funding puzzle was exciting for some of the public servants leading Monday’s meeting, councilmember at-large Tom Beckius said at the meeting.
“When I joined the library board of trustees in 2009, I didn’t understand at the time why the central library project wasn’t progressing on the (Capital Improvement Program) plan,” Beckius said. “The reason was that there was no funding source.
“There was a monumental discussion being had in the community, even at that time, about whether a central library made sense… That was 16 years ago,” Beckius said, adding that what he is now hearing from the community is “a resounding ‘yes.'”
Washington noted there had been vocal advocacy by climate activists concerned about the environmental impact of the new building, but said that as a conservationist herself, she believed the library can be eco-friendly even as it serves the community.
The vote was followed by an outbreak of applause from library supporters attending the meeting.
