Sunday, Mar. 07, 2010

Regents approve plan to demolish or renovate

By KEVIN ABOUREZK / Lincoln Journal Star | Posted: Friday, March 5, 2010

The fate of a 97-year-old building on the former state fairgrounds now has an expiration date: July 1. The University of Nebraska Board of Regents approved a plan Friday to demolish the Industrial Arts Building unless a suitable developer can be found to renovate or move it.
Student Regent Andrew Klutman of the University of Nebraska Medical Center and Regent Chuck Hassebrook of Lyons voted against tearing the building down.

The university will issue a nationwide request for proposals from developers with ideas for using the building. Any plans would need to be submitted before July 1. The university hopes to get rid of the building -- and more than a dozen others -- to make room for its new Innovation Campus, but supporters of the Industrial Arts Building say it's too historically valuable to destroy.

Diane Walkowiak, a Lincoln woman who recently started a petition drive to prevent the demolition, implored regents to postpone their vote to give the public a chance to speak. She said the four-month time frame for finding a developer to renovate the building -- which she said stands as a reminder of the state's great agricultural history -- is too short. "What's easy and what's right are not always the same thing," she said. "Let this building be the link from one century's accomplishments to the next. Let this building stand."

She said she already has gotten 148 signatures from people in 20 communities who want to prevent the demolition, and she will continue to do so. "These are Nebraskans who deserve to have a voice in what happens," she said. "I urge you to continue to listen."

Hassebrook had offered a motion Friday to amend the plan to postpone demolition of the Industrial Arts Building until at least Sept. 1, but the motion failed to gain a second. Both Heritage Nebraska and the Preservation Association of Lincoln, groups focused on preserving historic landmarks, have supported keeping the building.

The building, closed to the public in 2004, has aesthetic damage and a deteriorated roof. But its structure remains largely intact, according to a team of consultants hired by the two groups. The consultants determined it could be made usable for about $5 million.

According to Heritage Nebraska, it would cost an estimated $1.5 million to demolish the building. But UNL Chancellor Harvey Perlman has said demolition would cost about $375,000, citing a 2007 study conducted on behalf of the State Fair Board. That study estimated the cost of stabilizing the building at $2.4 million to $6.1 million, he said. Perlman said Friday delaying demolition could slow progress on Innovation Campus. "Delay is causing us concerns with respect to time and money," he said.
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Request for Proposals regarding the IAB can be found on the University of Nebraska Procurement website: http://procurement.unl.edu/bids.

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