A general outline of a potential expansion of the Holland Performing Arts Center is scheduled to go before the Omaha Planning Board on Wednesday.
The measure would lay the groundwork for city government to approve the downtown project, and for taxpayers to subsidize it.
Parts of the project — notably the potential demolition of century-old buildings to make way for parking and other uses — already have been the subject of much public discussion.
Wednesday’s public hearing, like the one earlier this month for the proposed HDR headquarters tower next door to the Holland, will be the first opportunity for a public body to weigh in on the Holland expansion plans.
The City Planning Department is applying for an amendment to the city’s Downtown Northeast Redevelopment Plan for the lots east of the Holland Center. Much of that property, northwest of 11th and Douglas Streets, is currently occupied by businesses in century-old buildings, including the local landmark-designated Christian Specht Building.
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The amendment wouldn’t approve the project or commit any money to it.
It is a procedural step necessary before the developer, Omaha Performing Arts, could seek tax-increment financing, an incentive that allows businesses to divert future property taxes to certain development costs.
The amendment also lays the groundwork for the city to issue $11 million in redevelopment bonds, which are repaid by city property taxpayers, and for the city to potentially use eminent domain authority to obtain land for the development.
The Downtown Northeast Redevelopment Plan has been in place for almost 20 years. It has been used for several projects, including First National Tower, Union Pacific Railroad’s headquarters, the Holland Center and The World-Herald’s Freedom Center.
The Omaha Performing Arts project “contemplates the future construction of various expanded and new facilities in the project area,” according to Planning Department documents. “This may include office space, educational classrooms, performance areas, retail space, parking and other such comparable or suitable uses ... as determined by OPA.”
The project would provide “needed parking for the Holland Performing Arts Center, support certain initial parking needs for the new HDR headquarters, public parking, as well as long-term parking needs for the Holland Performing Arts Center and its future expansion.”
The documents did not include specifics. OPA has said it wants to erect a mixed-use building that includes 500 parking stalls. The organization hired HDR Inc. to do pre-design work on the building.
The city typically includes an eminent domain clause in all its redevelopment project plans. That doesn’t mean the city will seek eminent domain authority, but it preserves the city’s ability to do so.
In this case, eminent domain appears unlikely. Mayor Jean Stothert has said the city has agreed with landowners to buy the Specht Building and other properties east of the Holland Center and give the properties to Omaha Performing Arts.
That would give OPA control of all the land between Douglas and Dodge Streets, from 11th to 13th Streets.
Stothert has said the city would use redevelopment bonds to buy the properties.
The redevelopment plan amendment says the city would issue $11 million in redevelopment bonds. City taxpayers would repay those bonds.
The amendment would qualify the Holland Center project to apply for tax-increment financing, or TIF.
It does not explain where property tax revenue might come from in the Holland Center expansion. Omaha Performing Arts, as a nonprofit organization, does not pay property taxes.
Asked whether some part of the expansion would be a for-profit, property tax-paying business, OPA Chairman John Gottschalk said that has not been determined. The property acquisition and transfer has not gone through yet, he said, and the project is in the “pre-planning” stages.
He said his understanding is that the TIF language is in the redevelopment plan amendment, because it if weren’t there at this stage, the project could not seek TIF later.
“You wouldn’t have any need of a TIF if you don’t have a design,” Gottschalk said. “You wouldn’t have a design unless you had a place to put it.”
The Planning Department documents note that the 1884 Specht Building is a locally designated landmark. OPA would have to comply with state law and city codes, including going through the Landmark Heritage Preservation Commission, if it sought to demolish or substantially alter the Specht Building.
The other buildings on the block don’t have official historic building designations but do have historical significance. The plan says that “prior to undertaking the expansion proposed in this redevelopment project, the developer will consult with local preservation organizations.”
Gottschalk has pledged to work with community groups on preserving historical features at the site, but has said the Holland expansion would not work if all three buildings are left as they are.
He said last week that Omaha Performing Arts is planning for the long-term growth and viability of the Holland Center, and that the proposed expansion is a part of that.
“What we’re doing now is making the project possible in terms of conforming to the city’s plans,” Gottschalk said.
The Planning Board meeting is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. in the Legislative Chambers at the City-County Building, 1819 Farnam St.
Contact the writer: 402-444-1057, christopher.burbach@owh.com, twitter.com/chrisburbach