The Scarlet Hotel will be owned, operated and managed privately. The property will include a full-service restaurant, coffee shop, sandwich shop, fitness facility, rooftop bar and additional high-end features.
The coronavirus pandemic has put a damper on the retail and hotel industries, but there are still some major projects in the works that should open this year.
One of the most notable is the arrival of Ross Dress for Less at Gateway Mall.
The discount clothing retailer, which is similar to Marshalls and T.J. Maxx but new to Lincoln, will open at the mall this year, but its plans have changed.
Ross had been set to open this spring in the former Forever 21 space on the south side of the mall, near the front entrance, but Gateway General Manager Chad Becwar said the store now plans to open in either summer or fall in the former Younkers location on the north end of the mall.
That likely means the store will be much bigger, as even just the top level of the two-level Younkers store is more than twice the size of the former Forever 21 space, but Becwar said he had no further details.
The other big retail project is a bit different. Camping World, the world’s largest seller of recreational vehicles, is planning a new store and maintenance facility in north Lincoln.
CEO Marcus Lemonis said in a November interview with the Journal Star that he hopes to have the store, planned for an 18-acre site at 63rd Street and Arbor Road, near the Interstate 80 56th Street exit, open by the end of the year.
The pandemic decimated the hotel industry in Lincoln, causing several to shut down for months and at least two hotel projects to be shelved.
But two new hotels that were already under construction have soldiered forward and plan to open this year.
The Scarlet Hotel, a six-story, 154-room boutique hotel at Nebraska Innovation Campus, is set to open in July.
The $31 million hotel, which is a Marriott Tribute property, will have a 2,600-square-foot space on the first floor that will be a working laboratory for students in the University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s Hospitality, Restaurant and Tourism Management program.
Another six-story hotel, this one a Holiday Inn Express, is set to open later this year at Ninth and O streets.
LINCOLN ELECTRIC SYSTEM
One big project that’s been in the works for several years is substantially complete.
Lincoln Electric System’s new corporate campus at 98th Street and Rokeby Road in southeast Lincoln partially opened in April 2019 with a new operations center and is now mostly complete other than ongoing construction of a new control center.
The utility will be moving out of its downtown headquarters at 11th and O streets, where it’s been based since 1987, sometime in April. That building has been sold for $2.22 million to local company BIC Development, which plans to redevelop it into condos.
Some employees at the downtown building, primarily those working in the business lobby and call center, are expected to relocate to the Walt A. Canney Service Center at 27th and Fairfield streets by April, said LES spokeswoman Sally Jarecke. The Service Center is under renovation to include a new lobby for customers.
“Having both north and south service centers allows LES to more efficiently serve the expanding service area, enhance customer response, reduce travel time to support services throughout the community, and mitigate the risk of having all equipment and field forces in one location,” Jarecke said in an email.
10. Wells Fargo Center
The Wells Fargo building is listed at 148 feet tall by Emporis, although a 1976 Journal Star article lists the height at 173 feet.
9. Terminal Building
The Terminal Building at 10th and O was built in 1916. It is 10 stories and 150 feet tall.
8. Georgian Place
Georgian Place (pictured facing northeast) houses a portion of the downtown YMCA at 11th and P Streets. The apartment building is 11 stories tall and 152 feet. It was built in 1926.
7. University Towers
University Towers, originally known as the Stuart Building, is 13 floors and 158 feet tall. It was completed in 1929. It stands at 13th and P streets.
6. Abel Hall
Abel Residence Hall at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln is estimated to be 161 feet tall.
5. Sharp Building
The Sharp Building, 206 S. 13th St., is 16 floors and 166 feet tall. It was built in 1927.
4. Graduate Hotel
The Graduate Hotel at 9th and P streets is an estimated 198 feet tall.
3. U.S. Bank building
The U.S. Bank building was built in 1969 at 13th and M streets. It is 20 stories tall and 220 feet high.
2. Lied Place
Developers plan to build the $30 million Lied Place Residences, a 20-story retail, office and residential project, on the north side of the Que Place Garage at 12th and Q streets. The building would be 240 feet tall.
1. State Capitol
The Nebraska State Capitol dominates the skyline in Lincoln, including looking west from 28th and J streets. The Capitol has 15 floors above ground and is 400 feet tall. It was completed in 1932 after 10 years of construction; the cost was $9.8 million in 1932 dollars.
The Capitol stays Lincoln’s tallest building because the Lincoln Municipal Code puts height restrictions on structures within the Capitol Environs District.
