High Hopes for a High Rise
I am, according to today’s LJS editorial, a pessimist. I have suggested that the recently announced parking garage/high rise could very well be all of the former and none of the latter. The Journal Star, on the other hand, is happy to accept the mere possibility of a high rise, however remote it might be, as good enough news to justify heaping praise on Mayor Colleen Seng.
There is nothing “exciting” or “optimistic” about a new parking garage proposal in downtown Lincoln. Nor is such a proposal evidence of “the sort of leadership that too often seems in short supply.” Rather than “welcoming creative ideas”, Mayor Seng’s proposal in fact limits the creativity of the public and the market in favor of of a government-driven, government-defined approach. That a parking garage is hailed so favorably by the community’s major newspaper says oodles about the recent history of economic development in Lincoln.
The Journal Star, like Mayor Seng, has it exactly backwards.
Mayor Seng’s proposal puts the emphasis in the wrong place. Where she emphasizes parking, she should be emphasizing economic growth, job creation, and/or housing opportunities. A parking lot ought to be a sidebar story, not front page news. The parking situation can be improved, sure. I’m all for making downtown more accessible to personal vehicle commuters. But look at the tactic being used here: a mundane announcement ("City plans new parking garage") has been gussied up to appear more exciting than it really is. It is, potentially, little more than a classic bait and switch routine. Promise the best, but be willing to switch it for less. Remember what’s important, that when everything is said and done, the city is willing to settle for a couple hundred new parking spaces. There is nothing “exciting” or “optimistic” about that. Indeed, it reeks of mundanity and pessimism instead.
I will be thrilled if Lincoln pulls this off and finds a developer willing to spruce up Lincoln’s aging skyline. But wouldn’t it be nice to know that that outcome is an expected—even demanded—result of the process, rather than an accidental side benefit? I, for one, would much rather see a bold high rise as the goal and a parking garage as a fortunate perquisite. And if the parking garage doesn’t work out? Continue to look elsewhere. The Arby’s and Amigo’s properties come to mind, for example.
Unfortunately, these grand projects don’t have a strong history in Lincoln. The city cleared most of a downtown block for a grand, multi-level, mixed-use entertainment complex, and all we got out of the deal was The Grand. The Lincoln Fire Department promised The Bestest Service Evar™, and now they’ve come asking for financial assistance. And on and on.
On the other hand, Lincoln may be fortunate to have a bold visionary already knocking at our door. Hotel magnate John Q. Hammons has already expressed interest in the eastern part of downtown, and Lincoln has already shown a willingness to do pretty much anything—including threatening property rights violations— to get him to do business here. I hope Mr. Hammons takes a serious look at the property.
I agree with the Journal Star that this project deserves city council and community support. But that support should not take the form of accepting a mere parking garage after being told they have the chance to do so much better. Our community ought to have enough pride in itself to demand more.
The Comments
Concerned in NC October 29, 2006 at 9:10am
Check out another fine Hammon project.
http://www.saveourneighborhood.us/