5 Cities, 5 Projects to Watch

This publication would be a 10-pound tome if it dove into every project and development fueling the fastest growing county in the state, and that would just include the projects that have been publicly announced! We took a more economical approach and narrowed in on five projects from the five cities of Sarpy County that encompass the growth in infrastructure, amenities, community, innovation and more.

The Sarpy County Economic Development Corporation just announced a rebranding and new name, Grow Sarpy, so it’s no surprise their Executive Director, Andrew Rainbolt, was able to share plenty of insight into Springfield’s growth hotspots along Highway 50 and Highway 370. “Growth in the area has been fairly slow and steady but now we’ve landed the Platteview Road Business Park and of course with Facebook expanding in Papillion and into Springfield’s territory, these are two key projects,” said Rainbolt. The 74-acre site for the business park is southwest of the intersection of Platteview Road and Highway 50 and will be promoted for light industrial and other similar uses to create employment and investment in Sarpy County. “It’s real estate space we’ve lacked in our market and what the project does for Springfield is show it’s a viable place to invest,” Rainbolt said of the business park, “I know they’ve got a lot of interest at this point and I’m confident they’ll be building some more buildings in the near future. Facebook’s growing presence along 370 helps in building the infrastructure they need to expand but it will be the completion of the sewer system expansion that Rainbolt cited as the accelerator for booming growth in 2025 and beyond. Rainbolt also sees the data centers as having a significant impact on Springfield’s school district in the years to come. “The data centers have brought in tons of valuation which brings in a large influx of tax base. That should bode well for their district and give them more resources and drive more housing development.”

Over 10 years ago the La Vista City Council approved the Vision 84 Plan which drafted the original vision for development along 84th Street. La Vista Mayor Doug Kindig saw shifts in the renderings of the project over the years, but the mission to meet the needs and desires of La Vista citizens remained the same. “We went to the citizens and asked what they want, and what the identified was a downtown area,” said Kindig, “We did well over a year of research and talking to citizens and holding public meetings before the Vision 84 Plan was ever voted on.” After years of careful planning, the 84th Street redevelopment kicked into high-gear when Omaha-Based developer, City Ventures, purchased the Brentwood Crossing property. The city participated in demolition and grading for site preparation as well as construction of public improvements. “We’re very fortunate to have them invest in our city and be a true partner along with the city to make this development come true,” said Kindig of working with the developer. The transformation of the space into City Centre will include office and residential space lofted above more than 200,000 square feet of neighborhood retail, dining and entertainment space. For Kindig, taking the time to create long-term planning on finance and infrastructure was key to seeing the project through.

Having been in progress for 11 years, the Gretna Crossing Park has had a creation timeline similar to La Vista’s City Centre. Citizen input has also been just as vital. “Gretna has always valued community, open spaces, relationships and pride in all we do,” said Gretna Mayor Mike Evans, “The project’s process matched those values by including all

members from different parts of the community, listening to what the residents wanted and taking pride in all aspects of the project to deliver a quality park.” Ground was broken in May of 2021 on the project that will include state of the art softball, baseball, football, and soccer fields, batting cages, a multi-million-dollar aquatics and recreation center, and more. “Gretna has been growing so quickly, making it difficult to provide everything residents want and need,” said Lauren Liebrentritt, chair of the City of Gretna’s Park Advisory Committee, “this park project gives the city the opportunity to offer new amenities as well as expand the city’s offerings to really keep the green in Gretna.” The city anticipates September of 2021 as the beginning of construction on ballfields and the community recreation and aquatics facility. Evans expressed his pride in Gretna residents having the courage to look past the uncertainty of the pandemic and understand how important it is for the community to have a space that provides a quality lifestyle for generations to come.

Mark Elbert began his new position as the Community Development Director for the City of Bellevue in 2020 and his first meeting on his first day on the job was on the Olde Towne development. The City of Bellevue completed their move from Olde Towne into the new municipal complex on Wall Street in 2016, leaving the area a prime opportunity for redevelopment. The vision became a multi-million-dollar project that would require the demolition of the old City Hall and police station, and bring in residential space, public space, retail and more. “The city has sold its properties, the old police station and city hall, and the ball started rolling from there,” said Elbert. Demolition of the city’s old properties have been completed, allowing the development and restoration to truly begin. The restoration project is a unique blend of “old” and “new” in that it will bring back some of the city’s history while introducing new elements. “It’s exciting seeing some of the renderings,” said Elbert of the next phase. “We’re working with developers on some cool concepts for revitalization.” One of those developers is Jeff Gehring with the Olde Towne Bellevue Development Group. Gehring recently announced a project that will bring several thousand square feet of new retail space and three floors of apartment living to the city’s historic area. “This area is truly a walkable and accessible community center and will be a great catalyst to jumpstart future development,” said Gehring of Olde Towne. He looks forward to making further announcements on aspects of the project involving street scaping, additional public parking and gathering areas. Gehring expects to break ground on the project in the spring of 2022.

Construction on the new Sarpy County Correctional Center is underway in Papillion at the northeast corner of 84th Street and Highway 370. It’s anticipated the new facility will open in early 2023. While the 150,000-squarefoot jail will address overcrowding issues, the greatest potential for positive impact comes from the center’s dedicated behavioral health unit, which will provide a space to treat inmates with mental illnesses and behavioral health challenges. “From the earliest meetings about the new facility, we knew the Correctional Center needed an area dedicated to behavioral health treatment,” Don Kelly, Chairman of the Sarpy County Board of Commissioners explained. “Approximately 21% of our inmates are dealing with serious mental illness, and almost 40% of those will return to jail within a year. If we treat a person’s psychiatric needs while they’re in custody, then connect them with community resources when they leave, we’re setting them on a more positive path—a path that’s less likely to lead them back to jail.” Improving mental health care services in Sarpy County has been a priority for the Sarpy County Board of Commissioners for a number of years. Conversations with UNMC on improving these services lead to the development of the forensic psychiatry fellowship. Through the fellowship, UNMC will provide one psychiatrist a year to assess and treat inmates with mental illnesses, with the goal of setting them up for rehabilitation and keeping them from returning to jail. --Celeste Pille