Downtown Lincoln prepares for impact of 'Project O Street' as construction is set to begin

Downtown Lincoln business owners and community members gathered at Union Bank Place on Tuesday, excited about planned improvements to sidewalks, repaired water mains and new landscaping when the $35 million "Project O Street" construction wraps up in fall 2027.

It was the first of five open houses, where members of the project team answered questions about the planned improvements, phases of the project and construction schedule.

Liz Elliott, director of Transportation and Utilities for the City of Lincoln, said the city started conversations with local businesses and community members early to prepare them for the construction.

“We know no matter what we do, it is still construction, and that still causes challenges. So we're just trying to minimize that as much as possible,” Elliott said.

It’s Cinnamon Dokken’s 35th year owning A Novel Idea, and she’s gone through projects like this in the past. She said each time she and the store hit it head on with lots of fun promotions. She’s also noticed that the city has had a different approach this time.

“The city has done a great job this time around. I think just meeting with business owners far in advance, both individually, hosting meetings, hosting open houses like this, I think they've developed a good model this time around,” Dokken said.

Dokken is also one of the owners and the property manager for the Parrish Project — a creative hub in the building at 14th and O streets. Dokken, along with other Parrish Project businesses and studios, were inspired by the construction to launch a promotion: "Wizard of O Street."

“It may be more of an adventure to get to us, but at Parrish Project, we're making it worth your while. So we're doing a promotion for the entire length of time that our building is in the active zone,” Dokken said.

While Dokken is excited for future opportunities once the project is over, she said the present is just as fun amid the construction.

“This is the first time that we've really had so much participation and so much cooperation, collaboration, both with the businesses in our building and our neighborhood and with the city and Downtown Lincoln Association, " Dokken said.

Around the corner from Dokken’s book store, Aaron Tomasek, the manager at Cberrys Barbecue, is tackling how to bring in customers during the lunch and dinner hours when he’s not getting the midnight rush.

He said the barbecue spot is creating an easier online ordering platform for people to swing by along with specials during construction. He’s still apprehensive, though, after seeing other projects take a lot longer than planned.

“You hear the horror stories about Omaha, like their street car projects, and just like other things. Like, how the 48th Street (project) took long, too,” Tomasek said.

Elliott said that her goal is to make sure businesses and residents are aware in advance of the impacts and schedule of construction.

“We really want to make sure that people have the information they want, whether they're living in the area, whether they're doing business in the area, and we learn from every project,” Elliott said. “So we've taken all of those lessons and continue to apply them here with Project O Street, and we'll continue to apply with other projects.”

Construction begins April 13 with phase 1 — 14th to 16th streets — and will move east to west, ending at Ninth Street.

“To actually see the work starting to take place is super exciting. And our hope and our motto on this is, let's get in, get it done, and get out as fast as possible,” Elliott said.