The City of Lincoln will host two open houses this week in an effort to find common ground with area business owners concerned with the temporary relocation of the downtown StarTran transfer center.
Both events will be hosted at the “F” Street Community Center, 1225 “F” Street. There will be a morning open house Wednesday, February 21 from 9:30 to 11 a.m., and an evening open house Thursday, February 22 from 5:30 to 7 p.m.
Residents may also submit comments online at lincoln.ne.gov/StarTranTransfer.
The downtown transfer center is currently located next to the Gold’s building construction site, on South 11th and “N” streets. In mid-2022, the southside of the building was demolished as a part of a redevelopment project for one of downtown’s most iconic buildings, built 100 years ago in 1924.
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- Current StarTran Transfer Center on 11th and “N” Street.
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- The construction site of the now razed southside of the Gold’s Building. (Chase Porter, KLIN News)
Concerns began to rise over riders being exposed to heavy construction and dust from the construction zone. StarTran remained fluid and made adjustments to the transfer center, which is utilized by about 2,000 riders daily, while working to find an alternative temporary area for the transfer site. The current transfer center has been in its location since the 1970s.
Now StarTran is considering moving the transfer center two blocks south to South 11th and “L” streets for an estimated three years while a new multi-modal transportation center is constructed, which began development in 2019.
Mock up design of the new multi-modal transfer center, to be located on 10th and “M” Street. (City of Lincoln)
The proposed relocation site on the corner of South 11th and “L” Street is currently occupied by the now vacant Settells Inc. A printing business that operated on the corner from 1971, until closing doors in 2017. The building features a large awning facing the intersection.
The selection of the Settells building as a potential temporary transfer site has sparked worry from business owners along the 11th Street strip, over the potential impacts on riders and their places of work.
“L Street is extremely busy, it is a very dangerous intersection,” said SaRena Freet, owner of the Hot Mess — located on the adjacent corner of Settells — during public comment at a late-January City Council meeting.
Freet explained how this intersection runs into Rosa Parks Way, and is often flooded by traffic trying to merge onto the bypass. Additionally, she brought up safety concerns for riders, with the Settells building being uninhabited for several years now “it’s not very welcoming,” she told Council members.
The now vacant Settells Inc. on the corner of South 11th and “L” Street. (Chase Porter, KLIN News)
Waiting riders often walk from the Gold’s transfer center to 11th businesses to use the restroom or escape the elements, according to Freet. If the temporary transfer center were moved closer, she fears the problem would become worse. “When it’s extremely cold or extremely hot, people need places to go. It is a lot to be asked of the folks who work for me to navigate all those interactions,” she said.
View of the 11th Street business strip. (Chase Porter, KLIN News)
KLIN News spoke with Gary “Bo” Bohaty, the owner of The Beacon Lounge since 1998 — a few doors down from Settells. He says he’s less concerned with how the relocation may affect his business during the day-time, but rather by night, as the current transfer center has had issues with overnight loitering. Additionally, he says concerns about riders being near a construction zone could now be moot.
“I don’t feel like they’re making anything better by moving it, just moving the problem” Bohaty said,”The building has already been demolished. You already potentially exposed [the riders] to the dust, the dirt, the risk of a building collapse one way or the other. It’s gone.”
He also voiced concerns about Settells being adequate for a temporary transfer site without the installation of additional amenities, such as enclosed canopy waiting spaces (like the current site has) or restrooms. During a January StarTran advisory board meeting, the board said benches were what would be installed to accommodate waiting riders.
“When it’s cold or raining, those canopies are full. What about the people that are gonna be waiting in front of the parking garage, or on the south side of Settells? All they’re gonna supply is the awning from Settells and some benches. So people are just gonna stand there,” said Bohaty.
Lincoln Transportation and Utilities
Freet and Bohaty also echoed concerns about the loss of 11 on-street metered parking stalls to facilitate bus-stop location. To offset this issue, the city has said they would transition those on-street parking spots to the Carriage Parking Garage across from Settells, producing no net loss in parking stalls. Those spots would also be free rather than metered.
Amidst concerns regarding riders and impacts on business, Bohaty wonders if building ownership has played a role in Settells being selected for the temporary transfer location.
As mentioned, Settells has been unoccupied since 2017. Property records show the Settell family sold the building in October of that year for $425,000. The deed was transferred to South Street Commercial LLC in 2019.
In July of 2023, Brandeis LLC purchased Settells for the significant amount of $1 million.
Brandeis LLC was formed in 2021 by Lincoln-based hotel developer Mike Works. Works purchased the Golds building the same year from Keating Resources.
Knowing the Golds building owner had recently purchased the empty Settells building, Bohaty said, “And now it’s really unusual that Settells is the perfect spot to move the transfer station to.”
Describing development plans for the Golds building, mid-demolition, Works told 1011 News in March of 2023, “There’s things you have to work out with the city. In this case, we had a bus stop to move. We had lane closures that everybody that’s driven down knows is going on, on 10th Street. Those sorts of things take a long time to get started.”
LTU Director Liz Elliot told KLIN News, due to Federal Transit Administration (FTA) regulations, 11th and “L” Street may be the only area that can work as a temporary transfer station.
“If the temporary relocation does not go through, we will have to stay at our current location,” she said. “Which is challenging for riders, given the construction, which is not a pleasant location to be around noise, dirt, and those increased safety challenges that we deal with. So we would have to stay here until the new multimodal transportation center is built.”
FTA regulations require the site to meet all eight criteria:
- Must be in downtown area
- Room for six bus stop locations
- ADA accessible
- Covered waiting areas
- Capacity for daily riders
- Nearby existing downtown transfer center
- Street network can handle increased capacity
- Are there significant impacts to service?
Bohaty offered a few different locations as potential alternatives, such as the location of the old Goodyear Tires on 19th and “O” Street (now demolished) or 12th and “L” Street which is surrounded by parking on all sides. The latter location was disqualified, and it’s likely the 19th and “O” location does not meet all eight of the FTA criteria.
Elliot said she hopes to work out these issues during both upcoming open houses.
“Our goal is to hear everyone’s concerns and see if there are ways to work together to find solutions or minimize any negative impacts a relocation may have on anyone, including the businesses, the residents in the area, as well as the transit riders,” she said.
Both Bohaty and Freet expressed support for the overall project of building a new multi-modal transit center, but said they wished for more consideration and planning to be involved.
The open houses will provide additional information and a first look of draft designs of the multi-modal transportation center. The multi-modal transportation center will be the permanent home of the StarTran transit system and offer additional amenities including electric Scooters, BikeLNK bikes, bathrooms, sitting areas for riders and more.
Members of the StarTran team will be available to answer questions and offer information related to the transfer center and multi-modal transportation center schedule. No formal presentation is planned.