Four of Lincoln’s longtime cultural and community organizations are joining forces on a new shared home, announcing Wednesday that $15 million has already been committed toward the project.
The Cultural Centers of Lincoln Collaborative (CCLC) is comprised of the Asian Community & Cultural Center, El Centro de las Américas, Good Neighbor Community Center, and the Malone Community Center. The group has launched a $22.7 million capital campaign to build a 62,000-square-foot facility at 21st and Vine Streets.
The new center will house programs such as the Good Neighbor Center’s Healthy Food Distribution Program and the Malone Center’s Early Achievers Academy, while also offering shared event and office space for other nonprofits. Leaders say it will expand services while creating opportunities for collaboration and community connection.
“When we celebrate equity, we’re celebrating the promise of America. When we celebrate inclusion, we are becoming a better version of ourselves,” said Lincoln Mayor Leirion Gaylor Baird during a ground breaking ceremony Wednesday. “Diversity is not reverse racism, quite the contrary. Our diversity and our work to celebrate it and lift it up and empower all people in Lincoln is how we move forward together as a city, as a state, and as a country.”
Together, the four centers serve more than 15,000 people each year with programs focused on health, housing, education, cultural celebration, and social support. Their combined history of service stretches back nearly 200 years.
The project will redevelop part of the long-vacant former Cushman site, owned by the University of Nebraska–Lincoln.
Lancaster County has pledged $3.5 million in federal American Rescue Plan Act funding for the project. CCLC is now seeking to raise the final $7.7 million needed to complete the campaign. The building’s completion is expected in 2027.
More information is available at culturalcentersoflincolncollaborative.com.
Cultural Centers of Lincoln Collaborative