Centennial Mall to be renovated for safety

After being in disrepair for nearly 15 years, Centennial Mall is getting a complete makeover.

The mall extends from the State Capitol building to the Nebraska State Historical Society on R Street.

The first-of-its-kind, seven-block-wide avenue was created in 1967 in honor of the state's 100th birthday and was designed to be an urban oasis in the city. It has been a stage for music, a place for friends to hang out and a place for ceremony.

"It's become a place for small-scale festivals," said JoAnne Kissel, a design team leader of Clark Enersen Partners.

Kissel is overseeing the process of rejuvenating the mall and meets with different organizations and businesses and that schedule events there. For the renovation project, she has met with "stakeholders" such as business owners, government officials and state office employees to see what ideas they have for the mall. There are four firms working on designs.

On Tuesday night, the public was able to see the preliminary plans for Centennial Mall. About 100 concerned and interested citizens came to see how their tax dollars were being used.

At the Scottish Rite Temple along Centennial Mall near L Street, an open house displaying new concepts and implementations for the mall gave the public an idea of what the now-barren strip could look like in the near future, thanks to a $2.2 million tax increment financing fund from the city of Lincoln.

Jane Neal, a Lincoln resident, didn't realize how the mall had been reduced to a hazardous walkway.

"I was surprised at how deteriorated it had become," she said.

Pictures of the run-down mall were displayed in the "history" station of the open house. The cracked sidewalks, crumbling steps and fountains that no longer operate pose hazardous problems to anyone walking through the mall. A slideshow presented the history and timeline of the developments of the mall, from when it was first designed and created to the new implements that will be put in place.

The revamping of the mall may include additional seating, water features, donor recognition and other interpretive possibilities. People were able to see new concepts and ideas in the "future" section of the open house. This included landscape layouts and photos of what designers hope the mall will look like once all remodeling is finished.

The main concept is to recognize and celebrate the legacy and stewardship in Nebraska for the past, present and future. The concept will be put into place by having three different zones along the length of the mall.

The civic zone represents the past and is closest to the State Capitol. The community zone representing the present is in the middle. The campus zone follows, which depicts the future and is closest to the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

Each zone will incorporate different activities and themes that relate to that particular region. For example, block parties would be ideal to hold in the community zone.

"We had no idea how much existing activity and future potential uses there were (for the mall)," Kissel said.

Autumn leaves have settled into the pits where fountain water would normally sit. The gaping holes in the ground are also a safety risk, so naturally, new fountains will also be part of the plan to revamp the mall. These basin-less fountains have jets that come straight out of the ground in order to create more flexible space.

"I enjoy the fountains," Neal said. "I understand and appreciate the new fountains that will provide more ground space for activities."

So why has it gotten to the point where it's beyond simple repair?