Nebraska doesn’t offer panoramic mountain views, so a group of lawmakers and developers are considering a different way of leveraging the state’s notoriously flat topography by digging a 4,000-acre lake to boost population retention, recreation and economic development, the Nebraska Examiner reports.
The project, which is centered around the creation of a 7-mile sandpit lake, would cost about $1 billion, most of which would come from private investment, the outlet reported.
(Courtesy of Plan Preserve Play NE)
There are still numerous hurdles that need to be cleared — including where the project would be located — before anything moves forward, according to state Sen. Mike McDonnell.
However, in a progress report to aMetro Omaha Builders Association earlier this week, McDonnell presented a conceptual plan with a preferred site between the state’s two largest cities, Lincoln and Omaha, adjacent to the Lower Platte River at Highway 6 and Interstate 80.
The economic impact of the site could reach $1.8 billion, McDonnell said, with the east shore of the lake generating about $525 million. MOBA officials backed the plan as an opportunity to spur years of development.
“I think you’ll see demand through the roof for those lakefront properties,” MOBA President Brett Clarke told the outlet. “Put water anywhere and a house next to it — it’s as good as gold.”
At least several MOBA board members said the project would fly only if there was public access to the water, as well as less-expensive housing on and near the lake.
“A lake this size is going to take all kinds of people — and a lot of people,” Clarke said.
The discussion around commercial development centered on entertainment venues, boutiques, restaurants and doughnut shops.
The concept of constructing a lake dates back to the late 1800s. However, this iteration has legs because it doesn’t involve damming the Platte River, and the state has excess funds, including federal stimulus money.
The project has drawn opposition from people who are concerned they’ll be forced off their property via eminent domain. Other concerns center around potential impact on the groundwater.
So far the state legislature has approved $20 million for a feasibility study, as well as another $26 million for construction.
McDonnell told the group that if the location is approved by the state, the project would take six or seven years to complete.
“I think it would just be a boon to the local economy, Lincoln and Omaha,” Dan Vogtman, another MOBA board member, said.
— Ted Glanzer