Building Lincoln – September 2024

Over the years, Lincoln has grown right before everyone’s eyes. Nebraska capital city has seen some major changes throughout the years. Becoming the state’s second-most populous city, there has been a lot of expansion in recent history. None of which would be possible with the great help of the construction workers that help Lincoln grow. In the last 50 years, Lincoln has doubled its population. Back in 1989, the city was only 63 square miles. Now the city has increased 59%, and is now over 100 square miles. The city has built so much since then. There are four new high schools, a new Telegraph District and an expanded downtown area.

You can thank the amazing construction teams for their involvement for Lincoln’s growing city limits and incredible infrastructure. There are so many current projects happening in Lincoln to make it a better city and a better place to live for every resident here. A stretch of 40th St. from Rokeby and Tiger Lily Road is being repaved in order to improve safety and capacity of the transportation system. The project included new pavement with one lane in each direction and a raised center median. A new roundabout was constructed at Tiger Lily Road, and includes a new sidewalk with curb ramps to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requirements and utility work. The project is estimated at about $3.5 million dollars. The same improvements are being made to A St., Old Cheney Rd., and Holdrege. It’s immensely important to have new and improved streets in the city and Lincoln is working on improving each and every one. Projects like this are why Lincoln is constantly growing and improving.

Roads aren’t the only thing that Lincoln is working on improving. By 2050, Lincoln is looking to have 48,000 new households with four units per acre expected new residential density of new edge development in Lincoln, with 25% expected new residential units to be built as infill within the existing city. These predictions use existing trends as a starting point, but include an increased focus on promoting and achieving higher percentage of appropriately-placed and well-designed infill development. This allows a higher promotion of infill development and allows the city to focus more funds on enhancing and maintaining current infrastructure and services, while still providing the necessary investments to serve new growth areas.

Lincoln’s population was 290,206 in 2020, and in 2050 the population is expected to grow to 397,529—a growth of 107,323—these numbers show that Lincoln will need to accommodate for these new people. It’s important to always be improving the city, for there’s always something to improve.

It’s not just the City of Lincoln that’s working on improving Lincoln; it’s every incredible construction company that works around the clock to make sure every project they’re overseeing goes according to plan and makes Lincoln all the better. Here are some of the projects that these amazing companies have either recently completed or are currently working on, each one a marvel in its own right.

Cheever Construction (cheeverconstruction.com) is giving back to its community with their most recent two site project right here in Lincoln. Partnering with Lincoln Public Schools and with the help of Union Bank, Cheever Construction was contracted to oversee the building of two new athletic complexes for two of Lincoln’s local public schools. At Northwest High School, Cheever provided a space for student athletes from all over Lincoln to play in a space that looks and feels professional. The final product at Northwest High School included a football stadium, track and baseball field and will be shared by the entire district’s school. The stadium can seat up to 2,800 people and has a concessions building and a press box. Then, at Standing Bear High school, Cheever oversaw the construction of four soccer and two softball fields and a six-court tennis focus. The main soccer field features seating for up to 1,000 people.

Combined, the project included two football fields, two tracks, two baseball fields, five softball fields, nine tennis courts, eight soccer, concessions, stadium, bleachers, press box, restrooms and lighting.

Before this, most of the sporting events were hosted at Seacrest High School. However, now the districts in LPS will have the resources to practice closer to home, and huge upgrade and time save for all the sporting events the school hosts.

Because this was a two site project, it took about 12 months to complete, making sure that everything was up to standard and ready for the athletes to compete and play on it for the following sports season this fall.

“We work with schools all over the state,” says President Justin Kurtzer. “LPS has been fantastic to work with and it’s exciting to see what they can do with their new athletic space.”

Fall is a time for restoration and rebuilding, and that’s exactly what Kingery Construction (kccobuilders.com) has been doing. They restored an abandoned theater, made for movies and performances alike. Because of their work, they were awarded with the state award and were given the Blue River Art Council and City of Crete volunteer organization of the year.

This restoration of this theater will help bring performance, arts and entertainment to the community of Crete that wasn’t there before.

Kingery has been around for 100 years and continues to bring new life to performance and new life to old buildings throughout Lincoln.

“Our work continues to be beneficial to Lincoln’s economy,” says President Rod Berens. “We just finished working on a new facility for Bristol Windows, which does full service window replacement, both residential and commercial.”

Kingery is a company you can trust with both restoration projects and ground up projects. There’s nothing they can’t do. There’s a reason they’ve been a leading construction company for over 100 years. They are committed to delivering exceptional construction projects that cater to the specific needs of local communities.

Tru-Built Construction (tru-built.net) is always working on ways to keep Lincoln new and fresh, and this month is no exception. Recently, at 5900 S 85th St, The Mercato opened another location that is a combination of Certified Piedmontese retail sales, high end bicycles and cycling accessories, along with a small tap room. This was an interior remodel and took about four months to complete.

Another project recently completed is the new Capital Eye Care building located at 3920 Crescent Dr. which is located just South of the Super Target corner of 40th and Yankee Hill. Dr. Pfeil and Dr. Reins have built an incredible reputation over the years and their new facility allows them to meet the needs of their clients. They are taking on new patients as well so stop in and check it out.

Tru-Built is working on many other projects, including Aristos Apartments near 40th and Yankee Hill. Aristos is a premier apartment community that when complete will have over 425 units, 2 swimming pools, large courtyards, dog runs, and many other attractive amenities. This project covers almost 20 acres and will have new units coming online every year for the next 3 years.

Tru-Built Construction works on both residential and commercial projects helping their clients achieve their project goals.