City Reveals Design Concepts for South Haymarket Park
Published on April 25, 2023
Lincoln Parks Foundation kicks off capital fundraising campaign
Mayor Leirion Gaylor Baird with state and local leaders today unveiled design concepts for the proposed South Haymarket Park at Seventh and “N” streets. Construction is scheduled to begin in fall 2024 with many major components completed in late 2025. The $15 million project will be designed by GGN, a Seattle-based landscape architecture firm.
“We unveil today the design concepts for our South Haymarket Park – a destination urban park that will enhance Lincoln’s economy and quality of life for generations to come,” said Mayor Gaylor Baird. “South Haymarket Park will support the continued growth of residential living downtown, catalyze economic development activity and tourism, and promote health equity and a livable community for all Lincoln residents.”
Joining Mayor Gaylor Baird for the announcement were Parks and Recreation Director Maggie Stuckey-Ross; Nebraska Department of Economic Development Chief Strategy Officer for Economic Recovery Trevon Brooks; Rabble Mill Co-Executive Director and Co-Founder Mike Smith; Downtown Lincoln Association President and CEO Todd Odgen; Lincoln Parks Foundation Executive Director Randy Gordon, and Lincoln Community Foundation President and CEO Alec Gorynski.
The South Haymarket Park project is the culmination of years of planning and community feedback – with the vision for a downtown park first made in the 2005 Downtown Master Plan, Stuckey-Ross said. Park plans include a canopy with front porch-style swinging benches along “N” Street, shaded seating areas, a skatepark, a dog park, a plaza with an interactive water feature, trees, lawns and gardens, the Chris Beutler trail, and an accessible playground.
“Great cities have great parks,” Stuckey-Ross said. “South Haymarket Park will change Lincoln in a way that we can only imagine today – much like other parks have changed Lincoln. Like Pioneers Park has done since its dedication 93 years ago. Like Antelope Park has done since its dedication 118 years ago. Like Holmes Lake Park has done since its dedication 61 years ago.”
Gordon announced that the Lincoln Parks Foundation has launched a new fundraising campaign for park construction, with $6.7 million already raised from donors including the J.A. Woollam Foundation, the Gravel Worlds organization and the Great Plains Trails Network.
Gorynski said the donations include a $200,000 gift from the Kenneth J. Good Fund as part of an endowment for ongoing care of park amenities created by the Lincoln Community Foundation in 2019.
In March, the Nebraska Department of Economic Development City awarded the city a $2.125 million American Rescue Plan grant to help develop the park. In January, the City selected EADO, LLC of Lincoln as the developer for the 1.54-acre redevelopment site at the northeast corner of the six-acre Haymarket Park lot. EADO, LLC intends to construct a mixed-use, five-story building with a total proposed investment of about $47.5 million. In addition to office and commercial space, plans for the 161,200 square-foot building include affordable and market rate apartments.
For more information on South Haymarket Park, visit lincoln.ne.gov/southhaymarketpark.