Downtown Beatrice redevelopment getting financial boost from state

BEATRICE – Just days before a Monday night open house on downtown redevelopment ideas, the City of Beatrice learned it will receive a grant of $400,000 through the Nebraska Department of Economic Development, that could aid the downtown project.

City Administrator Tobias Tempelmeyer says the city applied for $3 million dollars for downtown improvements, and $1.5 million for a sewer lift station project.
Tempelmeyer says the $400,000 will be used for downtown beautification on off-highway streets….knowing that a decision could be made to shift heavy truck traffic a block south.

"Things we talked about in the past...bumpouts, planters, signage...some of those things we've looked at as improvements in the downtown. There's no match, and we've not yet been told when to look at releasing the funds and how long we have to get it spent."

Tempelmeyer says the city has ten grant applications pending for various funding sources…as Covid funds begin to dwindle. But, there are other infrastructure funds available to cities. Most of the applications are for street projects.

"Some of them are as high as $20 million....some are just for a couple thousand bucks. All told you're probably asking for upwards of $50 million."

A consulting firm is working with City of Beatrice on ideas for making the downtown more pedestrian friendly, and accepting input from the public for any ideas that may work.  Main Street Executive Director Michael Sothan talks about an ideal downtown.

"Obviously, the perfect downtown for us is people who are really able to engage with our businesses and vice-versa....a downtown that's attractive, that's easy to use, easy to navigate and is certainly welcoming to both the business community but also for the people who are coming to visit our community and our own residents...a community that can be a destination for both its own residents and visitors alike."

Some components of past studies are still being considered….such as moving truck traffic or capitalizing on the nearby riverfront. Sothan says the consulting effort is exploring what’s possible without heavy truck traffic splitting the downtown, but moving it south to Market Street.

"This is going to be a challenging project...it's really going to be a lot of impetus on the city of Beatrice if the community wants to move forward with this. There's definitely going to be a lot of effort to raise those funds locally, be creative, try to find grants and other different sources of funding to try to make this happen."

The slower pace Court Street would include parking…perhaps a combination of diagonal and parallel spots, as one possibility.  Monday night’s open house on downtown redevelopment was held at the Beatrice Municipal Auditorium. Citizens had the chance to look at initial concepts that may have some future application.