Rotarian Dr. Daryl Hackbart was the Rotarian of the Week and served as the program chair, introducing Jonathan Jank, Seward County Chamber & Development Partnership President & CEO, who addressed the club on the proposed Seward Downtown Revitalization Plan and progress to date on the Plan’s implementation of the Downtown Commercial Rehabilitation Program (funded through Community Development Block Grant funds) at the September 12, 2018 Rotary meeting, held at the Jones National Bank & Trust Company’s auditorium. RDG Planning & Design (consulting firm in Omaha) was in charge of the planning process, which began in 2016. The last comprehensive downtown revitalization plan was developed in 1980 for the City of Seward.
Jank outlined the process and summary of the Plan, which is broken down into four basic categories: Pedestrian Zones, Gathering Spaces, Gateway and Infill Priorities, and Parking. He presented concepts and drawings of downtown development ideas that both were being executed and had been rejected.
For Pedestrian Zones, there is a proposal to make downtown more walkable. He showed proposed slides of new crossing concepts. The best example of creating new Gathering Spaces was an originally proposed fountain plaza that was rejected on the northeast quadrant of the Seward County Courthouse and replaced with the new William H. Seward statue and plaza located on the northwest quadrant, which is being supported with Seward Rotary funds and investments in a matching grant from Rotary International.
The Gateway and Infill Priorities work with renovating existing spaces and developing entrances to make downtown Seward more inviting. Parking deals with efficiency & reconfiguration, awareness, and allocation. Jank also showed slides that dealt with ideas such as creating a food truck alley and a proposal to place a major canopy over the seating at the Seward Bandshell, to make the facility more user-friendly throughout the year.
He complimented existing businesses and the work they have completed on their own to make Seward’s downtown district special, desirable, and a vibrant community center.
Jank shared details about Seward’s Commercial Rehabilitation Program, which received $350,000 from the Nebraska Department of Economic Development to distribute to area downtown building and business owners to conduct façade improvements and bring their facilities into city code compliance. A total of $307,000 is being distributed on a matching basis, with approximately $43,000 of the funding assisting with administrative costs, due to federal regulations and reporting.
He also shared some recent funds from the City’s LB 840 Economic Development Fund were distributed to support existing businesses renovating their downtown buildings along with assisting a possible new Mexican restaurant to locate in downtown Seward.
Questions and answers followed and extended into time after the formal meeting. The meeting was conducted by Rotary President, Todd LaVelle and closed in the prescribed manner.