Heritage Nebraska Continues Working to Save Industrial Arts Building
January 21, 2010
Even though the University of Nebraska Board of Regents voted Friday (January 22) to demolish or remove a number of lesser buildings on the old Nebraska State Fairgrounds, the Industrial Arts Building was not on the list. University officials say the fate of the 96,000 square foot building (1913) has not been determined, but a Request For Proposal for dealing with the building is in the works.
Heritage Nebraska asked the State Historic Preservation Office for a ruling on the use of federal funds on the University’s proposed Nebraska Innovation Campus to either restore or demolish the building or two others deemed historic. In a letter to Heritage Nebraska, State Historic Preservation Officer Mike Smith said the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation has deemed that any use of federal funds for the campus plan would be subject to Section 106 review and the University would be required to prove that it had done due diligence in determining the fate of the buildings.
In a subsequent letter to University officials and Regents, Schmidt asked that Heritage Nebraska be considered a participant in such deliberations and also forwarded a copy of Smith’s letter.
Heritage Nebraska has completed an independent feasibility study on the property and provided cost estimates for stabilizing the building ($250,000), rehabilitating the building to a usable shell ($5 million) or demolition ($1.5 million).
A planning team hired by the University had recommended removal of the building in favor of keeping and re-using the nearby 4-H Building. University officials say they can’t afford to do both buildings for the proposed innovation campus.