Grand Island gears up for Aug. 13 special election, public incentives related to Good Life District

Rendering of proposed Veterans Village, which is a focal point of the Woodsonia Real Estate-led Good Life District in Grand Island. An enhanced Eagle Scout Lake is in the forefront with the "state-of-the-art" sports complex in the background (Courtesy of Woodsonia)

LINCOLN — Though Grand Island was the latest to join Nebraska’s approved Good Life Districts, it appears poised to be the first community to get that so-called good life rolling.

Council members have set an Aug. 13 special election to decide whether the city will create an “economic development program” to guide tourist-magnet development and new public incentives envisioned under the Good Life law , passed in 2023 and refined in 2024.

Grand Island leaders are working with developer Woodsonia Real Estate, which successfully applied to lead the district in this city of about 53,000. Only five such project sites are permitted under the state legislation.

Gretna and Omaha applicants also have been approved by the Nebraska Department of Economic Development.

Covering 875 acres

The Woodsonia-led Grand Island district stretches 875 acres to encompass an existing retail corridor along Highway 281 as well as a largely undeveloped tract to the north.

Woodsonia plans to build up the undeveloped portion with an estimated 2,000 new apartments, 220 single-family homes, a business park and a sports complex equipped to draw regional and national sporting events.

That planned mixed-use “Veterans Village” of nearly 400 acres is one anchor, while, to the south, the reborn Conestoga Marketplace mixed-use development is underway as another key piece.

In all, Woodsonia partners Drew Synder and Mitch Hohlen said they foresee more than $750 million in new investment within the district and 300,000 out-of-state visitors a year.

Supporters kick off public campaign

With DED approval of a district comes the state’s nod to reduce the state sales tax rate on sales within the designated boundaries — from 5.5% to 2.75%.

But for a city to recapture that eliminated state revenue and direct it to district development efforts, as envisioned by the law’s architects, approval of local voters is required.

Grand Island citizens are being called to return their mail-in ballots by Aug. 13 — an election timetable that’s ahead of Gretna’s, whose city council has yet to schedule a special election for its approved district, which is led by Nebraska Crossing mall owner Rod Yates.

Omaha has not publicly discussed its process, and the Avenue One developer who applied and was approved to lead the district could not be reached for comment.

A newly formed ”Good Life for Grand Island” political committee took a step Thursday to further that city’s efforts to build a district.

The group of supporters kicked off its public campaign to convince voters to vote “for” creation of the economic development program.

An affirmative vote, city leaders said, would empower the city to impose a “replacement tax,” likely in the form of a local sales tax and or occupation tax, to essentially recoup the sales tax portion given up by the state.

Based on taxable sales last year in the Grand Island district boundaries, the city anticipates it could recapture more than $7.5 million the first year to direct toward development within the district.

Good Life promoters say the payback for the public incentives is an anticipated future overall increase in tax revenue and quality of life.

‘Talk about a whirlwind’

Tonja Brown of Grow Grand Island, which is leading the campaign, said the group’s biggest challenge is to educate residents about what a Good Life District is and the impact of the special election.

It’s complex, she said, even if one followed the Nebraska Legislature as it honed the law. And, she said, time is of the essence.

“Talk about a whirlwind,” said Brown, noting the short time left until the special election. “That does put us in a position where we could very easily be the first Good Life project off the ground.”

Grand Island wanted to get the special election process moving, said City Administrator Laura McAloon, because the state in October is set to cut in half the state sales tax rate within the district boundaries.

The city’s official website features a “frequently asked questions” list and other relevant information to help inform residents.

If the Aug. 13 vote is affirmative, McAloon said the city will move swiftly to create the economic development program, which will include development tools and mechanisms to essentially redirect the eliminated portion of state sales tax revenue.

“We want to be queued up so that not one penny of that is lost,” said McAloon.

Plan B in the wings

Woodsonia representatives said voter approval would open the door to bigger and faster change. But they said that despite the election outcome, they’re invested in their vision and would seek a “Plan B” to help finance the Veterans Village and Conestoga Marketplace mall enhancements. The developer has already started work on the mall.

The village is near the Nebraska Veterans Cemetery and former Veterans Home campus, which is being redeveloped by a different developer in an unrelated project.

To benefit from any redirection of state sales tax revenue, Woodsonia and other Good Life developer applicants must meet certain criteria laid out in the law. Depending on the community population, for instance, the developer must demonstrate minimum levels of new investment, tourism, jobs and new-to-Nebraska retail entertainment and dining attractions.

Nebraska Crossing has been the main advocate for the Good Life legislation, with Yates touting plans for a $5 billion, $3,000-acre development that his team says could attract 20 million visitors a year and in excess of $2 billion in sales.

But both the DED and the Nebraska Crossing team have requested delays in setting a special election for Gretna.

Woodsonia also owns some land in the Gretna district and anticipates a smaller project in that area as well.

Hohlen said Woodsonia currently has eight other mixed-use commercial and residential developments underway, including a more than 500-acre project near 204th and Q Streets in Omaha.

Of the Grand Island project, Snyder said it would help meet the area’s demand for more housing, enhance shopping and activate underused parts of town such as Eagle Scout Lake.

“It’s going to add significant out-of-state tourism with the state-of-the-art sports complex that central Nebraska does not have,” said Snyder. “It’s a unique opportunity.”

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