LPS breaks ground on new district office and commercial space

What a difference a year makes.

Nearly a year to the day after the Lincoln Public Schools headquarters burned to the ground, city and district officials celebrated the new office building -- and commercial development -- that will replace it.

Unlike a year ago, this is a perfect day today, LPS Superintendent Steve Joel told a group of employees and local dignitaries who gathered on the dirt at 59th and O streets, where construction workershave been preparing the site for weeks.

The district is building a new multistory office building that will be close to 100,000 square feet. Officialsestimate the building will cost about $15 million.

Continuum, aDenver-based company that will develop the commercial space,will payLPS $2.3 million for 1.65 acres, plus another $580,000 to help with the site preparation. The developer also will spend $280,000 to create a "plaza-like" setting on the site.

LPS continues to negotiate with itsinsurance carrier, which had insured the building for up to $15.6 million.Sofar, the district has received about $11.7 millionof insurance money for the building, plus about $2.7 million forvarious expenses, including thetemporary building leases.The district also has gotten the bulk of $3.7 million for computer hardware.

Nancy Biggs, associate superintendent of human resources, said the district is submitting expenses as they incur them.

The districtalso is building a new data center for its computer systems and renovating the distribution center to house the district's print shop, and it is unclear at this point whether insurance will cover any ofthose costs.

Tuesday morning, however, was not about dollars and cents; it was aboutceremony: remembering what happened, thanking the community and celebrating the soon-to-be-builtheadquartersandthe impending arrival of Whole Foods Market, which will anchor the commercial space.The plan also calls for11,600 square feet of yet-to-be-determined commercial space.

We look on this as a new chapter, of remembering, welcoming and breaking ground, Joel said.

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LPS breaks ground on new district office and commercial space