HISTORIC PRESERVATION COMMISSION The City of Lincoln Historic Preservation Commission will hold a public meeting on Thursday March 18, 2021, at 1:30 p.m. in Room 113, County-City Building, 555 S. 10th Street, Lincoln, Nebraska, to consider the following agenda. For more information, contact the Planning Department at (402) 441-7491. AGENDA 1. Approval of HPC meeting record of February 18, 2021. 2. Opportunity for persons with limited time or an item not on the agenda to address the Commission. HEARING AND ACTION 3. Designation of 300 S. 7th and 700 M Street, the Meadow Gold Complex, as a Landmark – CZ21009 4. Certificate of Appropriateness for work at Leavitt House – UDR21016 DISCUSS AND ADVISE 5. Recommendation on property surplus at Cooper Park, in the South Bottoms National Register district – UDR21020 6. Misc. & Staff Report - Annual Report The Historic Preservation Commission’s agenda may be accessed on the Internet at http://lincoln.ne.gov/city/plan/boards ACCOMMODATION NOTICE The City of Lincoln complies with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 guidelines. Ensuring the public=s access to and participating in public meetings is a priority for the City of Lincoln. In the event you are in need of a reasonable accommodation in order to attend or participate in a public meeting conducted by the City of Lincoln, please contact the Director of Equity and Diversity, Lincoln Commission on Human Rights, at 402 441- 7624 as soon as possible before the scheduled meeting date in order to make your request. F:\Boards\HPC\AGENDA\2021\ag031821.docx TO: Historic Preservation Commission FROM: Stacey Hageman RE: Meeting of March 18, 2021 DATE: March 12, 2021 ITEM 3: Meadow Gold Complex Designation The Commission is asked to review the application to designate 300 S. 7th Street and 700 M Street, the Meadow Gold Complex, a local landmark. Recommended finding: The buildings are significant for their association with the Beatrice Creamery Company. Recommended action: Approval of Meadow Gold Complex Landmark designation. ITEM 4: Certificate of Appropriateness for work at Leavitt House/Prairie Creek Inn B&B Last month the Commission advised the City on Bruce Stahr’s proposed amendment to the Leavitt House/Prairie Creek Inn B&B Special Permit. HPC recommended approval of the amendment which would allow Mr. Stahr to construct a 60’ x 120’ structure on the east side of the barn at the Prairie Creek Inn B&B at about 148th and Van Dorn Streets. The historic Leavitt House is a concrete block American Foursquare-style farmhouse built for the Bert Leavitt famiy on the southeast corner of 70th and O Streets around 1912. The adjacent farm, along with the house, was sold to the U. S. Government in 1929 and the Lincoln VA Hospital was developed on that site. The medical center used the house for a decade, then declared it surplus in the 1980s. 1 The house was evaluated as eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places and when it was sold in the 1990s, covenants were placed on it requiring review of redevelopment plans by the Historical Society. The Society approved the relocation of the house to a more rural setting several years ago, in hopes of enhancing its preservation. The Stahr family received the “Stewardship” award of the Preservation Association of Lincoln in 2007 for their relocation and rehabilitation of the Leavitt House. Mr. Stahr is now proposing to construct a “pole shed” to store equipment and potentially use as a covered arena. An image of the proposed structure is included to the right. The shed will include a roof and supports, but no exterior walls. A Certificate of Appropriateness is now being requested from the Commission. Recommended finding: The new structure does not negatively impact the surrounding farmstead and historic Leavitt House. Recommended action: Approval of Certificate of Appropriateness. ITEM 5: Advisory Review on Surplus at Cooper Park The City is requesting the declaration of surplus property for a portion of approximately 1.59 acres of Cooper Park, generally located at F Street between 6th and 8th Streets. The purpose of the sale is to reconfigure the park boundaries and provide additional land for the Indoor Air Quality project at Park Middle School, reconfigure the access drive, and expand the play field. 2 The City owns the property proposed for surplus declaration. The transfer of ownership will facilitate improvements to Park Middle School, traffic circulation on site, and an expansion of the play field open to the public. Even with this sale, the city will continue to retain approximately 10.40 acres of Cooper Park. There has been no opposition to the sale of the property by any departments or public agencies and desire to retain any easements. This sale will benefit the community by providing land for an enlarged play field and modification of the two tennis courts into one multipurpose court for tennis and pickleball. Agreements will be put into place regarding public access of the shared facilities which would go from 30% on LPS land to 100% on their property. Because Cooper Park is within the South Bottoms National Register district, the City is seeking the Commission’s advice on this property surplus. The current design originated with the 1974 plan: 3 Modified in 1989, the updated plan excluded the northwest corner altogether: F:\Boards\HPC\HPCReports\REPORTS\2021\03 Mar\Mar2021Memo.docx 4 APPLICATION FOR LANDMARK OR LANDMARK DISTRICT DESIGNATION ADDENDUM TO PETITION TO AMEND THE ZONING ORDINANCE LINCOLN, NEBRASKA 1. NAME Historic: Beatrice Creamery Company (Lincoln Plant) (and/or) Common: Meadow Gold Complex NeHBS Site: LC13:C08-123, LC13:C08-133 & LC13:C08-134 2. LOCATION Address: 300 S. 7th Street & 700 M Street 3. CLASSIFICATION Proposed Designation Category Present Use ☐ Landmark District ☐ District ☐ Agriculture ☒ Industrial ☐ Religious ☒ Landmark ☒ Building(s) ☐ Commercial ☐ Military ☐ Scientific ☐ Structure ☐ Educational ☐ Museum ☐ Transportation ☐ Site ☐ Entertainment ☐ Park ☐ Other (vacant) ☐ Object ☐ Government ☐ Private Residence 4. OWNER OF PROPERTY Name: Dairy House LLC Address: 729 Q Street, Lincoln, NE 68508 5. GEOGRAPHICAL DATA Legal Description: Units A - L of Dairy House Condominium, and Lot 8, Block 71 of Lincoln Original, and Lots 1-7 of Lincoln Land Company’s Subdivision (of Lot 7, Block 71 of Lincoln Original), Lincoln, Lancaster County, Nebraska Property ID Number: 1026154001000-12, 1026120003000, 1026113007000 Number of Acres or Square Feet: 3 acres (more or less) 6. REPRESENTATION IN EXISTING SURVEYS Title: Historic & Architectural Survey of Lincoln, NE Date: on-going ☐ State ☐ County ☒ Local Depository for Survey Records: Lincoln/Lancaster County Planning Dept. City: Lincoln State: Nebraska Is the proposed Landmark or Landmark District listed in the National Register? ☒ Yes, Date Listed: Beatrice Creamery Company (Lincoln Plant), 2012 ☐ No 7. DESCRIPTION AND HISTORY Condition ☒ Excellent ☐ Deteriorated ☐ Unaltered ☐ Original Site ☐ Good ☐ Ruins ☐ Altered ☐ Moved, Date: ☐ Fair ☐ Unexposed DESCRIPTION: Summary The former Lincoln Plant of the Beatrice Creamery Company, also known as the Meadow Gold Complex, is a complex of 13 buildings occupying Block 84 (300’ x 300’) and part of Block 71 of the Original Plat of Lincoln, Lancaster County, Nebraska. The early creamery buildings on Block 84 are all of brick, varying in tone from deep red to salmon. More recent structures have walls of vertical metal panels. The flat-roofed buildings range from one to six stories in height. The south façade on L Street was the historic “main address” of the plant, while the west side on South 7th Street is the most built-up, with 300 feet of frontage, interrupted only by the center alley. The north face of the block towards M Street is made up of one- and two-story structures. Building M, located across M Street, is a one-story concrete block garage building. The center of the Block 84 M Street frontage consists of three newer, red-brick facades that lack integrity to contribute to the historic character of the block, but do not distract from the larger, older buildings around them. The east part of Block 84 is the most altered, with surface parking along the street, two vertical tanks, and a metal-clad warehouse (Building K) at the center of the frontage. The plant includes eight contributing buildings (A-F, J, and M) and one contributing structure (the bridge connecting Buildings D and E), five non- contributing buildings (G, H, I, K and L) and two non-contributing structures (two modern storage tanks). The tanks and Buildings G, K, and L were all built after the period of significance (1902-1960). Narrative The former Lincoln Plant of Beatrice Creamery Company is located in an industrial district west of downtown Lincoln, south of Lincoln’s Historic Haymarket District, and about six blocks east of Salt Creek. The nearly level site is located at the east edge of the 100-year floodplain of Salt Creek and historically the west portions of the site flooded. Block 84contains an interconnected complex of a dozen buildings, with historic structures constructed between 1902 and 1916. The complex was traditionally addressed as 726 L Street—the office location in what is now referred to as Building A. This description begins with Building A on the south side and proceeds clockwise around the block. The site formerly had rail service on both the east and west sides, as well as a spur that entered the block from the south near the middle of the L Street frontage. No tracks are extant on the block but a sidewalk detail along 7th Street marks their former location. L Street Facade The south, main façade of the Meadow Gold Lincoln Plant consists of four buildings in two main groups—the tall, 5 and 6 story cold storage structures on the west side and a pair of two- story buildings on the east side.