Reveille

Issue date: 9/25/08 Section: News

Media Credit: Devon Seacrest University Pointe will be located at the corner of 48th and Huntington. The above photo is what the building is projected to look like.

In current events, everything seems to be about change. Voters are seeking a change in leadership, a change in policy and even a change in the perception of the world around them. With so much focus on change, it is no wonder that a desire for change has found its way into University Place, the community housing Nebraska Wesleyan University. Over the next few months, University Place will undergo two distinct changes. These changes: a new grocery store and a new commercial mixed-use building.

Heartland Pantry
When Hy-Vee announced the closing of its University Place store in March and that it would not be releasing its lease for five years, many in the Lincoln area were outraged. Hy-Vee, after facing heavy criticism, recently announced that it will be opening Heartland Pantry, a small-format grocery store owned by Hy-Vee, at 48th and Leighton in early November.

Heartland Pantry’s opening is largely due to the efforts of many within the community. “What is exciting about the opening of the store is the way the community bonded together to make it happen. I think that [University] Place has many great leaders who really show us that pride in one’s community is essential even if it is a modest community,” said Dr. Crystal Edwards, a Professor of Sociology at NWU. Edwards’ Research Methods II class conducted a project last semester devoted to convincing Hy-Vee to allow another grocery store to replace the old Hy-Vee store.

While Hy-Vee sold name-brand products, Hy-Vee announced that Heartland Pantry will provide private-label items along with “unique specialty items and special brand-name purchases.” Because Heartland Pantry will be half the size of the old Hy-Vee store, Hy-Vee is currently trying to lease out the rest of the store to other businesses wanting to invest in University Place.

Even though many are glad to welcome a new grocery store to University Place, many question the quality of the food that will be provided by Heartland Pantry and feel that the needs of University Place were better met when Hy-Vee was still in the community.

Still, there are some people who are celebrating the victory in University Place, yet they find they are unable to forget the bigger issue at hand. Edwards addressed this issue in commenting to The Reveille “While I am ecstatic to have a grocery store, I would like people to understand the broader issue, which is that across the country, working class and poor people have to go further and pay more for lower quality groceries. This is unacceptable and it is a critical social concern.”

University Pointe
While University Place residents anticipate the opening of Heartland Pantry, they will also be able to watch the beginning stages of construction on University Pointe, a commercial mixed use building. The building is anticipated to be “the cornerstone of University Place redevelopment,” stated Captain Doug Srb of the Northeast Division of the Lincoln Police Department during the Sept. 5 groundbreaking ceremony for the new building. Others present during the ceremony consisted of developers of University Pointe, current Mayor of Lincoln Chris Beutler, former Mayor Colleen Seng and other Lincoln residents.

University Pointe will be located on the corner of 48th and Huntington, which places the building next to Northeast Lincoln’s LPD headquarters. This means the new building will be “within proximity of Nebraska Wesleyan, who has been a very good neighbor [to the police department],” said Srb.
The environmentally friendly building is being constructed by WRK, LLC. and is projected to take around six months to be constructed.

Robert Scott, a Principal and founding member of WRK, hopes that the building, which can house a number of new businesses, will inspire investors to enter the Northeast Lincoln area. WRK has yet to determine which businesses will be located in the building. In part, University Pointe is an attempt to improve the economic prosperity of Northeast Lincoln.

Page 1 of 1

Article Tools