Business owners seek revitalization

Downtown Benson business owners want to take another step toward revitalizing the area by expanding the area’s improvement group and changing how the business fee is assessed.

The changes to the Benson Business Improvement District would fund a $40,500 annual work program.

If approved by the Omaha City Council, the district would go beyond the snow removal funded by the existing district to work on security, lighting, landscaping and maintenance. The Omaha Planning Board will be asked to make its recommendation on the plan Wednesday.

Greg Bourne, a longtime Benson businessman and owner of Burke’s Pub, said the expanded district would make visible changes that would help spur private investment in an area “teetering on the edge” of growth.

“The businesses and the public are just ready to jump in with both feet — I truly believe it — to make Benson a success,” Bourne said.

The revamped improvement district, which would cover 139 properties, is meant to build on Benson’s designation last January as a district offering tax-increment financing incentives for certain redevelopment projects.

The business improvement district would mirror the redevelopment district’s boundaries, generally running from Northwest Radial Highway to Maple Street, between 57th and 63rd Streets. Currently, the improvement district covers 62 properties, mostly along Maple Street.

The group’s governing board would grow from five to seven members, each appointed by the mayor and approved by the City Council.

Bourne said the district was formed in the 1970s to install brick streets and buy and keep up a parking lot at 61st and Maple.

The current fees are determined by a formula that considers, among other things, how close a business is to the lot.

Under the new plan, property owners would pay $2.50 for every $1,000 of tax valuation.

Benson’s emerging cultural scene has helped re-establish the downtown Benson area. That will be on display Saturday night at a music concert organized by Conor Oberst to raise money to fight an immigration ordinance in Fremont, Neb.

Benson also has organized its marketing and developed a plan to dress up the area’s streets and sidewalks. In the coming years, the City of Omaha plans to spend $1.4 million to build gateway entrances to downtown Benson.

Bourne said the expanded improvement district would target improvements that business owners want and get things done quicker.

Included in the district’s plans are efforts to:

Ÿ Clean up litter and trash and start a recycling program.

Ÿ Increase planters and landscaping, trim trees and pull weeds.

Ÿ Remove graffiti and improve lighting with safety in mind.

Ÿ Help form a citizen’s patrol and coordinate private security.

Councilman Pete Festersen, who represents the area, said the plan has strong support from business owners and the neighborhood. He said an expanded improvement district will help create jobs in the area and be “another sign that Benson is on the move.”

Contact the writer:

444-1128, jeff.robb@owh.com