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Lincoln, NE

Lincoln Files $44 million Permit to Turn an Old Downtown Mall Into Its New Central Library

A $44 million building permit application filed Oct. 21 covers the conversion of the former Centrum Mall at 1111 O St. into Lincoln, Nebraska's new Central Library, a project now budgeted at $58.8 million.

By Morningline Research · October 23, 2026

Lincoln's new Central Library has its building permit application on file. Filed Oct. 21 at a reported value of $44 million, it covers the conversion of 1111 O St., a downtown building that opened in 1979 as the Centrum Mall, into the library that will replace the 1962 Bennett Martin Public Library.

It's the first construction price we've seen on the project since the city put the whole thing at $58.8 million this summer. Lincoln has been planning the move since May 2025.

What the permit covers

Timeline of the permit application and milestones for Lincoln's new Central Library
Graphic: Morningline Research, from City of Lincoln permit records and the reporting linked in this story.

The application describes "the adaptive reuse of an existing building" into the new City of Lincoln Central Library. The work runs top to bottom.

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Inside, it starts with interior demolition, then a full renovation with new mechanical, electrical and plumbing systems and new sprinklers. Up top, the existing atrium roof comes off and a new mass timber community event space goes on the roof, with part of the roof planted green. Outside, the permit lists a renovated facade, new sidewalks around the building and work in the south alley, plus limited work in the city-owned parking garage next door.

Lincoln's permit records are dated by filing, so this is an application as filed with the city. Permit values are estimates filed with the city, not contract amounts.

From mall to classrooms to books

The building opened as the Centrum Mall in 1979, according to the Lincoln City Libraries project page. Southeast Community College moved into parts of it in 1995 and ran it as its Education Square campus. The college put it up for sale, and in May 2025 the city announced it wanted to buy it for the library.

The pitch was cost. At the May 2025 announcement the city estimated the conversion at $46 million, against $57 million to remodel Bennett Martin and $70 million for a new building on the old Pershing Center site, KLKN-TV reported. "Twenty-first century libraries power 21st century cities," Mayor Leirion Gaylor Baird said that day. Because the project uses infrastructure bonds, city funds and private gifts, it didn't need a public vote.

The City Council approved the purchase in July 2025, the city said that November.

A bigger budget, mostly covered

The price has grown since. When the city launched its public fundraising campaign on June 17, the project stood at about $58.8 million, and the private goal had risen from $18 million to $26.5 million because of inflation and higher construction costs, 10/11 NOW reported. Donors had already pledged $21.3 million, about 80% of that goal, according to KLIN.

The library's project page now splits the cost 55% city and 45% private: $23.8 million in bonds, $26.5 million in private gifts and $8.5 million in other city money.

The $44 million on the permit and the $58.8 million budget measure different things. One is the construction value filed with the city; the other is the city's figure for the whole project. Neither source breaks down the gap.

What goes in

A Lincoln banner on O Street in downtown Lincoln, with the Miller & Paine Building behind it
A Lincoln banner on O Street downtown, with the Miller & Paine Building behind it. Photo: Hanyou23, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons (cropped).

The finished library will be about 80,000 square feet, tied to a 1,057-space city garage with skywalk connections, the city said. The plans include youth areas, digital labs, a makerspace, a quiet reading room, a café open past library hours and a rooftop auditorium.

At the June launch, the library added a podcast studio, a new home for the Polley Music Library, a teaching kitchen with a seed library and a reading space over O Street the staff calls the "book porch," 10/11 NOW reported. The architects have described the goal as an "adaptive, low-carbon, people-centered downtown library," KLIN reported.

Public building is carrying more of the load

Lincoln's library lands as public and institutional work is picking up nationally. Institutional construction starts rose 16.3% in September while commercial starts fell 18.4%, according to Dodge Construction Network figures reported by Construction Dive. Gains in education helped offset the drop, Dodge said.

The library's schedule calls for construction this fall. "We're expecting the library to open in summer of 2028," Library Director Ryan Wieber told 10/11 NOW.

See all of Lincoln's latest permit numbers, updated weekly.

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Sources

More from Morningline Research

More numbers: Lincoln, NE building permit activity, updated weekly.