UNL Partners with SENDD for David City Downtown Revitalization Plan

The College of Architecture at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL) and the Southeast Nebraska Development District (SENDD) are partnering with local community members on a downtown revitalization plan for David City. Last week, planning students began working on the downtown revitalization plan with a trip to David City for a community meeting and tour of the area. David City community members were asked to take a survey to help UNL students better understand the needs of the downtown area and community concerns.

Dr. Zhenghong Tang, the professor and program director of the Community and Regional Planning (CRP) Program said, “Students in the CRP program will have a great opportunity to learn from this real-world planning project and apply their expertise and skills to help the community for more effective planning strategies for downtown economic development.”

For this project, the faculty and students are conducting a community stakeholder survey, participating in numerous community meetings, making field surveys and assessments and organizing planning strategies and recommendations. “I really appreciate the collaborative support from David City, Nebraska, and the Southeast Economic Development District,” said Tang.

“This downtown revitalization plan will be a great tool to guide the city on the track to potentially igniting the local economy,” said Lecturer Frank Ordia. The plan will draw on David City’s strengths, with Ordia noting that “the number of historic buildings here are the foundation of reimagining David City.”

Local community members are excited about the project. “We are grateful that SENDD and UNL are willing to help our community create a vision for the future of our downtown,” said David City’s City Administrator, Clayton Keller. “David City recently completed a downtown project that addressed the infrastructure needs of the area. We hope to keep that momentum moving forward as we turn that focus to economic and property improvements.”

Mayor Alan Zavodny said, “We are looking forward to our partnership with SENDD and the University of Nebraska for David City’s downtown revitalization. The downtown of a community like ours is the heartbeat of our community. We realize the importance of this endeavor.”

The downtown revitalization plan also bolsters support from local business owners, with Mike Moravec, owner and president of Moravec Financial Advisors, Inc. said “As a long-time resident and business owner in David City, it’s exciting to hear of a potential downtown revitalization effort. David City has a lot of positive things happening and the timing is perfect for a refresh of our downtown. I know the business community will welcome CRP and SENDD’s help on this project. It’s important to our local economy, that our downtown be an inviting space that people want to come to dine, shop and do business.”

By Ava Gagner