‘It’s cool to see the city cares about us’: Lincoln businesses feeling the benefits of Project NO Street

LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) – A party took over O Street on Thursday night, where the city hosted a free block party in downtown Lincoln while O Street continues undergoing construction.

The event featured live music, vendors and more.

But local businesses are grateful to the city for giving back, noting that it’s tough being affected by the construction.

“When I first heard about the construction, I was a little concerned because it blocks off our traffic,” said Laurel Mitchell, a bartender at the Fat Toad Pub. “But, now that we’re doing block parties and things like that, it brings some life back to O Street.”

The general manager at Bodega’s Alley also says this event shows the city cares.

“It’s cool to see the city cares about us; this Project O Street is changing quite a bit of stuff up,” said Phil Ostermeier.

Community members and influencers like Keenan Eats say this is a great idea for people to explore the street like never before.

“There are a lot of people here right now that haven’t been to the store in quite some time,” said Keenan. “This is the first time I’ve experienced this. We’re partying on a highway. This is really cool.”

There’s still plenty of work to be done before this project is complete, but businesses in the area say they’re looking forward to the new look on O Street, and this part of town deserves it.

“It’s nice to see down here being represented. I definitely think we deserve it,” said Ostermeier.

“This project O street thing is something that has to happen, and we just have to work through it,” said Mitchell. “It’s nice to know we have the city’s support to be able to do things like this, and it’s awesome to see everyone outside all coming together.”

Now, city officials have said that this project is ahead of schedule, but according to the website, all three phases are expected to be complete by the fall of 2027.

SEE ALSO: City of Lincoln encourages community to support businesses during Project O Street