The Palace is a goner. Is there any point in continuing to pretend Harrison Square is a matter of debate instead of a done deal?
The city has agreed to purchase the Palace restaurant, a key property inside the city's Harrison Square project boundaries, for $2.4 million.
City officials and restaurant owner Rick Rogers are set to close the deal at 11 a.m. today, said Greg Leatherman, deputy director of community development.
Purchasing the property will save the city money when building a parking garage there, Leatherman said. The parking garage would have needed to be “L”-shaped around the restaurant, costing more than a rectangular-shaped garage.
I've been stopping at the Palace (formerly Bill's Palace) for more than 20 years. When Lincoln had a lot more people downtown, there was a guaranteed stream of business, and Bill's offered a variety of plain but tasty food, including the best Beef Manhattan in town, at reasonable prices. That makes this downtwon debate personal -- where can I now get such a good sandwich? Pay $5 for a hot dog at the ball game?
It was the kind of unpretentious place it felt comfortable to hang out in, not the business developers want to see surrounded by a multimillion-dollar development. Was it worth $2.4 million? Absolutely, since that's what the city was willing to pay for it. The Palace was the last Harrison Square holdout.
