The Nebraska Department of Economic Development has received an application to create a Good Life district in the area surrounding the popular Gretna shopping center Nebraska Crossing.

State lawmakers last session passed the Good Life Transformational Projects Act allowing creation of such districts as an economic development tool. Good Life districts approved by the department will receive a reduction in state sales tax from 5.5% to 2.75% for sales made within the district.

Nebraska Crossing owner Rod Yates testified last spring as a proponent of the legislation, describing his vision for transforming the area around Interstate 80 and Highway 31 into a regional entertainment, dining and shopping destination. Yates could not be reached to say whether he submitted the application.

Last spring, he told lawmakers his goal was to assemble 1,000 acres around Nebraska Crossing for a project that could attract as many as 15 million annual visitors. He told lawmakers the project couldn’t move forward without the legislation.

Under the new law, nearly all the details in the application, including who filed it, are confidential.

The few details made public by the department, at The World-Herald’s request, are intriguing. The jobs and investment numbers estimated for the 25-year operating period of the district are substantial.

Kate Ellingson, the department’s director of marketing and public relations, said the total new development costs estimated in the application for the project are $3.2 billion dollars.

The number of new jobs estimated to be created as a result of the project: 29,867.

Ellingson said the application is under review.

Under the law, the applicant must demonstrate a threshold amount of new development costs and jobs to be created. They also must demonstrate that new tax revenue will offset the lost revenue from the district, she said.

There are other requirements, among them describing how the project will be financed, the expectations for the number of visitors, the economic impact and the expected return on state and local investment.

Department officials declined to release specifics on the proposed boundaries of the district.

Officials indicated they received a map, but not a legal description of the proposed district, and that they believe that the map is part of the application and thus confidential. By law, the district cannot exceed 2,000 acres in size.

Ellingson said there are likely a number of ways that a developer could take advantage of a reduced sales tax rate.

One way would be for the city to levy an occupation tax on the businesses within the district, she said. Another benefit from a district designation is that the developer will receive the reduced state sales tax rate on taxable building materials used inside the district as the investment is made, she said.

Gretna Mayor Mike Evans said city officials aren’t involved in making the application, but they support the concept.

City officials have always known that the interchange was special because of its location between Omaha and Lincoln, Evans said.

“If we can have a tool that can really bring our cities together and also provide some opportunities for destination-type venues, we support it,” he said. “I think part of this is the Unicameral’s vision of what they want to bring, and we really support helping them deliver that.”

The bill allowing the creation of Good Life districts was introduced by State Sen. Lou Ann Linehan of the Omaha area.

Linehan said some retailers won’t come to Omaha because they believe the market is too small.

A development at the interchange would give retailers and entertainment venues access to customers in both Lincoln and Omaha, she said.

“So for some of the retailers and entertainment and hotels that we don’t have, that’s huge,” she said.

Linehan, in advocating for the legislation, had called it a “game changer,” and she said it could lead to development of something similar to Legends, an outdoor shopping and entertainment destination off I-435 in Kansas City, Kansas.

The bill, she testified, would bring new sales tax revenue to the state through increased destination tourism, including out-of-state visitors and new-to-market retail, and provide amenities and options for shopping, dining, youth sports and entertainment.

Linehan said it was a way to improve the quality of life for Nebraskans and keep them from moving elsewhere.