LINCOLN - A major expansion of a longtime high-tech company in the Haymarket would help connect a future downtown park to the area, officials told the City Council during a public hearing Monday.

A local company that makes light-measuring instruments called spectroscopic ellipsometers, J. A. Woollam Co., plans to double the size of its existing facility at Seventh and M streets.

The planned expansion is some of the first since the city announced a master plan to draw more people to Haymarket South and increase the connection to the South Salt Creek neighborhoods, said City Urban Development Director Dan Marvin.

Currently, the Cotswold Building, which was built in 1894, sits at the edge of the planned South Haymarket Park and houses J. A. Woollam Co. A $1 million donation to the park project was made by the company in 2019.

35 parking stalls on the north side of the building are expected to be added in an effort to help integrate the area with the future park, planned to sit at Seventh and N streets.

Park patrons will be able to use the stalls at night and on weekends after employees leave. There are also plans to include pedestrian access to the park.

Along with the park, the company hopes to add a three-story addition to the west side of the Cotswold Building at 311 S. Seventh St. This addition is estimated to cost $20 million and will add 57,000 square feet of space.

Marvin said the expansion is consistent with the downtown master plan's goal of trying to create a "talent pipeline" that encourages young people who graduate from the university to remain and work in Lincoln, specifically the downtown area.

The City Council will vote on January 24, 2022, for a zoning change and whether the project conforms to the downtown redevelopment plan.

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