Watch Now: Residential developer Melgoza expects Lincoln’s growth to continue | National News
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Christina Melgoza has seen big changes in Lincoln during her eight years as director of lot sales at Kreuger Development.
The Nebraska native who grew up in Elba spends her days planning new residential neighborhoods in southeast Lincoln, working with city officials to get approval for those plans and selling lots to builders and individual buyers.
Earlier this month she spoke to the Journal Star about the challenges of keeping up with Lincoln’s growth, the local housing market, the pandemic, rising costs and a few trends she expects to see in the coming years.
How did you get your start in the business?
Being here at Kreuger Development is my first experience in the development world. Prior to that I was recruiting for insurance companies, hiring their sales staff, and then toward the end of my career there I was an insurance sales person myself. I originally had my undergrad in marketing (Hastings College) and when I decided I wanted to do something different, I went back to school and got my master’s in project management (Bellevue University). Then out of the blue I responded to a Craigslist ad that Kreuger had posted. Three interviews later I was here.
How have you seen Lincoln evolve in your time at Kreuger?
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When I started I didn’t know anything about the development process – I just knew how to sell things. As I got more involved, I now take things through planning commissions, city council, work with the engineers, oversee the install of infrastructure — water, sewer, paving, all of that. So since I’ve been doing that I’ve seen huge changes in the cost of doing those things. When I first started, I could sell a lot for $49,000 on the southeast side of town. Now I think my lowest priced lot is $75,000.
Take me through the process from when there’s nothing on a piece of land to when that area becomes a neighborhood.
One of our larger developments that I’ve been involved in is The Woodlands at Yankee Hill, which is near 84th Street and Yankee Hill Road. When the ground is acquired, one of the first steps is finding out all of your background information: Where are major sources of infrastructure? Are there city water mains nearby? Is the sanitary sewer there yet? You’re also checking to see if you’re in the flood plain or have to deal with the Corps of Engineers, or need any permits prior to development. Once you kind of get a handle on those things, you go to a civil engineer and start working with them to determine where you want commercial properties, where you’re going to put residential properties, mixed-use development or multi-family. Then you go to the planning commission and ask for approval on a preliminary design, which for the Woodlands was back in 2005. Once you get that approved, you then spend every year after that working on final plats. So you maybe focus on 10 acres at a time, install all the infrastructure on that, sell the lots, and then do another addition. So you have this big plan to start with, and then you just do smaller final plats along the way until you finish the development.
Work continues on a new home near 78th Street and Yankee Hill Road. The median house value in The Woodlands, the name for the rapidly developing area of southeast Lincoln, continues to soar.
What are the challenges in keeping up with Lincoln’s population growth?
Generally we are always behind in the demand for housing. Right now from the development standpoint, the big challenges for us are rising costs of infrastructure. I had water pipes go up 300% in the past year because of the pandemic and plants shutting down. The ability to get those supplies has been really difficult. Another thing we’ve found that has affected us in our future planning is we’ve acquired some pieces of land that we wish we could get to sooner, but the major infrastructure isn’t there yet. If we could get the Stevens Creek sewer line to come south a lot faster that would definitely help service a lot more of our projects.
Is Lincoln’s recent growth trend something you see continuing long-term, or will that slow down at some point?
I think the growth is here to stay. Right now we’re seeing a huge trend in the higher-income custom homebuilding. It’s kind of unbelievable to see how much the median house value has increased in The Woodlands. Houses out there used to be like $250,000 to $300,000, and now we see them into the half-million and above mark. Even if the mix were to change, if there were less of these higher-end custom homes, we’d still need apartments, we’d still need town houses. Lincoln is not going to stop growing, and that’s been very apparent on the south and east sides of town. Will we run into Hickman one day? Maybe. But we’ll keep expanding south and east for sure.
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How big of a role does the South Beltway play in that growth?
One of the major intersections that’s going to need to be serviced is where the South Beltway hits Nebraska 2. That’s going to be a great commercial intersection, and feeding off of it will lead into residential. If we can get the sewer down there, people are ready to build.
You mentioned skyrocketing home prices, which is true for existing homes as well as new construction. Do you think that will scale back at some point or will those prices continue to climb?
I’m sure it will slow down at some point. It can’t keep going up and up like that forever. But with new construction, as long as interest rates stay low, people are happy to keep buying. Sometimes the price of a house goes up $50,000 just because of lumber prices going up, and people are still wanting them. They were sick of being stuck inside during the pandemic and if they can get a bigger house or get a bigger yard, or get farther away, they want to do that. Lumber is the easiest example. Lumber prices skyrocketed, then leveled out, then increased again. It will never go back down to where it was because the market has proven that people are willing to pay for it.
25 of Lincoln’s grandest old houses
Fairview
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For 15 years, Fairview at 4900 Sumner St. was the Lincoln home of William Jennings Bryan, a nationally known political leader and orator. Bryan held lawn parties, public receptions and political rallies at Fairview. Designed by Lincoln architect Artemus Roberts and built in 1902-03, the house is a fine example of the Queen Anne style in transition and incorporates Neo-Classical Revival elements in its design.
Hitchcock house
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The Hitchcock house, 2733 Sheridan Blvd., is a two-and-one-half story Colonial Revival style residence constructed in 1922. Local architect Jesse Boaz Miller designed this symmetrical, stucco house, which features a central block with a gabled roof and flat-roofed side wings. In addition, there is a matching carriage house and extensive early landscaping, including a large limestone “alcove.”
Murphy Sheldon house
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The Murphy-Sheldon house, 2525 N St., was built about 1889. It is significant as one of the most ornate examples of the Queen Anne style in Lincoln, and one of the most intact, with its rare surviving features including its elaborate main porch, carriage porch, carriage house and interior elements.
Yates house
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Built in 1891 from a design by architect Ferdinand C. Fiske, the Yates House at 720 S. 16th St. is prominently located on a large corner lot in Lincoln. The house is a two-and-one-half story frame Late Victorian/Queen Anne residence with Eastlake design influence. The house retains a high degree of integrity in its elaborate detailing, massing and extensive ornate porches.
Tyler house
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The Tyler house, 808 D St., was built in 1891 for William Tyler, who established the W.H. Tyler Stone Co. in Lincoln. Tyler built the dwelling as a showplace to demonstrate various residential uses of stone. James Tyler, a talented architect and brother of William, designed the brick and sandstone dwelling according to the formal characteristics of a typical Queen Anne dwelling, with Richardsonian Romanesque motifs.
Calhoun house
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This two-and-one-half-story asymmetrical frame house, 1130 Plum St., built in the Queen Anne style is located in Lincoln. Constructed in 1889-1890, it closely follows a published “pattern book” design. The house has a steeply pitched cross-gable roof with decorative shingling in each of the gable ends.
Whitehall
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The Neo-Classical Revival style house, 5903 Walker, was built for Olive White, widow of C.C. White, owner of the Crete Mills from 1888 to 1895. Mr. White was a member of the Nebraska Wesleyan University’s Board of Trustees for many years and an avid supporter of the institution. After her husband’s death, Olive White moved to Lincoln, where she built the residence in 1910 near the Wesleyan University campus. Since 1926, the house has been used by the state of Nebraska as a home for children.
Beattie Miles house
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The Beattie/Miles house, 6706 Colby St., is significant in the area of architecture as the finest extant example of a Queen Anne-style residence in the community that was known as Bethany Heights (now part of Lincoln). This house is also significant for its important association with the founding of Nebraska Christian University and settlement of Bethany Heights. The Beattie/Miles house is the last remaining building that was associated with the college and retains its historical integrity.
Eddy-Taylor house
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The Eddy-Taylor house, 435 N. 25th St., is a fine product of the Queen Anne style executed in brick. Constructed about 1891 by a local developer, Ambrose Eddy, the house was sold in 1902 to William George Langworthy Taylor, a distinguished member of the University of Nebraska faculty.
Ferguson house
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Built in 1909-11, the Ferguson house at 700 S. 16th St. is an excellent example of the Renaissance Revival style. It was designed by Cleveland architects Searles, Hirsh and Gavin. William Henry Ferguson was a Lincoln capitalist and entrepreneur, probably best known as a successful grain merchant.
Gillen house
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The Frank and Emma Gillen house, 2245 A St., is a two-and-one-half story, period revival-style single-family residence in Lincoln. The brick- and stucco-veneered house was originally constructed in 1903-04, then substantially remodeled to its present appearance in 1918-19. A garage was constructed as part of the 1918-19 remodeling. The interior and exterior of the house remain almost entirely intact.
Guy A. Brown house
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Constructed in 1874, the Guy Brown house at 219-221 South 27th St. is a two-story vernacular wood frame residence. It stands as a rare remnant of Lincoln’s original residential development and is one of the first-generation homes in the city. It is an illuminating example of Italianate house design with considerable historic integrity. The house was converted into a duplex in the 1930s. The modifications of the 1930s are significant in their own right, without obscuring the original design.
Harris house
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The house, 1630 K St., is a fine example of the Neo-Classical Revival style. The large frame dwelling was built in 1901-3 for Sarah F. Harris, widow of George Harris, who served as a land commissioner for the Burlington and Missouri Railroad. He was responsible for inducing immigrants to purchase land along the Burlington Railroad in Nebraska. John F. Harris, a son, donated the land that became Pioneers Park in honor of his parents in 1928.
Kennard house
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The Italianate brick house, 1627 H St., was built in 1869 as the residence of Secretary of State Thomas P. Kennard, one of three commissioners who selected Lincoln as the state capital. In 1965, the state Legislature designated the Kennard House, located in Lincoln, as the Nebraska Statehood Memorial and directed the Nebraska State Historical Society to restore it.
Kiesselbach house
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The Kiesselbach House at 3232 Holdrege St., constructed in Lincoln in 1913, is significant for its association with Theodore Alexander Kiesselbach, a pioneering Nebraska researcher in corn and other crops. Among other accomplishments, he developed the corn hybrids that significantly increased farm production and income throughout the state. No other historic property is as clearly or closely associated with Kiesselbach and his research.
Lewis-Syford house
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The Lewis-Syford house, 700 N. 16th St., was built sometime around 1878 during the apex of the Second Empire style and conveys architectural significance. The house is an excellent example of the Late Victorian period style, particularly for Lincoln, where the style is extremely rare. The Lewis-Syford house conforms to the strictures of the Second Empire style completely. It features a concave mansard roof punctuated by elaborate dormers with a miniature pediment. The windows on the first floor are all tall, narrow windows that are double hung. Two different scales of brackets are located under the narrow eave of the mansard roof. The building is elaborated upon with details of the romantic period, such as iron cresting and scrolled woodwork on the porches. Canted and projecting bays break up the flat planes of the surfaces of the facades.
Phillips house
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The R.O. Phillips House at 1845 D St., built in 1889-1890, is one of Nebraska’s finest examples of the Richardson Romanesque architectural style. This style is characterized by heavy stone massing, an asymmetrical façade, irregular roof lines that commonly include a tower and arches springing from heavy piers. All are displayed prominently on the R.O. Phillips house. The interior is finished in wood or ceramic tile in various Victorian motifs and includes fifteen fireplaces.
Royers-Williams house
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Constructed in the late 1880s, the Royer-Williams House at 407 N. 26th St. is a fine product of the Queen Anne style. The frame dwelling was originally built by Henry Royer, a carpenter, and later used as a residence by Hattie Plum Williams, a University of Nebraska scholar whose pioneering work in ethnic studies related to the Germans from Russia.
Ryons-Alexander house
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The house at 1835 Ryons, built in 1908, is important as the residence of Hartley Burr Alexander, philosophy professor of the University of Nebraska. Alexander’s contributions in the fields of philosophy, architecture and anthropology are nationally and internationally recognized, while his contributions in literature and the performing arts were widely acclaimed. The builder of the house, William B. Ryons, was a longtime vice president of the First National Bank in Lincoln and son of Irish-born Joseph L. Ryons, for whom Lincoln’s Ryons Addition and Ryons Street were named.
Spalding house
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The Frank M. Spalding House, 2221 Sheridan Blvd., is a two-and-one-half story Mission Style residence in Lincoln. It was constructed in 1908-10 as the first residence in the Sheridan Place addition. The house is an important work of master architect Ferdinand C. Fiske and is the best representative example of Mission Style architecture in the city. It retains lavish original interior finishes in wood and tile, and its exterior stone construction is very distinctive.
Thayer house
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The John M. Thayer house, 1901 Prospect St., was constructed about 1887. The two-and-one-half story Queen Anne style residence was built for Nebraska Gov. John Thayer. Except for the years 1893-1897, Thayer resided in the house from 1889 until his death in 1906.
Watkins house
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The Watkins house at 920 D St., built in 1887, is significant as the residence of Albert Watkins, an early Nebraska historian who wrote and edited one of the first scholarly histories of the state. He occupied the house for the final 36 of his 41 years in Lincoln. No other property exists that was as directly associated with Watkins, especially during the entire span during which he produced the Illustrated History of Nebraska. Furthermore, no other property as clearly associated with an early historian of Nebraska appears to exist.
Woods house
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The Frank and Nelle Woods House, constructed in 1915-16 at 2501 Sheridan Blvd., is a uniquely large and well-preserved example of the Italian Renaissance Revival style in Lincoln. Designed by Chicago architect Paul V. Hyland, the house is situated on a very large urban lot, the most prominent setting in the innovative Woodscrest Addition. It retains a high degree of interior and exterior integrity, as well as significant features of its designed landscape.
Yost house
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The Yost House, 1900 S. 25th St., was built in 1912. The two-and-one-half-story Italian Renaissance Revival-style residence is constructed of red brick and features a red tile hipped roof with broad eaves and heavy brackets.
Ziemer house
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The house at 2030 Euclid, built in 1909-10 for Arthur C. Ziemer, is an excellent example of the Shingle style. The dwelling’s romantic external appearance provides a striking contrast with the use of almost totally classical motifs for the interior. Ziemer was an early resident of Lincoln, working briefly as an interior designer and later becoming a practitioner of Christian Science.
