Lincoln Planning Commission approves rezoning of former Lincoln College campus

[May 08, 2026]  On Thursday, May 7th, the City of Lincoln Planning Commission held a meeting to discuss the rezoning of the former Lincoln College campus from residential to commercial. The meeting was held in response to a potential buyer of the campus seeking to renovate it. Developer Chase Huston would like to turn the former residence hall buildings into affordable housing and lease the other buildings to potential businesses and programs that want to come to Lincoln.

Six of the members of the commission were present including Molly Pickering, Morris Trent, James Wessbecher, Robert Coombs, Lori Blees, and Vic Martinek. The meeting started just after 6:00 p.m. and was located on the second floor of the City Hall Building. The room was packed, with dozens of residents present to voice their opinions on the matter. Many extra chairs had to be brought in. Every seat was taken and several people had to stand, with some not being able to get into the room left standing in the doorway.

The meeting kicked off with Wes Woodhall calling for a motion to approve the previous month’s meeting minutes. They were approved and the commission moved on to their only other agenda action item, the rezoning request. They invited Huston to come sit before the commission and speak on the project.

Huston started by stating that he wanted the property to be rezoned to C-2 specifically, as this would allow him to do all the things he wants to do with the property. He then spoke on himself a bit, stating that he lives in Washington state and is a senior engineer designer with Boeing. He stated that he has been developing real estate in Lincoln for about a decade and thinks of the town as his second home. Huston said that he has taken a lot of properties, many of which are apartments, in town and has renovated them to make them better. He added that he owns nearly 100 rental properties in Lincoln, and that he does not put any of the money he makes into his own pocket, rather reinvesting that money into the community.

Huston addressed a concern that he has seen making the rounds on social media. He assured the commission and everyone in attendance that the apartments he is proposing are not Section 8 housing, nor are they government funded.
He added that he wants to work with groups that are aligned with his interests. He does not want gambling machines or bars. Rather, he wants to attract businesses that Lincoln could use more of, stating later in the meeting that opening a day care is at the top of his list of priorities.

The public was then allowed to ask questions or make comments. There seemed to be an even number of comments in support as well as those against the rezoning, and the project as a whole. Scott Warner was the first to speak. He called Huston’s proposal a lot of “razzle dazzle,” pointing to the fact that he does not yet have any contracts signed with any potential businesses. He additionally called Huston’s request “spot zoning,” encouraging the commission to vote against it. Warner also brought up several questions about the financial state of the college, saying that he does not feel the commission has done enough to investigate this matter before selling it off. He ended by stating that he feels rezoning would open the community to future problems if Huston’s vision falls through, saying that it would “haunt you and every citizen of Lincoln forever.”

Patrick Dooling, president of the Lincoln College Board of Trustees was the next to speak, saying that the board has been marketing the campus since it closed in May of 2022. Doolin shared that there have been a lot of offers, but that they have all fallen through. While these groups were interested in parts of the campus, none of them were interested in purchasing the entirety of the campus. The board was not wanting to break up the campus and sell it individually, hence why these deals have been falling through.

Doolin additionally said that money that was made available for the college to help it close are the funds that they have been using to keep the grounds maintained. That money, according to Doolin, is running out, however. The board decided that, were there to be no buyers by a certain date, the board would put the campus up for auction. The board would have no control over who bought the campus or what they did with it. They had a date for the auction determined, and then Huston came in with his offer.

Spring Hyde was the next to speak. She was a professor at the college when it closed, and lives very near to the campus. She stated that she had to pay for her own insurance, accept the college not providing contributions to her retirement, and had the college ask her and her colleagues to donate their salaries back to the campus. She said these things to state that her home is her investment for her future. She voiced concern about things such as light pollution and noise pollution that could come as a result of the project, causing her property values to diminish. She was also wary of a McDonalds opening on the campus and hearing weddings held on the campus from her home.

Jackie Baker spoke next, sharing that she also lives down the street from the campus. She asked about the 4th Appellate Court voting to keep Lincoln College property tax exempt. Doolin spoke on this, stating that the County Assessor “took it upon herself” to see about having the college start paying property taxes after their closure. He continued, saying that the court ruled the assessor did not have the authority to do this, as the tax exempt status was set by a charter from the 1800’s and they had been “grandfathered in” ever since. He did say that, unless the buyer of the campus were to turn it into a non-profit, their tax exempt status would go away after the sale.

John Blackburn, president and secretary of Lincoln College spoke next. He also served on the board of the college for 25 years. During that time, he said he only knew of other board members wanting to do something positive with the college. He also mentioned that people’s property values will decrease if the college runs out of money, the grass is unkept, and the buildings become boarded up. He thanked Huston for “taking a risk” on this project.

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The next commenter spoke on her hesitation, but reluctant acceptance of the project. She stated that she knows change can be scary, but that everything has to start somewhere. She also stated that she knows uninhabited buildings deteriorate quicker than inhabited ones. Next, she commented on the poverty rates in Lincoln, stating that the poverty rate of the town is 17 percent, while the state average is only 11.8. She stated that the vacancy rate in Lincoln is under ten percent, calling housing a “huge issue” when people do not have the money to make a down payment on a house.

She then asked Huston if he had considered prices for the apartments yet, and he informed her that he had. He said that each apartment would have all amenities, such as electricity and internet, included, also adding that they would be getting their power from an eleven-acre solar farm. Huston said that a one bedroom is planned to be $750 per month, and two bedrooms $850. He said that he has been getting phone calls daily from people in Lincoln looking to move into one of his rental properties, which he shared are all at capacity. Huston also said that he has been getting about one call a week from people outside Lincoln inquiring about vacancies.

Hyde then spoke again, asking why the commission could not just rezone the campus to allow Huston to renovate and rent out apartments first. If that worked, Hyde said, the commission could then allow for the full rezoning at a later date. Blackburn addressed this comment, stating that Huston was not going to buy the entirety of the campus if he was only going to be able to use four of the buildings. The two had a bit of a back and forth before the next commenter, Susan Howe, spoke.

Howe asked Huston about the previously mentioned solar farm, claiming that the Trump administration is pulling funding for these kinds of projects and that all the solar farms are going to be shut down. Doolin corrected Howe, stating that the cut in funding will keep new solar farms from being built, but will not shut down existing ones. He also stated that the college has a twenty-year agreement with the solar farm to be able to purchase the energy at a heavily reduced rate.

The next commenter compared Lincoln to Morton, where some of her family lives, saying that the towns are quite different. She also spoke down on the gambling businesses in Lincoln, calling them “pretty much a tax on the poor.” She asked Huston if he would be allowing more gambling businesses in town, and he reiterated that he would not.

Jan Dickerson spoke next, stating that the Evergreen properties, that Huston purchased after their previous owner’s death, were not run down when he acquired them. She also called his handwriting “barely legible.”

Local real estate agent Ty Tucker spoke next. He attested to Huston’s character, stating that he has been working with him as he has acquired properties over the last eight years. Tucker also stated that he feels Huston has improved the properties, raising their property values. He called Huston a “fantastic person.”

This was the end of the public comments, and the planning commission members were allowed to ask questions of Huston. Pickering started, asking if he has any other investors. Huston stated that he does have one but declined to give the person’s name. Pickering also asked about any contingency plans that are in place if the project does not pan out. Huston stated that he is not worried about the apartments, as they have plenty of experience renovating these. His bigger concern is the commercial side of things, as they are not as experienced.

Trent then asked about a timeline for the project, and Huston stated that he expects the apartments to take about a year and a half to renovate. Trent called the timeline “not realistic,” while Huston stated that there are hundreds of units that would need to be renovated.

Coombs next asked about how many apartments would be available once the project was finished. Huston stated that the number was originally 271, but that the number had changed. He did not have the official number but stated that most of them are going to be two bedroom apartments. Coombs then asked about their Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) compliance, to which Huston stated that all of them would be.

Trent spoke again, asking Huston about any plans to sell the property. Huston stated that there are no plans. He said that it was discussed as a worst-case scenario plan, but that would be if the buildings were left uninhabited for years with no interested parties.

Coombs had another question, asking about how many different companies that he is working with that might have interest in inhabiting some of the buildings. Huston stated that they are having “serious talks” with five companies.

Wessbecher then asked about the parking situation, inquiring if the street parking would be enough. Huston stated that, for starters, once they start getting people moving in, it should be, but that there are plans to expand parking if needed. He stated that, with the hundreds of students that used to live on the campus, it is likely that there is already enough parking on the campus.

Wessbecher also asked about why Huston chose C-2 specifically to have it rezoned as. Huston stated that he is hoping to bring in some baseball teams, stating that he is hoping to make Lincoln a “baseball hub.” This being the case, he would have to have it rezoned as C-2 to add some of the things he would like to do the baseball field. Seeing as how Lincoln is situated relatively close to four major league teams, Huston said, he was told that Lincoln could be a great community for companies and teams to come in and get established. Doolin added that there were many sports and entertainment inquiries that fell through, adding that two of the entities are still interested.

Martinek then made a motion to approve the rezoning request. The motion was seconded and a vote was taken. It passed in a vote of 4-2, with Wessbecher and Trent being the two ‘no’ votes. With the motion passing, Woodhall entertained a motion to adjourn, and the meeting swiftly came to an end.

[Matt Boutcher]

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