The Kearney Welcome Center in winter, (Brian Neben, Central Nebraska Today)
KEARNEY — The community of Kearney has a new front door, so to speak.
The recently constructed Kearney Welcome Center not only provides an new entry point into town but is also a collaborative workspace for Forward Kearney, a collaboration between the Development Council for Buffalo County, Kearney Visitors Bureau, and Kearney Area Chamber of Commerce.
Ground was broken for the building in the fall of 2023 for the $5.3 million, 12,000 square foot building. The building is located at the southwest corner of Talmadge Street and 11th Avenue in southwest Kearney, directly east of the Kearney SportsPlex site.
“In addition to modern offices and private collaborative meeting space, the new building will house a large training room, a board room, and a premier welcome center that will truly be the front door to Kearney and the Platte River Valley,” according to statement from Forward Kearney.
Derek Rusher, President/CEO of the Kearney Area Chamber of Commerce shared some background about the move during an interview at the Welcome Center on Monday, Feb. 17.
Rusher said the Kearney Visitors Bureau and the Development Council for Buffalo County were both offshoots of the Chamber of Commerce and all three had been co-located in their former building, which the chamber had been housed in for 20 years.
By 2019, it was clear to the Chamber of Commerce board of directors that a new space was needed. Rusher said their former location was overused and wasn’t the most usable space by chamber members.
As a new location was sought, one thing was clear, the three entities must remain housed in the same space. Rusher said the success of Kearney not only comes from the people but the fact that groups are willing to collaborate and not care who takes the credit in the end.
Having moved into their new space, Rusher said the building was designed in a way to promote new ways to collaborate that were not possible in their former space.
Rusher noted that the size of the space has not necessarily increased from their former location, but they have maximized the use of the space to better fit all three entities’ needs.
When asked about the location of the new facility, in the south of Kearney amid numerous developments and construction projects, Rusher said that it was the Kearney Visitor’s Bureau that wished to be close to Interstate 80, to be a front door for the community.
Rusher said Forward Kearney worked with the Younes family to find a location and were part of the decision when it came to the location.
Paul Younes, board chair of the Kearney Visitor’s Bureau, said during the groundbreaking ceremony “We are very excited to be a part of this team. Hopefully in the next 50 years we will still be together…this is history making today. On behalf of the Younes campus, we welcome the chamber, visitor’s bureau and the development council to be a part of our campus.”
As for the chamber, Rusher said the area is indeed active with new businesses coming to town. However, he noted that they continue their mission of meeting current and prospective members face to face.
He also noted that downtown Kearney remains the heartbeat of the community, and they have a space in the downtown area to better reach and meet with their members.
When asked about community access to the new welcome center, Rusher said he invited them to their new meeting spaces which include a small, medium and large space.
Rusher said chamber members should feel free to access and use the space. In one instance, a chamber member running an in-home business was able to host a meeting in the new building, something that he couldn’t have done at his home and help to give a professional feeling.
As for the Welcome Center, Rusher said he approves of the name “Welcome Center” as opposed to “Visitors Center” because it is a space for the Kearney community, not just those who are making a stop.
The Welcome Center has become an attraction all on its own and Rusher said Kearney deserved a premier welcome center. He added that their former space didn’t showcase Kearney in the way that it should.
In closing, Rusher said he invites the Kearney community to tour the space and said that it is open for “mission driven” and business events.
“For decades our three organizations have been honored to serve the Kearney area business community, developers, site selectors and visitors from across the state, nation and world,” per Forward Kearney.