It is ironic how both the photo and the rendering only show one or two cars over a long span of road for four lanes road being widen and having a median added

It is ironic how both the photo and the rendering only show one or two cars over a long span of road for four lanes road being widen and having a median added

Don't forget the people. If there is a sidewalk there has to be people, even if there is no clear reason why a pedestrian would be there in the first place.

Full disclosure, I have never been there so there might very well be lot of pedestrians in this area.

I take that road to get to work. As I mentioned, a pedestrian nightmare I do like riding my bike on it b/c it is a flat route through our hills. Basically the quick history behind it all is that the city buried a creek in pipes so they could create the road way in the 30's. That bridge pictured is actually considered historic, it was constructed in 1934. When they built it they had pedestrian tunnels that have long since been closed because of continual flooding and safety issues. Now there is no way to cross Dodge St safely without heading a block in either direction. There aren't many pedestrians there because it is so formidable. The neighborhoods on either side of Saddle Creek are quite vibrant, but the ode to the automobile splits them apart and kills their interactions.

Which is the main reason why I am getting excited for the possibilities here. There is a lot of open property that would become very valuable with some beautification/infrastructure investments. The road realignment/park space would run from the edge of UNMC to the edge of the industrial site in the foreground here:
http://bradwilliamsphotography.com/non_web_upload/OSC.jpg

That is the Omaha Steel plant. They have already broken ground on a new facility in a small community elsewhere in the metro that basically gave them the land. It has been identified as a key redevelopment opportunity in conjunction with the cancer center and Saddle Creek improvements.

UNO announced their own arena for their hockey and basketball programs now that they have recently moved up to D-1. It will seat 7500, their hockey team averages over 8000 a game now at the downtown arena, but not even filling up half of it and having second picks of dates after Creighton basketball has rubbed them the wrong way for a while now. It is going right by Aksarben Village.
http://imageshack.us/a/img818/793/unoarena.jpg

With the news of that it has been decided that the city will close and subsequently tear down the Civic Auditorium. The place holds some history everything from our brief NBA stint to the VP debate where the famous "Senator, you're no Jack Kennedy" line happened there. The market is just over saturated with arena space in Omaha with the new UNO one and the city would need to pump $25 million into the facility to bring it up to par. It will open a big chunk of developable land.
http://www.omahameca.com/HomePageImage.ashx?hpid=3
The location is in a key spot between Creighton and the CBD. City officials have said they are in talks with a few different developers.


Edit: I totally missed this news as well. Omaha got the NCAA 2nd and 3rd rounds again in 2015, it will be our third time hosting between 08'-'15. I know that doesn't mean squat for a city like OKC with pro ball, but it looks like KC, Tulsa, Des Moines and Wichita all applied and didn't get picked for 2014 and 2015. Nice to come out of the region with an event like that.

Thanks for the update.

Your old Civic Auditorium sounds a lot like our Cox Convention Center (formerly, the Myriad).

Wish we would wise up and tear ours down as well, as it's right in the middle of our CBD.

Yeah, lots of cities are tearing down these mid-century and late-century superblock structures. Good for Omaha! I hope you guys get a killer development that makes us green with envy...

It served it's purpose will, but has been passed up many times over and for the first time in it's history doesn't have a single tenant. I am just glad the city is realizing when to cut losses and move on. One thing I am not thrilled about is another 4 city blocks hitting the market. Really the last thing we need is more empty land downtown. I am not as confident about this property as I am about other areas downtown, but if it is anywhere close to what the downtown master plan proposed I will be very happy.
http://www.hdrinc.com/sites/all/files/content/projects/images/2116-downtown-master-plan-1521.jpg

Tallest downtown living option is ready for residents. The Highline | HighlineHighline (http://www.thehighlineomaha.com/) Some cheesy photos showing young people enjoying the space on their website. Still a fantastic development though. The 6th tallest building downtown had been vacant for a decade and now has 194 units.

Same development company has balconies up on their other 116 unit office conversion downtown.
http://sphotos-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash4/426915_359658534132933_900143190_n.jpg

Hyatt Place Old Market is at about the half way point. Starting to dominate it's neighbors.
http://i49.tinypic.com/675suc.jpg

Also in that photo you can see where two future infill projects will start this spring. At the very left edge of the photo there is a car wash with a green roof. That is being replaced by a 4 story 42 unit apartment building, developed by the same group that did the new black and white building also on the left edge of the picture. Then if you look more toward the middle of the picture notice the large blank brick wall. A 5 floor 75 unit apartment building with retail space will jut up against it and replace a current surface lot.

Elsewhere downtown a 2 floor building is getting a 3 floor addition and will have 40 units and 4000 sq foot of retail space.
https://sphotos-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-prn1/525520_458192457556307_563374187_n.jpg

In North Downtown two vacant brick buildings are getting renovated. The project is retail on the ground floor, office space on the 2nd and 21 apartment units on the top floors. One tenant is already announced, a brewery is taking the space in the barn type building on the property.
http://www.bradwilliamsphotography.com/images/IMG_8176.jpg
The inside of the brewery space is freaking awesome.
http://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash3/579943_176624062466227_321176632_n.jpg

Blue Barn Theater, a local company, is moving out of their space in the Old Market into their own space in Little Italy. Just south of the Old Market. They got a large donation and brought in a very well respected architect. Jeanne Gang, her most notable work is the Aqua Tower in Chicago, is the architect for the theater. It is definitely not a conventional design, which I like.
http://www.bluebarn.org/images/CampaignImagesLarge01.png
http://www.bluebarn.org/images/CampaignImagesLarge02.png

Also in Little Italy CO2 on Tenth is wrapping up.
http://steveadamsomaha.org/eOmaha/C02/IMG_1796.JPG
http://steveadamsomaha.org/eOmaha/C02/IMG_1797.JPG

I always like seeing your posts about Omaha, thanks for posting them. Those look like excellent residential developments.

Omaha continues to impress.

Omaha is sweet. I dream of Norman being Omaha...

Wow, Omaha is hearing up, too!

I really hope this works out for Omaha:

MECA gives new fuel to north downtown Omaha development plan - Omaha.com (http://www.omaha.com/article/20130207/MONEY/702079973/)

I really hope this works out for Omaha:

MECA gives new fuel to north downtown Omaha development plan - Omaha.com (http://www.omaha.com/article/20130207/MONEY/702079973/)

I believe that the land is now in Shamrock's hands. They have already done environmental testing on the site, still need to get through the planning board, city council and TIF requests before anything will get started. All of those are mere formalities at this point.

This vacant building just west of the Old Market is getting rehabbed. Apartments on the top floors and a bar on the bottom.
http://www.loopnet.com/Attachments/2/9/4/2942E0AB-6497-4165-A025-72A9C66DFE02.JPG

Hyatt Place Old Market has the stairwell and elevator shafts topped out. Nothing dramatic on the skyline, but it is the tallest in the Old Market and is providing some great density.
http://i53.tinypic.com/f9i685.jpg

$44 million project for Gavilon's new HQ is topped out on one portion of the building. Again nothing changing the skyline. Here is the webcam OxBlue Construction Camera: Gavilon (http://oxblue.com/open/opusgroup/gavilon)
And a screen capture of the progress.
http://oi45.tinypic.com/2dagavb.jpg

News just came out that the city is working on a $4 million pedestrian bridge to help go from North Downtown to the riverfront. This is because it is really tough for pedestrians and out of town visitors to get to the landmark pedestrian bridge across the Missouri. This is just starting though, still a few years out.

The huge mixed use Midtown Crossing development is showing more ripple effects in Midtown Omaha. Recently announced 149 unit 4 story apartment building is going to be built a mere 2 blocks away from MTC. Sorry about no rendering there was a quick shot in the news report, but I can't find one anywhere online.

Aksarben Village is getting some major infill too. Gordman's new HQ had it's official groundbreaking this Friday. They are moving from the suburbs to an office building in a new urbanism development and will have ground floor retail. Pretty much an ideal project for the area. Also across the street a 4 floor Residence Inn hotel is underway.
http://bradwilliamsphotography.com/non_web_upload/GORDMANS.jpg

Further west TD Ameritrade's HQ tower will be moved into soon. Such a shame they couldn't build downtown, I bet a lot of people across the country would be surprised to see that a high profile investment company is based here and could of put a major mark on our downtown skyline and business climate. I guess it at least stayed out of the way suburban areas. It sits a basically the geographic center of the city. It will also be a LEED Platinum building, one of the largest in the country to get that designation.
http://www.bradwilliamsphotography.com/images/IMG_2497.jpg

Crossroads Mall has been dead for a decade. New plans have come out for a $350 million redevelopment project. The large mostly vacant indoor mall will be torn down and replaced with a mixed use development. It will include 400K sq feet of retail space, 200K sq feet of office space, 500 residential units, 135 room Aloft Hotel, a new transit hub, a new city library and new city park. The entire development would also have a $15 million mobile web based wireless network. This site plan is actually a little out of date.
http://bradwilliamsphotography.com/non_web_upload/CROSSROADS_002.jpg
The city was unhappy with the segregated layout and use of the land. Word is the developers have amended those problems, no new images yet though.

It isn't pro sports, but Omaha and Creighton are pumped to move out of a middle of the road Missouri Valley Conference to the "new" Big East conference. To align the school with places like Georgetown, Villanova and Marquette both athletically and academically is going to be huge. Very very excited.

It isn't pro sports, but Omaha and Creighton are pumped to move out of a middle of the road Missouri Valley Conference to the "new" Big East conference. To align the school with places like Georgetown, Villanova and Marquette both athletically and academically is going to be huge. Very very excited.

Is that all sports? or just some?

Is that all sports? or just some?

All of them.

New downtown Omaha Hyatt Place is reaching new heights, nice!

3648

Photo is courtesy of MTO from Omaha Forums :: Index (http://www.eomahaforums.com)

A few big non construction updates.

Maha Music Festival, a nonprofit, announced it's lineup. It has it's usual number of local up and comers and lesser known openers. The headliners though are very good. The Flaming Lips(OKC's very own), Matt and Kim, The Thermals(Omaha's Saddle Creek Records new band). For the rest of the bands (http://www.mahamusicfestival.com/)

The US Olympic Swimming Trials are coming back to Omaha for the 3rd time in a row in 2016. We beat out San Antonio and St. Louis this time around. 8 straight days of prime time NBC coverage and 164,000 came through the gates for the event in 2012. Big for us to keep getting events like this without a major sports franchise.
http://cdn2-b.examiner.com/sites/default/files/styles/large_lightbox/hash/09/71/1340949309_9713_day%20four.jpg?itok=B3Bg6ik4

And this incredible news just dropped today. CenturyLink is rolling out a 1 gigabit internet system in Omaha. The first 10,000 homes will go online Monday with a total of 48,000 by October. Puts us right in line with KC and Austin in the "1 bit club." It will be 6 times faster than the city's current offering. Just huge for the city. CenturyLink bringing 1 gigabit-per-second Internet service to Omaha - Omaha.com (http://www.omaha.com/article/20130501/MONEY/705019865/1697)

Broke ground on the new $370 million cancer center at UNMC. It has a lot of influential people seriously geeked. Largest public/private partnership for a building in the state's history, supposed to add 1200 jobs and is projected to create $380 million+ in private hotel, housing and retail in the immediate midtown neighborhood. Feels good to live 3 blocks away. Some renderings here, but they are huge so I don't want to link them THE CANCER CENTER ? For Media (http://www.cancercenternebraska.com/for-media/) This is the best rendering though.
http://www.cancercenternebraska.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/Dodge-+-Saddle-Creek_04_15_slider1.jpg

Broke ground on 1501 Jackson downtown. 79 unit apartment building, 102 parking spots in the building and 2200 sq feet of commercial space. It is replacing an old surface lot, here is the hole they digging.
http://i.imgur.com/g3ophyB.jpg
And the rendering of the finished product.
https://fbcdn-sphotos-a-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash3/531494_308847135885550_327409232_n.jpg

Hyatt Place has reached its peak.
http://i43.tinypic.com/nfs7th.jpg

The Highline Apartments with some of it's first residents lighting the tower up! This conversion turned out awesome.
https://fbcdn-sphotos-c-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-prn1/21198_516102548448436_1657697502_n.jpg

The Highline is already having ripple effects in the neighborhood, this previously empty building 1.5 blocks away is almost done being renovated into 12 apartment units and commercial space on the street level.
https://fbcdn-sphotos-f-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-prn1/942052_517824284942929_1162285525_n.jpg

New Gavilon HQ downtown is well along.
https://fbcdn-sphotos-d-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-snc6/284282_518276611564363_67794332_n.jpg

These next ones are from the corner of 40th and Farnam, very close to my house which makes these all the more exciting. Basically all of the buildings are getting a facelift. This two story one will have 7 apartment units on top and a restaurant on bottom. One of the other storefronts will feature a "nanobrewery."
https://fbcdn-sphotos-f-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash3/578445_496743947050963_1708749714_n.jpg
And this one is directly across the street which will have a bar.
https://fbcdn-sphotos-c-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-frc1/396955_517824314942926_1785559332_n.jpg

And one last glamor shot of the city. We had a killer sunset last night and the very talented Brad Williams captured it wonderfully with the river, old industrial buildings and modern skyline in the back.
https://fbcdn-sphotos-d-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-prn1/942132_513354402061796_1989514503_n.jpg

Man, that's awesome. I like the design of the housing Omaha has going on more than what's being built here in OKC, save for the work being done by Midtown Renaissance. Very cool stuff.

Missed one! This is going to replace a dumpy car wash downtown in the Old Market area. We are trading this.
http://www.loopnet.com/Attachments/8/5/A/85A83E9E-1818-41A7-9A21-D0F024211CC5.JPG
For this!
http://bradwilliamsphotography.com/non_web_upload/CARWASH.jpg

Our own Edge-light was announced for Midtown Omaha. "Spaces Apartments" will be 154 units, vast majority are studios.
https://fbcdn-sphotos-c-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/427083_10151503557168401_2117475419_n.jpg

And our 100 year old train station that has been vacant for 40 years finally is going to be put to use. Local ABC news affiliate bought the building and will be completely restoring it for their new studio.
http://www.bradwilliamsphotography.com/images/SC8A9474.jpg
http://bradwilliamsphotography.com/non_web_upload/BURLINGTON_STATION_S.jpg

Wow, Aksarben has really taken off. I didn't even realize Gordman's was still around, and then bam. I also like how you do this thread from an OKC-perspective, rather than just copying and pasting something for all these boards. Good job mate.

The KETV project is most cool. I think newspapers, which are hemorrhaging their footprint, are leaving slack for local broadcasting which seems to be growing into more landmark properties.

Wow, Aksarben has really taken off. I didn't even realize Gordman's was still around, and then bam. I also like how you do this thread from an OKC-perspective, rather than just copying and pasting something for all these boards. Good job mate.

The KETV project is most cool. I think newspapers, which are hemorrhaging their footprint, are leaving slack for local broadcasting which seems to be growing into more landmark properties.

Yeah Aksarben could make a claim at hottest area of the city right now. That Gordman's HQ has 36K sq ft of retail on the ground level, they just broke ground on a Marriott Residence Inn which will be the second Marriott brand in the overall development, they are doing site prep on the new 7500 seat hockey/basketball arena for UNO. The whole development is expected to be fleshed out by the end of 2015 with another mixed use building with 150K sq ft of office space and 40K sq foot of retail, a 60K sq foot retail building, another 230 apartments and 21 condos.

It isn't a perfect example of mixed use, but it is turning into a heck of a neighborhood. It is light years above the pretty dismal North Downtown area though.

And I really enjoy keeping an eye on OKC which is why I like to put it into OKC terms here. I wanted something like Edge, Spaces fills that void a little even if its 100 units less. The reason OKC development is fun to follow is that it is going at a pace that I think Omaha can remotely aspire to. It isn't going Austin crazy where they have like 8 crane towers up right now, but it is obviously moving forward at an impressive clip. The trouble is that I might have to find a new city to follow closely. It seems like every week OKC gets another 250 unit apartment project announced or start construction, its crazy. And you guys have a ton more momentum toward a new skyscraper, something we aren't even close to up north here.

Plus I think you guys are really close to a boom town tipping point. It wont be long before the 4 story full block apartments don't make much sense in OKC and those projects start going to 15 floors.

Omaha is an awesome city!!!!! I never really though much of it until I saw a few of your posts and one night I went street view happy and had myself a three hour long street view session roaming around Omaha and I really want to visit now!!!!! You have an awesome city, that I actually think OKC could learn from in a few ways, keep coming up with the updates. I really enjoy them!

Our biggest project is back with plenty of gusto. The $205 million project across from the CenturyLink Center has applied for $35 million in TIF, the developer says it will start construction around the first of 2014 with a 2 year timeline. 350 room hotel, 250 apartments, 140K sq ft office space, 100K sq ft of retail/entertainment space and 750 parking stalls. This is a game changer for downtown Omaha, big time infill project.

These are from the City Council Agenda for next week.

http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g56/NEBUGEATER/22e158e2-5796-4132-970e-ab2bd6ad86bf_zps26b8b5fb.jpg
http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g56/NEBUGEATER/6d901416-5211-4763-9181-e23c1d5367fb_zpsc0603911.jpg
http://necoyote.com/images/capitol/Capitol3.jpg
http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g56/NEBUGEATER/5f929d3c-4f82-4f26-bb7c-f624b8105dac_zps91c6fb4b.jpg

It doesn't look like anything has changed design wise from the color renderings posted earlier in this thread either.

Nice!

It seems the financing purse strings are really starting to loosen for commercial projects.

Hope all this is just the start.

Awesomeness!! Go Omaha!!

Lots of housing units u/c downtown right now.

290 at "The Wire" office building that sat empty for two decades going apartment. Will easily be the largest apartment project downtown at a cost of $42 million with that many units. The cool part will be the rooftop pool with large garage doors to leave it open in all types of weather which will be a huge selling point during Omaha winters. Also my personal favorite part about this project is that it will only have 154 parking stalls in the building, I think it says a lot when projects downtown stop having to worry about providing parking for every single tenant.
http://www.nustyle.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/The-Wire-1.jpg

1501 Jackson. 75 apartments with commercial space.
http://i.imgur.com/seZH8we.jpg
http://www.bradwilliamsphotography.com/images/SC8A7026.jpg

Jones13 100 apartments. Only 57 parking stalls, another positive sign that people are getting on the street.
http://www.weblisters.com/clients/jones13/imageLibrary/20572.jpg
http://www.bradwilliamsphotography.com/images/SC8A7057.jpg

The District Urban Lofts. 40 units and 4K sq foot of commercial space, 3 floors being added to the original structure.
https://sphotos-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-prn1/525520_458192457556307_563374187_n.jpg
http://www.bradwilliamsphotography.com/images/SC8A7061.jpg

Barker Building just opened their 42 units for rent. One of the commercial spaces is being filled by a medical clinic and full time pharmacy, developers are touting the downtown population growth and the fact that we can support a medical service like that in a high profile building. I love seeing our old buildings activated.
http://www.bradwilliamsphotography.com/images/SC8A6995.jpg

A Marriott Residence Inn is opening in this Art Deco gem next month, this build is so gorgeous they really don't make them like they used to.
http://www.bradwilliamsphotography.com/images/SC8A3116.jpg

Outside of downtown we are finally getting a real outlet mall. Considering the tenants lined up we were long overdue for one. The interesting thing with this outlet mall is the $12 million technology component going in and app is being designed specifically for this mall that will provide deals and information based on other stores you have entered and items you have bought. It is being outfitted with gigabit internet to power the service.

http://media.graytvinc.com/images/525*350/nebraska+crossing+aerial.jpg

The stores are most of your outlet mall regulars, Nike, Gap ect. People are really excited by the likes of Saks, Kate Spade, Michael Kors and Coach. Developer also said they are already planning to add another 100K sq ft of space because of the demand on the original 350K sq foot. Said the expansion is going to concentrate on NYC based retailers.

Other than that we have gotten a lot of suburban office space announced, but still waiting on some downtown news. Rumblings that Pacific Life could be looking for 100K sq ft in new construction so that is something we are keeping an eye on.

By the way congrats on the streetcar news!! That is a game changer for OKC, things will never be the same after 2017.

I've never been to Omaha but from these pics it looks awesome. I really like the character of the Old Market area and love the density of all those new developments. I like that Omaha did not choose to go the suburban route in its downtown like OKC did in Lower Bricktown. These projects are a definite model for OKC in terms of Midtown infill and the like. I also like all of the street-level businesses, something that has yet to really take off in OKC.

Developer's plans for downtown Omaha high-rise excite officials - Omaha.com (http://www.omaha.com/article/20131117/MONEY/131119039/1697#developer-s-plans-for-downtown-omaha-high-rise-excite-officials)


At this point, Lanoha's concept calls for a glass, asymmetrical structure 10 to 25 stories high, with a mix of uses and a construction price tag of up to $100 million.

It would include as much as 40,000 square feet of retail space, 10 to 15 floors of office space, up to five floors of parking and as many as five upper floors with condominiums.

“This is an office-driven project,” Lanoha said. “At the end of the day, we are seeking that major tenant wanting to put their name on the building and join the other major companies who call downtown home.”

Still a lot up in the air it sounds like, but this is a big big announcement. A true mixed use tower on the site that was formerly going to hold the now dead 32 story Wallstreet Tower condos.

This on top of the massive hotel/office/apartment/retail project listed a few pages up is two big time landscape changing projects for Downtown Omaha. Could be in real boom territory here.

And the render.

http://i.imgur.com/1JtPZDM.jpg

UrbanNebraska do you know how many uc/proposed and existing residential units are in dt Omaha?

I've never been to Omaha but from these pics it looks awesome. I really like the character of the Old Market area and love the density of all those new developments. I like that Omaha did not choose to go the suburban route in its downtown like OKC did in Lower Bricktown. These projects are a definite model for OKC in terms of Midtown infill and the like. I also like all of the street-level businesses, something that has yet to really take off in OKC.

Um they have a gigantic office park w Gallup along the Missouri River.

UrbanNebraska do you know how many uc/proposed and existing residential units are in dt Omaha?

535 u/c and 415 announced in DTO. As a whole that is a harder question to peg down. According to our DT Master Plan released in 2009 there were "around 5000" residential units. I would probably peg somewhere between 5400 and 5500 right now. The latest downtown population I saw we were a couple hundred under 9000.

Also of urban living interest there was an update on Midtown Crossing a couple weeks ago. The project holds 500 total residential units and officials said that they development is 90% full right now, thanks in large part to $7.5 million in condo sales year to date in the project. The claimed they met their yearly sales goal in March this year.

Um they have a gigantic office park w Gallup along the Missouri River.

Yep. Second time Omaha has let major employers dictate suburban development on the riverfront. First was ConAgra in the late 80s. Omaha is slowly figuring this urban thing out, but I could go on for days on things we could and should be doing better.

One of the funniest(saddest) things lately is that city officials are talking about ideas of how to get more people to the riverfront to support a newly opened restaurant. Maybe promoting more residential units than parking stalls would be a good start:hammer:.

Thank you for replying! Omaha punches well above it's population, even more than some 1million plus sized metros. People tend to forget that Lincoln is a short distance away and adds <300,000 more people to the region. Does Lincoln have any notable projects in the works?

Does Lincoln have any notable projects in the works?

They just opened the Pinnacle Bank Arena on the edge of downtown.

Thank you for replying! Omaha punches well above it's population, even more than some 1million plus sized metros. People tend to forget that Lincoln is a short distance away and adds <300,000 more people to the region. Does Lincoln have any notable projects in the works?

Just bumped the Lincoln thread. I left off dorm and classroom project because those are kind of a dime a dozen. As for Omaha and Lincoln being close Omaha likes to say they have 1.2 million with in 60 miles of downtown Omaha when they advertise the retail market. The two cities will probably join one CSA after the 2020 census. A 900K and 300K metro right next to each other. Still probably 30 miles of farmland between edges of Omaha and Lincoln development though.

They also just finished the decade long I80 widening project between the two cities this month. Now 3 lanes each way between each city, will probably make the two interact even more.

Just bumped the Lincoln thread. I left off dorm and classroom project because those are kind of a dime a dozen. As for Omaha and Lincoln being close Omaha likes to say they have 1.2 million with in 60 miles of downtown Omaha when they advertise the retail market. The two cities will probably join one CSA after the 2020 census. A 900K and 300K metro right next to each other. Still probably 30 miles of farmland between edges of Omaha and Lincoln development though.

They also just finished the decade long I80 widening project between the two cities this month. Now 3 lanes each way between each city, will probably make the two interact even more.Any talk of an HSR?

Any talk of an HSR?

That will depend a lot on what Iowa does. The state is currently looking into funding for an Omaha to Chicago rail transit project, which is mildly funny considering neither Omaha or Chicago is actually in Iowa :D. The long term plans would include 5 round trips between Omaha and Chicago with top speeds up to 110. State officials have said it would only make sense for us to extend that line to Lincoln if Iowa gets theirs going.

Still a long long ways off from anything like that though. Just too much rural opposition to anything "urban" in Nebraska right now.

Big time project announced today. Crossroads Mall is getting torn down to make way for a massive $400 million project.

$397 million Crossroads redevelopment moves forward with 'unique financing plan' - Omaha.com (http://www.omaha.com/article/20140130/MONEY/140139874/1685#-397-million-crossroads-redevelopment-moves-forward-with-unique-financing-plan)


The project, which would be built from the ground up, would result in a more than 50-acre mixed-use development offering:

>> 400,000 square feet of retail and entertainment space

>> 300,000 square feet of office space, including a midrise, eight-story office building and two-story office space situated above ground-level retail storefronts.

>> 400 “luxury loft” residential units.

>> a 135-room boutique hotel.

>> A two-acre public pedestrian-only park that would serve as the retail focus. Retail shops and residential space located above the ground floor storefronts would overlook the urban park.

CenturyLink will provide the development with a high-speed, 1-gigabit-per-second broadband network with voice, data, video and cloud-based services, said Danny Pate, CenturyLink vice president and general manager for Nebraska. Yates said the planned “smart” network has made some technology companies interested in the office space.

Going from this:
http://s14.postimg.org/pvi8gsr2p/Picture_2.png

To this:
http://www.omaha.com/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?Site=OW&Date=20140130&Category=MONEY&ArtNo=140139874&Ref=V1&Profile=1697&maxw=598&maxh=400

The Target and parking garage on the east end of the land are staying everything else is going away for a pretty great mixed use project. Expected to be a bunch of new to market retailers as well as some from the recently opened outlet mall that was built by the same developer. Not perfectly urban, but still pretty freaking awesome!

Got a big announcement for another big mixed use area of the city Aksarben Village. A $50 million project, $35 million on a 8 story office building 125K SF of office space on the top 6 floors and 12 retail bays on the bottom two floors. The other $15 million for a 1500 stall parking garage.

Render:
http://www.waittcompany.com/Post/sections/17/Images/WaittPlaza.png

The project site:
http://necoyote.ipower.com/images/random2/AV68.jpg

Directly across the street from the nearly finished Gordman's HQ, which also has ground floor retail space:
http://necoyote.ipower.com/images/random2/AV66.jpg

On the same street frontage a Residence Inn u/c with the existing mixed use buildings further down the street:
http://necoyote.ipower.com/images/random2/AV62.jpg

And here is the "back" of the property, the garage will go in the center of the lot with the new 8 floor building on the left corner. The garage will eventually be surrounded by office and apartments fronting the street.
http://necoyote.ipower.com/images/random2/AV69.jpg

Got some better details for the new high rise downtown. Still pretty vague, but it is all we got.

10K-40K SF Retail Space.
5-8 Floors of Parking(550-880 stalls).
10-15 Office Floors(220K-330K SF)
3-5 Condo Floors(24-40 units)

And a render of the different angles. Pretty slick design for Omaha.
https://scontent-b-dfw.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash3/8006_592583144130503_1243790304_n.jpg

$22.5 Million 125 unit project announced downtown. Going right near the Old Market which is hot with new apartments right now.
http://necoyote.ipower.com/images/random2/901g.jpg

25 year old Blue Barn Theater company is getting a brand new modern theater space thanks to some nice donations. They are leaving their current 86 seat theater in the Old Market for this new 96 seat theater in the neighborhood directly adjacent to the Old Market. This project also includes 10 condos and a restaurant space. Really cool project to make Omaha a little more dynamic design wise.
http://payload241.cargocollective.com/1/7/249521/7125564/Min-Day_120_02_2048.jpg

$25 Million Great Plains Black History Museum. This one is still more conceptual than anything no site picked although they want to be downtown and they don't have the money raised to build yet either.
http://content.omaha.com/media/maps/ps/2014/jan/bm3.jpg

100 unit Jones13 apartment building construction shot.
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7425/12035281776_e7a550f676_b.jpg

75 unit 1501 Jackson apartment building construction shot.
http://www.bradwilliamsphotography.com/images/SC8A4758.jpg

40 unit "The Limelight" apartment building construction shot.
http://www.bradwilliamsphotography.com/images/SC8A4738.jpg

154 unit "Spaces" apartment building construction shot. Located in Midtown.
http://necoyote.ipower.com/images1/random1/Spa34.jpg

Geez.

Way to go Omaha!

Very nice! Omaha is on a roll.

Old Market just keeps on going. I {{{{{{{ love }}}}}} Old Market. In fact, I love so much of Omaha. Des Moines, too - and some other great cities your direction.

Peyton Manning hut hut!

Thought I would pass this link along.

Downtown Revitalization: Omaha | Metro Jacksonville (http://www.metrojacksonville.com/article/2014-mar-downtown-revitalization-omaha)

While we are at it - Omaha redevelopment has caught the attention of Colorado Springs.

http://gazette.com/downtown-done-right-omahas-success-could-hold-lessons-for-colorado-springs/article/1506201#ec2r1gLEB3w1RCr4.99

Thought I would pass this link along.

Downtown Revitalization: Omaha | Metro Jacksonville (http://www.metrojacksonville.com/article/2014-mar-downtown-revitalization-omaha)

While we are at it - Omaha redevelopment has caught the attention of Colorado Springs.

Downtown done right: Omaha's success could hold lessons for Colorado Springs (http://gazette.com/downtown-done-right-omahas-success-could-hold-lessons-for-colorado-springs/article/1506201#ec2r1gLEB3w1RCr4.99)

Thanks for posting that!

The Jacksonville photos are making me ready for spring. There are some great shots of Omaha there, looks like he did quite a bit of walking! Omaha's wiki is pretty out of date so some of the info on there is wrong, the convention hotel has since been expanded from 450 to 600 rooms and the streetcar proposal has a much different route now.

What's the unique financing plan behind the Crossroads redev?

Does Omaha utilize CDBG, CDCs, etc?

What's the unique financing plan behind the Crossroads redev?

Does Omaha utilize CDBG, CDCs, etc?

Well some news today puts me in a place where I don't know what to think.

The funding was supposed to come from $53 million in TIF, $58 million from a 1.95% occupation tax in the development district and another $50 million in a bond issue to pay for the roads, sewers and infrastructure that would be up for public vote. I think the "uniqueness" came from the 1.95% tax which the NE Unicameral passed recently and the fact that all those incentives were going to be used together.

The other info that had come out since the original announcement were: the hotel being Aloft, being in negotiations with REI as an anchor and that 100K of the 400K in office space would be a "Technology Village" with CenturyLink(which brought 1 gig internet to Omaha last August) would provide the entire development with 10 gig internet. It's not as "sexy" as Google Fiber, but would be a massive draw for the development.
http://www.omaha.com/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?Site=OW&Date=20140130&Category=MONEY&ArtNo=140139874&Ref=AR&Profile=1685&maxw=598&maxh=400

Well news dropped today that the Mayor is urging the City Council to postpone the bond vote that was scheduled for the May elections. She said to gather more info and better inform voters of the issue as well as to not confuse it with a separate $92 million bond issue on the ballot this May.

So we will see. These developers killed it with the new outlet mall here and did the Legends area in KC as well so they have the pockets. This property is just so maligned yet so crucial to Omaha's future that it is important to do it right. I am going to a meeting on the 19th that the developer is supposed to speak at so I am hoping for something tangible to come out of that.

EDIT: now reports that the project would start this summer wether the bond happens or not. Just throwing more oddities into this property.

Maha Music Festival announced it's lineup yesterday. Death Cab for Cutie, The Head and the Heart and Local Natives headline. The Both with Aimee Mann and Ted Leo, Minneapolis hip hop group Doomtree, St Joseph MO punk rockers Radkey and Des Moines indie band The Envy Corp fill out the main stage. OKC's own Flaming Lips headlined last year.


http://vimeo.com/mahamusicfest/2014lineup

The final preferred transit alternative from our Alternatives Analysis study was released. The improvements the study found would cost $170 million including a 7.98 mile BRT route from downtown out west to Westroads Mall which is the city's premier shopping location as well as a 3.22 mile streetcar line that would run from North Downtown near the baseball stadium, south to the Old Market then out through Midtown Crossing ending at University of Nebraska Medical Center. Seems like a good combination to get the benefits of a streetcar in the urban core with improved transit to the suburbs without the massive upfront costs of light rail.

They are now moving onto the next step which includes environmental studies and conceptual engineering, they also say that they are in the process of trying to secure a $33 million TIGER Grant.

Small PDF of how the route would run through the city:
http://omahaalternativesanalysis.org/docs/COAA_FullLPAMap_041814.pdf

Here is the rendering video of what the transit could look like in our current building stock.

http://fast.wistia.net/embed/iframe/7fx0jpvwzy?popover=true

The Fred and Pamela Buffett Cancer Center is well underway. The 577,000 SF $323 million building will employ 1200 and is expected to have another $300+ million in development in the surrounding neighborhoods...where I happen to live so that is nice.

Render:
http://tetradpropertygroup.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/buffet-03.jpg

Shot of the tower crane:
http://www.bradwilliamsphotography.com/images/SC8A6736.jpg

Another tower crane up near Aksarben Village. 150,000 SF, $42.6 million medical office building.
http://tetradpropertygroup.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/think-01.jpg
http://www.bradwilliamsphotography.com/images/SC8A5798.jpg

UNO's new arena is going up in the Aksarben Village area too. $75 million 7500 seat arena.
http://imagizer.imageshack.us/a/img818/793/unoarena.jpg
http://s27.postimg.org/4vr24cmxf/Picture_13.png

The 300 unit "The Wire" office to apartment conversion is getting close to coming online. The will open the top floor to tenants in June and will open up each subsequent floor below as they finish out the interiors. Here is a shot of them hoisting the pool up to the roof. Will be a unique option for the city.
http://www.omaha.com/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?Site=OW&Date=20140110&Category=MONEY&ArtNo=140119808&Ref=AR&Profile=1707&maxw=598&maxh=400

The same developer doing ^that^ project got a steal of a deal by purchasing our out of commission riverfront power plant for $100,000. Plan to spend $30 million converting it into a 135 unit apartment building. It is kind of disconnected from downtown, but being on the water will be a nice draw. Also should be really unique units b/c of the size of the floors.
http://www.bradwilliamsphotography.com/images/IMG_1645.jpg

That above shot of the power plant also shows the site of a project that just broke ground. The grass lot on the left side of that photo near the bridge is the location of this $22.5 million 125 unit apartment project that just started last week. It will be the first in ground pool in downtown so that will be a nice draw.
http://necoyote.ipower.com/images/random2/901g.jpg

100 unit Jones13 is topped out.
http://www.bradwilliamsphotography.com/images/SC8A7014.jpg

75 unit 1501 Jackson topped out.
http://www.bradwilliamsphotography.com/images/SC8A6998.jpg

40 unit The Limelight is topped out.
http://www.bradwilliamsphotography.com/images/SC8A7007.jpg

154 unit Spaces apartments, nearly topped out.
http://necoyote.ipower.com/images1/random2/Spaces61.jpg

The newly created "Blackstone District" is getting ready to pop. A ton of investment going in on this street corner. It currently sits on at one way street that is set to go two way this summer.

This closed up antique shop is going to get a major redo. They are going to bring those storefronts out to the street and add another bay to the end. Will include a small park as well. The large home on the property was so cut up from being an antique showroom that they are converting it to office space for 10 startups.
http://www.bradwilliamsphotography.com/images/SC8A5931.jpg

With the render for the new storefronts.
https://scontent-b-dfw.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash3/q71/s720x720/1185541_10152138096839630_8530454_n.jpg

Also on that corner there will be a new Mexican Restaurant and tequila bar. It is going in the two story building on the corner, there are already 7 completed apartment units on the 2nd floor.
http://www.bradwilliamsphotography.com/images/SC8A7024.jpg

Next door a micro brewery is going in.
http://www.bradwilliamsphotography.com/images/SC8A7025.jpg

Across the street is just a tried and true bar. Sullivan's has been in the area for 40 years and decided to renovate this building when they saw all the rest of the investment.
http://www.bradwilliamsphotography.com/images/SC8A5929.jpg

All of that is like 3 blocks from my house... needless to say I am pumped.

Decent little 31 unit apartment project going into Midtown. This is about two blocks away from Midtown Crossing.
https://scontent-a-dfw.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-frc3/t1.0-9/1970681_739588006081134_2138052363_n.jpg

Just down the street from that project is kind of a cool little unique project. A board game cafe. A man has collected over 1000 different board games throughout his life and has decided to create a nonprofit space to share them with the community. Offer refreshments, small snacks and meals where you can show up and buy day passes or buy year passes to use the games.
https://s3.amazonaws.com/ksr/assets/001/738/001/dc3b97ee9a8544bec822b0b13ea36529_large.png?1394594 177

Haven't been able to find details on this, but apparently the top floors of our gorgeous Flat Iron building are undergoing renovation for rentals.
http://www.bradwilliamsphotography.com/images/SC8A5938.jpg

This great collection of buildings in the sort of no-man's land between downtown and Midtown have been purchased by a single developer with the intent of rehabbing them.
http://necoyote.ipower.com/images1/random2/HSD31.jpg
http://necoyote.ipower.com/images1/random2/HSD32.jpg
http://necoyote.ipower.com/images1/random2/HSD33.jpg
http://necoyote.ipower.com/images1/random2/HSD34.jpg

No renderings yet, but a developer has said he will build a 6 floor 176 unit apartment building on this triangle shaped property in Midtown.
http://bradwilliamsphotography.com/non_web_upload/MIDTOWN_TRIANGLE.jpg

And finally this 430 unit apartment project 2 blocks from our Crossroads Mall mega project is getting NIMBYed hard. It is on the fringe of our Fairacres neighborhood which houses a lot of wealth. They have banded together saying it would create too much traffic. Our planning department has already approved it, but with the influential people in that neighborhood it will be interesting to see how this plays out. I will be incredibly disappointed if the city chases away this kind of investment...
http://www.omaha.com/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?Site=OW&Date=20140402&Category=NEWS&ArtNo=140409639&Ref=AR&Profile=1685&maxw=598&maxh=400

I LOVE Omaha once the snow thaws. Great tree cover and some great public spaces to enjoy.

https://fbcdn-sphotos-c-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-xpa1/t1.0-9/10457565_725357030839847_5294957523855301239_n.jpg

http://www.bradwilliamsphotography.com/images/SC8A9451.jpg

http://www.bradwilliamsphotography.com/images/SC8A85912.jpg

http://www.bradwilliamsphotography.com/images/SC8A8195.jpg

http://www.bradwilliamsphotography.com/images/SC8A9087.jpg

Plus spring means the bikes come out in full force!
https://scontent-b-dfw.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xap1/t1.0-9/1513190_10152916334568065_5388453342457442099_n.jp g

And we love our beer here. Two separate very successful beer festivals on the same day in the Big O.

Omaha Beer Fest at Aksarben Village:
https://scontent-a-dfw.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xpf1/t1.0-9/10426727_777488285615062_4158079252520959923_n.jpg
https://scontent-b-dfw.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xpf1/t1.0-9/10273552_777481402282417_5749842941304150029_n.jpg

And Benson Beer Fest in you guessed it, the Benson neighborhood. Benson is an awesome area of town that I don't really talk about much. The area has two breweries, currently 6 live music venues with a 7th and 8th(like a half venue) being worked on now and some unique artwork. Really the heart of Omaha's music and artistic scene. Also the hottest biking neighborhood, the shot of the bikes a few up is in Benson.
https://scontent-b-dfw.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xpf1/t1.0-9/10449502_721475501247425_6050274770474702178_n.jpg

As always, thanks for sharing.

I really need to get to Omaha at some point.

As always, thanks for sharing.

I really need to get to Omaha at some point.

I never thought I would root against the Anteaters, I love when they make the CWS, but I am hoping that OSU can bounce back here and make it up to Omaha so some Okies would come visit. Not to offend any Sooners here;), you guys can come visit when OU plays Creighton in November.

Nice shots UrbanNebraska. Need to make a visit sometime. :)

It truly is awesome what is going up there. There are no signs it seems development is slowing down either there. I'm actually jealous of a few developments going in.

It truly is awesome what is going up there. There are no signs it seems development is slowing down either there. I'm actually jealous of a few developments going in.

Haha, take my word for it OKC has more in the pipe and going on. I love what Omaha is pulling off, but the size scale between the two cities is different. Seems like every project for OKC is 200+ units while Omaha is around 100 or so per project.

Anyways we have got some new interesting projects.

Aksarben Village, where that beer fest was held, just got $82 million in projects dropped. Everything grey is already built except for the block bounded by 67th and Shirley which is an announced $50 million project I posted earlier. List of everything announced the other day:
» An 80,000-square-foot office, retail and restaurant building on the corner of 67th Street and Mercy Road. A large corporate user reportedly has committed to occupying the top level of what would be a three- or four-story structure.
» A four-story retail and residential building fronting Frances Street that would have 10,000 square feet of retail and apartment lobby space on the ground floor; upper floors would contain 21 apartments.
» Another four-story building with 40 apartment lofts, facing west with a view of College of St. Mary softball fields and campus.
» As announced six weeks ago, a five-story building with Pacific Life Insurance Co. as anchor on the northeast corner of Mercy Road and Aksarben Drive. Restaurants, other retail shops and offices would occupy the rest.
» An 880-stall, four-story parking garage, replacing an existing surface parking lot and connecting by sky bridge to the Pacific Life building.
» About two blocks to the east, southwest of 64th Avenue and Frances Street, two apartment buildings. The largest would have four levels, 45 units and 31 parking stalls. A three-story eight-plex is designed in a “walk-up” style. Parking for both would be available in an existing garage servicing nearby businesses.
http://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/omaha.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/1/f4/1f45ab7a-eb6d-11e3-ac5e-0017a43b2370/538e49fba752c.image.jpg

This is the rendering for the Pac Life building. This has been kind of a hot issue here b/c they are moving 350 jobs out of DT to this new mixed use development. Kind of begs the question if a city as small as Omaha benefits from multiple urban cores or if having one concentration would be better.
http://necoyote.ipower.com/images1/random2/PacLife12.jpg

Elsewhere. UNMC is really developing their skyline and campus.
http://www.bradwilliamsphotography.com/images/SC8A8759.jpg

There was also a hotel announced near UNMC recently. First really urban project building off the Med Center's influence.
http://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/omaha.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/6/30/6300f92f-a4e9-5320-b29f-bed8b5506c8e/5376145f11221.image.jpg

This one is boring and I have a feeling will suck, but anyways. 132 room hotel planned for the dead area between downtown and midtown. It will have retail, but the land they have fenced off is way bigger than this hotel looks to take...
http://necoyote.ipower.com/images1/random2/HO11.jpg

At least The Wire apartments are starting to open. An office conversion to 300 units is opening the top 2 floors to tenants then the ones below to renters as the finish it out. They said they have 50 pre-leases, which is basically all the available units. This is the pool on the roof, kind of small still pretty awesome.
https://scontent-b-dfw.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xpf1/t1.0-9/10444531_1388395781399024_110761903627963350_n.jpg
https://fbcdn-sphotos-c-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-xpa1/v/t1.0-9/10338768_1388396061398996_545639143645792370_n.jpg ?oh=90d9d07ba40bf4acca36ab284c2f38c5&oe=53FCC914&__gda__=1407743404_dbab5f66865ee01c08a6f8dccd2151c 5

Omaha looks awesome. I've never been to Nebraska. Need to change that.

Lived in Omaha for a couple of years. Crazy-cool arts scene. Very hip town. Great music scene,too. Love how the whole thing grew organically over the years. Had one of my best meals ever at a place called Lot 2 in Benson.