Legend has it--or at least I've been told--that Phone Center Operators with Authentic Nebraska Accents--are the most Winsome in the World. They even have classes to teach exchange students from Marketing Firms in India how to speak American. Since Omaha is, like, The Next Best Thing to Shaler, Iowa, I'm happy to see that it flies in the face of my preconceived notions. About Nebraska in general.

The other Legend has it that Omaha invented the word Mutual.

Really impressed by this. Thanks for sharing UrbanNebraska.

As an aside, there are a lot of great things going on in cities to the north of OKC, but there seems to be way too much focus on what Texas cities are doing, at least on here. I feel that while TX is making the big development splashes, cities like Omaha and Denver seem far more livable. OKC would be wise to look north in plotting its future.

OKC is more culturally and traditionally tied to Texas than the Midwest. However, I completely agree with you. A lot of great things are going on in Omaha that OKC would be wise to take cues from. Minneapolis/St Paul is another metro area that has a lot of great things going on. It's a very hip place to be right now.

Really impressed by this. Thanks for sharing UrbanNebraska.

As an aside, there are a lot of great things going on in cities to the north of OKC, but there seems to be way too much focus on what Texas cities are doing, at least on here. I feel that while TX is making the big development splashes, cities like Omaha and Denver seem far more livable. OKC would be wise to look north in plotting its future.

And Minneapolis. Work takes me up there about once a year and I'm blown away by all the development in their core and surrounding neighborhoods. Like OKC it is mostly flat to rolling in parts and sits in the transition zone from prairie to forests, however they have all the glacial lakes that OKC lacks. Minnesota has some of the worst winter weather in the country yet Minneapolis is growing rapidly and building density, as well as some of the best bike infrastructure in the country. It's worth a visit...in the summer. There are two daily non-stop flights from OKC on Delta.

Omaha and Denver are really adding infill to their downtowns. But I wouldn't dismiss Texas cities as they are currently infilling at a great amount, especially Austin having a never ending boom it seems like. :)

Thanks for the kind words guys! Honestly I could probably post as much on things that ticks me off about Omaha as I do about things I like, but that isn't as fun.

A huge day for Omaha and downtown. Our $205 million project including a 350 room 14 floor full service Marriott hotel, 250 residential units in a 9 floor building, 100K SF in office space and 80K SF of retail space on the ground level all on top of a 800 stall underground garage. The central plaza is going to be an open carry district similar to P&L in KC, on a smaller level of course.

http://www.leoadaly.com/images/projectimages/w002-10101-MK1ha-1.jpg
http://www.leoadaly.com/images/projectimages/w002-10101-MK1hb-2.jpg
http://www.leoadaly.com/images/projectimages/w002-10101-MK1hc-3.jpg

They broke ground this morning. This is simply massive for Omaha. The biggest groundbreaking in downtown Omaha in a decade. The hotel addition will give us 950 full service hotel rooms across from the arena/convention center between this Marriott and the city owned 600 room Hilton. The residential will be a huge boost to the north side of the core really balancing out the area between the residential heavy Old Market and the office heavy core. The office will be the first spec space built downtown in over 20 years, imagine that. And the retail/entertainment will offer a new different kind of vibe not found anywhere else in the city with open containers and a central pedestrian plaza.

This project is the exclamation point of a downtown resurgence that started in 2002 with our new tallest skyscraper and included thousands of residential units and two major event arenas. Genuinely a massive day for the city, something we have been waiting for a long time to see.

Also today we got news that pro football is coming back. The FXFL is trying to become a NFL developmental league. The first two cities were announced today being Omaha and Austin, they have said Portland, the NYC area, the Boston area and a city in Florida will be the first cities in the league.

This is what the field looks like in the baseball stadium:
http://aviewfrommyseat.com/photos/HuskerSteve-20120315124547.jpg

I am just so excited for a major landscape changing project in DTO. The core is finally taking that next step development wise. I love 5 floor infill and historic rehab as much as the next guy(probably more), but there is something exciting about seeing that tower crane rise above a construction project. Finally getting that statement project that will define post recession development in Omaha.

Some fixes for the sake of accuracy: Those numbers for the project were the last we had heard and the developer updated those to the final plans at the ground breaking.

Full-Service Marriott: 350 rooms moving down to 333
Apartments: 250 moving down to 225
Office space: 100K SF moving up to 125K SF
Retail: 80K SF moving up to 90K SF
Parking: 800 stalls going down to 500

Never like to see projects shrink, but those are pretty low numbers and they obviously replaced the space with more office/retail. Interesting that they cut 300 parking stalls, probably to cut costs.

Using $35 million in TIF and $25 million from another interesting source. The state of Nebraska recently opened an office in China to help grow international business and at the ground breaking our Governor said $25 million of the funding for this project came from foreign investors. Creative way to get a project like this off the ground.

Our fantastic photographer Brad Williams got up in the air again this past week and got some great views of Omaha. He has posted the first couple sets of what he got processed over on eomaha, some cool shots:

These two are of University of Nebraska-Omaha's new hockey specific arena, although they will play their basketball there too. It shows the Aksarben Village quite well where you can tell how much is developed and how much still needs to be built in the coming years. Really a development success story for Omaha.
http://www.bradwilliamsphotography.com/images/SC8A10232.jpg
http://www.bradwilliamsphotography.com/images/SC8A10152.jpg

Here is UNO's Main Campus. Nothing big and not a lot of dorms b/c of the commuter nature of the university, but a decent campus none the less. Two of their major buildings are actually close to Aksarben Village in their South Campus. About a mile away, if you look closely at the image you can see A/V in the background.
http://www.bradwilliamsphotography.com/images/SC8A0915.jpg

And this last one is highlighting the $323 million cancer center being built at UNMC.
http://www.bradwilliamsphotography.com/images/SC8A0880.jpg
As you can see in that picture we have the UNMC skyline then our Midtown skyline with Mutual of Omaha and Kiewit and then the central core furthest back. This picture perfectly shows how linear Omaha's major employers are and how easy it would be to make a really really strong transit corridor connection all those jobs.

This shot is facing the other way. It is more to show where the next major new urbanism development is planned. The disjointed industrial/parking area just past the main campus has been bought by UNMC. They have came out publicly stating that they are going to pursue developing it as another Aksarben Village type area in order to enhance their campus and the surrounding neighborhood. Said it will help attract talent to the school.
http://www.bradwilliamsphotography.com/images/SC8A0903.jpg

Thanks so much for the updates. Glad to see Omaha doing so well.

Interesting about the full-scale downtown Marriott.

We just learned we are likely to get the same in Bricktown, which would be the first full-service hotel in that district and the first downtown in a while.

Thanks so much for the updates. Glad to see Omaha doing so well.

Interesting about the full-scale downtown Marriott.

We just learned we are likely to get the same in Bricktown, which would be the first full-service hotel in that district and the first downtown in a while.

Yeah it was nearly impossible to get full service hotels done for a long time there. Especially in a market like Omaha, the developer said that was the biggest issue with this project b/c they couldn't get a hotel operator to sign on at the beginning.

Could be a sign that hoteliers are starting to see the numbers make sense again, which is great news for the economy. Lending seems to be loosening these last couple years and all that extra available financing is finally starting to become reality.

Another monster project in the works for downtown Omaha. A few months back the city put out a RFP for the site of the now closed Civic Auditorium(as of yesterday). Two companies responded with 4 different potential projects.

As the site sits now:
http://scottymoore.net/images/omaha/IMG_5523_Omaha_Civic_Auditorium_North_from_First_N ational_Tower.jpg

The first is of local development company Tetrad Property Group, they propose:

A 16 story office building with room for 2750 employees.
200 residential units
retail space on the ground floor including one designed for an "urban box store" specifically mentioning grocery. 2nd locations for Whole Foods or Trader Joe's being thrown around.
A civic building designed to hold job training classes as well as painting, gardening, carpentry ect classes.

And the early renders for their proposal.
http://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/omaha.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/2/20/220b9942-fc15-53d1-a2ed-6caadc91d4d2/53b22a254de52.image.jpg
http://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/omaha.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/8/6d/86d86596-4ff7-5756-90b2-6d51b938e0ef/53b22a26c1f9c.image.jpg
And the site plan:
http://s10.postimg.org/6rmzjiqs9/Picture_21.png

The other 3 are all different proposals from the same development company. Opus Group out of Minneapolis.

Their first proposal is being referred to as the "Urban Neighborhood Plan, it includes:

423 residential units, 397 in tradition midrise apartment form with 26 in row house style.
95,300 SF of retail space, 29K SF of which is dedicated toward a grocery store.
128K SF in office space

Site Plan:
http://s9.postimg.org/ks947o2pb/Picture_22.png

This next plan is being called the "Urban Parkway." This one happens to be my favorite. It includes:

230 high-rise housing units
285 mid-rise housing units
85 low-rise housing units above retail
For a total of 600 housing units
187K SF of office space
85K SF of retail space, 30K of which is dedicated toward a grocer.
All centered around a "green parkway"

Site Plan:
http://s28.postimg.org/42uck1mgd/Picture_23.png

And lastly and IMO least, the plan being pitched as "Trinity Court." It includes:

A green space on the street front, breaking the street wall
160 residential units
144,800 SF of office
31,400 SF of retail
176,700 SF for a civic building being listed as "library." That is this projects one saving grace is getting a new modern library possibly.

Site Plan:
http://s14.postimg.org/bvxf0pyqp/Picture_24.png

The Mayor said that she will pick the winning bid in August. There are still a lot of pieces to figure out as in who is footing the bill to demo the arena as it stands currently. I am sure this project is a couple years away, still nice to see yet another massive project in downtown.

As I have said I prefer the "Urban Parkway" plan. That number of residential units, 600, would absolutely invigorate downtown. Plus it includes a grocer and plenty of office space.

Between the Capitol District project, the new 25 story skyscraper proposal and now this Civic Site redevelopment Downtown Omaha will be drastically different in 5 years. Exciting stuff.

Two cool time lapse videos of Omaha.

Welcome to Omaha on Vimeo (http://vimeo.com/98306514)

OMAH4k: The Gateway to the West on Vimeo (http://vimeo.com/92622464)

I just returned from a week-long trip to Omaha to visit the friends I made when I lived there. It's probably one of my favorite cities away from home. Maybe I'm just seeing the good things, but there's a vibe there that is hard to explain. I just love the fact that subjects like religion don't enter into normal conversations like they did when I lived in rural Missouri. The atmosphere seems much more relaxed and tolerant. People seem more open to different ideas, not just the hipsters that run a couple of neighborhoods, but with the buttoned-down business community as well (they seem to listen to each other!). There is a whole area that hasn't been discussed in this thread, and it relates to the arts-----the artistic community is amazing, with institutions like the Bemis Center, Hot Shops, the Kaneko Center, Film Streams, and dozens of edgy galleries all over the place. Omaha has one of the most vibrant indigenous indie music scenes in the country right now, with several clubs and even some underground clubs that my friends took me to. It seems like the different segments of the community, whom you never think would give each other the time of day, all pull together to achieve a goal. I actually enjoyed my trip more than the one I took to Chicago last year to visit a college buddy.

Very impressive.

It looks like Omaha packs quite a punch for its size. I have never been but judging from what I've heard and these pictures, it may be a miniature Austin.

I just returned from a week-long trip to Omaha to visit the friends I made when I lived there. It's probably one of my favorite cities away from home. Maybe I'm just seeing the good things, but there's a vibe there that is hard to explain. I just love the fact that subjects like religion don't enter into normal conversations like they did when I lived in rural Missouri. The atmosphere seems much more relaxed and tolerant. People seem more open to different ideas, not just the hipsters that run a couple of neighborhoods, but with the buttoned-down business community as well (they seem to listen to each other!). There is a whole area that hasn't been discussed in this thread, and it relates to the arts-----the artistic community is amazing, with institutions like the Bemis Center, Hot Shops, the Kaneko Center, Film Streams, and dozens of edgy galleries all over the place. Omaha has one of the most vibrant indigenous indie music scenes in the country right now, with several clubs and even some underground clubs that my friends took me to. It seems like the different segments of the community, whom you never think would give each other the time of day, all pull together to achieve a goal. I actually enjoyed my trip more than the one I took to Chicago last year to visit a college buddy.

Very glad you enjoyed yourself! I have thought about trying to highlight the culture, but I always run into trouble with how to go about it. Pictures of buildings is a little easier to translate than a scene. Even with that I will do my best here. Also we might of bumped shoulders that week you were here, I was at Kaneko, Film Streams and all over Benson that week.

This is going to be a huge post and really wont hit everything. It really irks me when people that live here say there is nothing to do. They just aren't willing to look.

And if this comes across as super self-serving/snoobish it really isn't meant that way.

I suppose to set the mood you could head to Hear Nebraska (http://hearnebraska.org/) and start the playlist, it is all Nebraska based bands. Hear Nebraska is an awesome non-profit dedicated to progressing the music scene in the state. They offer tons of interviews, reviews of shows and photo essays. Basically Nebraska's own Pitchfork.

Bemis Center for the Contemporary Arts is an artist residency program. They offer studio space with a private kitchen and bathroom for each artist along with a $750 monthly stipend for living expenses. The Bemis is in a 110K SF building in the Old Market that has been open for over 30 years and has housed over 700 different artists from across the globe in that time span.
Why Should I Support the Bemis Center? on Vimeo (http://vimeo.com/79568999)
http://www.zimmatic.com/stuff/contentmgr/files/0/9a4e6a989530e9e07dc7113ddd9d3f98/files/bemis_center_2.jpg
Typical Studio Space
http://cdn.firespring.com/images/661e3369-696e-47c8-aa1f-2f67f23052bf.jpg
The Installation Room
http://cdn.firespring.com/images/e6a28eef-22d6-4818-8881-9189a554943c.jpg
http://cdn.firespring.com/images/3dc395a2-250a-4ed8-83a6-a0a022e9d57a.jpg
Sculpture Facility
http://cdn.firespring.com/images/ce055876-3ad1-4c7e-af90-34598821cc76.jpg
And just a few of my favorite works from the past few exhibitions
http://cdn.firespring.com/images/cd81ebec-7364-46f0-a44d-75c7086e70f1.jpg
http://cdn.firespring.com/images/a552507f-f554-43fb-a137-cf488893592a.jpg
http://cdn.firespring.com/images/8b1b81a3-55c3-4934-b423-54ba9e072aac.jpg
http://cdn.firespring.com/images/366ea724-e297-4d49-b561-46bc34eb5c2d.jpg

Hot Shops Art Center is in North Downtown. It is another place for artists to live and create. This one has a strong focus on sculpture and forging along with the other mediums.
Hot Shops Promo on Vimeo (http://vimeo.com/63863525)
http://smcparticipantobserver.files.wordpress.com/2013/01/hot-shops.jpeg
https://fbcdn-sphotos-d-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-xap1/t1.0-9/10308555_645173055569155_1861967275824682760_n.jpg

Kaneno is the brain child of artist couple Jun and Ree Kaneko. Yet another studio exhibition space in the Old Market. Born in Japan Jun Kaneko and based in Omaha since the mid-80's Kaneko has created an incredible career in the middle of the country. From sculpture to paint to even opera design in his more recent years. The Kaneko Center has become a center of innovation for Omaha.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sz7OYPwNR_8
http://thekaneko.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/front.webcopy.jpg
Event Space
http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/1/60696/723558/Kaneko%2007.jpg
Kaneko is also home to the annual Big Omaha Conference. It focuses on entrepreneurship and tech start ups. It is hosted by Silicon Prairie News Silicon Prairie News ? Highlighting and supporting entrepreneurs and creatives on the Silicon Prairie. (http://www.siliconprairienews.com/), which is a news source dedicated to highlighting the tech scene in Omaha, Lincoln, Des Moines and Kansas City. The headline speaker at Big Omaha this year was Twitter Co-Founder Evan Williams(who happens to be a Nebraska native).
http://thekaneko.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/big_omaha3.jpg
https://scontent-b-dfw.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xpf1/t1.0-9/10384605_10154391445545192_8125151710763332185_n.j pg
And here is their plan for future expansion of the space. Currently the facility is only the red brick buildings. They plan to add the modern parks to hold and display Jun Kaneko's vast collection of work and to create a work of art in itself. The sidewalks are also planned to be turned into a work of art.
http://s3.amazonaws.com/spnproduction/photos/000/007/462/7462_edba7a6396_full.png?1336501751

Film Streams I have mentioned before. It is a two screen non-profit art house theater. Just this past Friday when they opened the acclaimed documentary about Roger Ebert they director Steve James was on hand for a Q/A session after the screening.
http://www.prairiefirenewspaper.com/files/film-streams-theater-01.jpg

So other interesting things happening in the art/music scene.

Omaha Fashion Week has been around since 2008 and that is self described as the 5th largest independent fashion event in the nation drawing larger crowds and more designers than KC, Minneapolis, Denver and STL's respective events.
https://fbcdn-sphotos-e-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-xpa1/t1.0-9/1901658_10152065987351553_595889800_n.jpg

Under The Radar Festival was earlier this month, it is dedicated to progressing avant-garde arts in the city. Really this quote is the only way to describe the weekend long event.

“Raise your hand if that was the weirdest thing you’ve seen tonight,” requested festival director Amanda DeBoer Bartlett, following a four-song set from flutist Shanna Gutierrez and guitarist Jesse Langen. They’d just played a set of purposefully disjointed music that borrowed from obscure influences, such as ‘80s Asian cinema scores.
https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3888/14633215455_92487c9d3c_c.jpg
https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3851/14632799522_e045292eb5_c.jpg
https://farm3.staticflickr.com/2919/14610223016_d3720fe938_h.jpg

Or the numerous district wide events in Benson. They had a Benson Fourth Friday event recently to help raise money to support the regular Benson First Friday festivals which brings out 20+ different musical acts to the numerous venues in the neighborhood.
https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3905/14521251911_4e1d8b4ab6_c.jpg
https://farm3.staticflickr.com/2906/14523218554_c9d8856ce8_h.jpg
https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3839/14338146188_b87e4fb387_c.jpg
https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3901/14338135337_55fabbc053_c.jpg
https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5073/14521201001_826122e866_c.jpg
https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5472/14544799623_cf8cb92120_c.jpg
https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5550/14338075679_cec11b7066_c.jpg

Maha Music Festival is in less than two weeks and is set to be the biggest yet.
https://fbcdn-sphotos-c-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-xfp1/t1.0-9/10478207_10152199284052043_5974564388389576166_n.p ng
And their reach is growing nationwide too which is really cool to see.
https://fbcdn-sphotos-e-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-xpa1/t1.0-9/10563210_10152271670832043_7382955869069280506_n.j pg

Another super cool event starting this year is the Good Speakers Fest. They have rented out an entire hotel for two nights for this music festival. Every room included. The idea is you buy tickets and a room together and party all weekend. One of the hotel rooms is even being turned into a 48 hour long live DJ room. INSANE! I can't imagine what the room will look like at 7 AM.
https://scontent-a-dfw.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xpa1/v/t1.0-9/s526x395/10525777_1517157725185325_4239156037575262060_n.jp g?oh=967218304f5add3663805179259b28e9&oe=544785E2

We even get some secret shows every once in a while. Like...

Jack White playing a show in a thrift store in the Old Market.
http://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/omaha.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/e/85/e850b219-5cac-5ac1-9552-9d15804954ab/5374daa618792.image.jpg

Or Conor Oberst's Bright Eyes at a bar.
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7013/6709321207_083e77f45b_z.jpg

Even had the likes of Lady Gaga do a surprise performance after her concert in Omaha a few years ago.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VSgRYOz7oyI

It is really hard to explain and there are a ton of people in Omaha that don't even realize what we have going on. There is just so much little stuff that add up to a swelling of uniquely "Omaha" arts and especially music. It is really an exciting time to be in the city culturally. I love to look at the new skyscrapers and such being built, but in all reality I am going to spend a heck lot more time in the next tiny music venue drinking beer than I will in that shinny skyscraper.

OK more fun stuff on the next page. Kind of in a development transition period now so a reset of the next wave of projects on page 9. Some less exciting quick info for the last post here.

Pretty huge news for the Nebraska Medical Center yesterday/today. The hospital has received the third American Ebola patient. The Med Center is one of four facilities in the nation with a biocontainment unit capable of handling a disease like this, apparently the largest of the bunch. It has created some misguided hysteria from people here, but in reality this is an incredible thing to have the capability to handle in our city. Really shows how important the Nebraska Medical Center is becoming locally, nationally and worldwide.

Last week we also completed our largest annexation package in nearly a decade. Added 8200 residents and almost $930 million in property valuation to the city limits. Wont really change anything metro wise, but annexation is always a hot button issue.

Ok more fun stuff posted in a couple mins...

Awesome Urban Nebraska. I look forward into seeing what's new in Omaha.

Tetrad Property Group was selected to redevelop the Civic Auditorium Site. I mentioned before that an RFP went out and the city ended up choosing the local developer over the company from Minneapolis. Their proposal is rather impressive though.

$300 million project that includes:
A 14 story office portion, the developer said they will gladly build up to 40 stories if the demand is there. So that is still on their mind.
200 residential units.
Civic building potentially containing a digital library or museum.
Retail space on the ground floor with a portion of it specifically designed for an "urban big box retailer."
http://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/omaha.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/2/20/220b9942-fc15-53d1-a2ed-6caadc91d4d2/53b22a254de52.image.jpg
http://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/omaha.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/8/6d/86d86596-4ff7-5756-90b2-6d51b938e0ef/53b22a26c1f9c.image.jpg
http://media.jrn.com/images/640*360/omaha-civic-project.jpg
https://fbcdn-sphotos-e-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-xpa1/t1.0-9/10525665_245905285620186_9171961760133810527_n.jpg
http://content-img.newsinc.com/jpg/1767/26496592/14503137.jpg?t=1407502440

That is the latest of quite a few proposed high rise buildings downtown.

Lanoha Building would fall 3 blocks down the street from ^that^ project.
http://i.imgur.com/1JtPZDM.jpg

And The Capitol District will fall another 3 blocks east of ^that^ project.
http://www.ketv.com/image/view/-/25383144/highRes/1/-/maxh/480/maxw/640/-/tns2k4z/-/VIEW6-1017-jpg.jpg

The three could add up to over $600 million in development including almost 500 residential units, around 750K SF in office space and about 250K SF of retail. Would really transform our urban area if all three are built out by the end of the decade.

Some smaller infill downtown as well.

The Corvina, $22.5 million 125 unit apartment building with 8K SF of retail space.
http://thecorvina.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/CorvinaSignageDay.jpg
http://oi59.tinypic.com/2vjtwk8.jpg

Hotel Omaha 132 room boutique hotel.
https://fbcdn-sphotos-b-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-xpa1/t1.0-9/10461386_10152600155139630_4553351512650450023_n.j pg

Boxcar10/Blue Barn Theater. 10 condos, retail space and a 99 seat theater for the Blue Barn Theater Company.
http://payload241.cargocollective.com/1/7/249521/7125564/Min-Day_120_02_2048.jpg
http://necoyote.com/images1/random2/BC11.jpg

Right next door to ^that^ project is an old warehouse that the Postal Service is using. It will be converted into a year round indoor farmers market.
http://s.lnimg.com/photo/poster_768/30fc2c2dfa8c41c68870299895f71a05.jpg

Three projects are just recently finished downtown as well.

1501 Jackson 75 units is now open.
http://www.bradwilliamsphotography.com/images/SC8A6178.jpg

Jones13 100 units is now open.
http://www.bradwilliamsphotography.com/images/SC8A6174.jpg

The Limelight on 16th 40 units is now open.
http://www.bradwilliamsphotography.com/images/SC8A6190.jpg

Branching into the Midtown-ish area.

Spaces 154 units is now open.
http://www.bradwilliamsphotography.com/images/SC8A8756.jpg

Down the street from ^that^ project is a 176 unit apartment project called Midtown Triangle.
http://s17.postimg.org/6skizvuu7/Picture_25.png

UNMC's campus continues to grow.

$323 million Cancer Center, just a massive facility.
http://www.fredandpamelabuffettcancercenter.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/UNMC_ccc_Dodge-+-Saddle-Creek_09_09.jpg
http://necoyote.com/images1/random2/UNMC111.jpg

They also recently broke ground on a new $35 million 80K SF College of Pharmacy.
http://app1.unmc.edu/publicaffairs/TodaySite/Images/SiteImages/large/COPrenderingJan2012.jpeg

Proposed hotel near UNMC.
http://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/omaha.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/6/30/6300f92f-a4e9-5320-b29f-bed8b5506c8e/5376145f11221.image.jpg
Rumors of a second even taller hotel in the Med Center area as well.

In the Aksarben Village area.

PacLife offices have broken ground. 5 floor 125K SF building with 20K SF in retail also an attached 880 stall garage.
http://necoyote.ipower.com/images1/random2/PacLife12.jpg
The building will front the park while the garage will replace the surface lot.
http://necoyote.com/images1/random2/AV203.jpg

$40 million Th!nk Building will employ 500 in the A/V area.
http://i57.tinypic.com/2mrzho7.jpg

UNO Arena coming together.
http://www.bradwilliamsphotography.com/images/UNO_ARENA_PANO_08-28-2014_001.jpg

Finally. Last, but not least. The Crossroads Mall redevelopment is starting to get ready to go. The funding from the city has changed so the developer moved it to a two phase plan, still impressive stuff. The entire enclosed mall will be torn down and replaced by a $260 million project including:

300K SF in retail space. REI and a new grocery concept called Fresh Thyme have each been announced a tenants taking up 50K SF.
240K SF in traditional corporate office space.
60K SF in tech startup dedicated office space. The developer recently said that a startup from Chicago will move jobs to this office space taking 20K SF and employing 50-75 people in the software development field with salaries ranging from $150K-200K. Pretty freaking cool to pull tech jobs from Chicago!
36K SF health club.
180 residential units.
400 stall parking garage.

The layout is pretty good. Honestly could of be a little better surface parking wise. It was a struggle because Target owns the land at the top left of this first picture and wasn't going to budge on their huge parking lot... The rest of the development has a really nice site plan though.
https://fbcdn-sphotos-e-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-xaf1/v/t1.0-9/10639657_746563298735692_3150778289286721680_n.jpg ?oh=d6a9d3cd713b8635cdfee60fd21c812d&oe=547D800B&__gda__=1417712058_3426a67d950a42dd46d79efb0d29e46 c
https://fbcdn-sphotos-c-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-xpa1/v/t1.0-9/10628357_746563285402360_7852525527451297024_n.jpg ?oh=8760f36917d27fe473ed49602c8f4cb6&oe=5467AE30&__gda__=1415692936_3d45244d61b0cf32f471caf883edf14 c
https://fbcdn-sphotos-b-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-xpf1/v/t1.0-9/10570440_746563268735695_5851857769529539614_n.jpg ?oh=72d96bad38105a41e75312d43287a9ca&oe=54679318&__gda__=1417159282_765b8df95515c3b3f21d55eda00fe79 9

Excellent rundown Urban Nebraska. I truly believe that Omaha as well as OKC are the next "it" cities. Btw the UNMC is a beast. :)

Excellent rundown Urban Nebraska. I truly believe that Omaha as well as OKC are the next "it" cities. Btw the UNMC is a beast. :)

No kidding...

They just recently passed our AFB as the largest employer in the metro. Such a massive economic engine that is finally starting to make inroads into development, employ over 11,000 right now. They have some BIG plans for future growth. The new Buffett Cancer Center is expected to create 1200 new jobs alone.

It may be another few years down the line, but there are early talks about yet another massive mixed-use project in Omaha. This map shows the land that UNMC is purchasing in red. They plan on creating a new mixed-use area here to help make their neighborhood more attractive to students and doctors. They have been very upfront saying they believe that an area with housing, retail and offices right next to their campus is critical to attracting the very best talent. A very good organization for the future of Omaha.
http://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/livewellnebraska.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/7/8e/78ef1b58-e31f-11e3-bfcf-0017a43b2370/53805bd9838a4.preview-300.jpg

That is massive. I know the one in Austin will be a decent size but will not be as big as the one UNMC building. With that said Medical Schools like these will play a vital role in our local and national economy.

That is massive. I know the one in Austin will be a decent size but will not be as big as the one UNMC building. With that said Medical Schools like these will play a vital role in our local and national economy.

Nothing on Houston, 106,000 employed there. That is insane.

Very.

Some pretty big transit news for Omaha. Secretary of Transportation Anthony Foxx was in town on Monday to hold a press conference about the $14.9 million in TIGER funds that were awarded to implement a $30.6 million 8 mile long Bus Rapid Transit line.

U.S. Transportation Secretary Foxx Announces $14.9 Million in TIGER Funds for Omaha Bus Rapid Transit | Department of Transportation (http://www.dot.gov/briefing-room/us-transportation-secretary-foxx-announces-149-million-tiger-funds-omaha-bus-rapid)


The TIGER funds go toward final design and construction of an 8-mile BRT system in Central Omaha, which is expected to cost approximately $30.6 million. The project will include 14 stations along a busy corridor that serve major retail outlets, the University of Nebraska at Omaha, three major medical complexes, Omaha’s five Fortune 500 companies and the dense, mixed-use Midtown Crossing urban area. Once completed, the BRT line will intersect with nearly every route in Omaha’s existing transit system, becoming the spine of a regional transit network. The route will serve many disadvantaged and economically distressed riders, who will benefit from an affordable, accessible connection to centers of employment, education and training. Roughly 16 percent of the households within a quarter of a mile of the proposed BRT route do not currently have access to a vehicle.

Here is the mockup video put out this summer. The video includes the "urban circulator" streetcar project that is further down the line than the BRT project is. Central Omaha Transit Alternative Analysis- Options on Vimeo (http://vimeo.com/99346185)

One of the really cool ideas being rolled into this project is that at least 5 of the stops will have B-Cycle bike sharing stations integrated into them. The system currently has 57 bikes and 11 stations and will add another 5 stations and 30 bikes in Council Bluffs early next year bringing the total to 87 bikes and 16 stations. Integrating bike sharing into the BRT stations will really push B-Cycle from recreational/novelty to a useful transportation tool.

The Iowa side of the river is finally joining in on the urban development fun.

One of the main developers of Aksarben Village have announced their plans for the undeveloped land at the foot of the pedestrian bridge. There is a new park on the wet side of the levee, this development will be on the dry side.

Current site of the land:
http://s4.postimg.org/ooo3na0d9/Picture_33.png

View of the skyline during one of the concerts held on the river:
http://www.sasaki.com/media/files/1-thp-44.jpg

The park also includes a nightly light show including interactive lighting feature.
http://www.sasaki.com/media/files/img_3266w.jpg
http://www.sasaki.com/media/files/img_3819w.jpg
Rays by Dan Corson on Vimeo (http://vimeo.com/74416291)

The development now. Should really help grow the Riverfront area for the Omaha Metro, basically like a Wheeler District on a smaller scale. Anyways some specs and renderings.

~$100 Million in investment.
300K SF in office and retail space. A 4 and 6 floor office building are to overlook the river.
1,606 parking stalls.
353 residences ranging from row homes to apartments to two 10 story condo towers.
Also includes a bike trail along the main street in order to play off the 150 miles of bike trails that line both sides of the riverfront. It will include a curb-less street that is designed to be closed off for events.

http://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/omaha.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/5/f9/5f94d709-bb57-5195-b2ed-2ff222713e66/544ba1234825d.image.jpg?resize=1024%2C576
http://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/omaha.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/8/71/87152542-5c7d-11e4-932c-0017a43b2370/544bfac2173d4.image.jpg

That looks terrific. Thanks for sharing.

Omaha gets it. These are great projects and it looks like developers there are delivering high quality urban projects.

I think this is something OKC can learn. Despite Omaha being smaller, their construction standard is second to none and speaks of a much larger city. Does Omaha have a design committee or are these projects organically done this great? OKC should adopt these standards for low-rise infill developments at least within 2 mile of downtown [23rd to 25th, Penn to MLK]. ...

Kudos on the BRT funding as well. It's nice for the Feds to send some startup help to the cities in the middle of the country for a change.

I think BRT would only work on NW Expressway in OKC; with the current plan for streetcar within 3 miles of downtown and CR connecting regional transit hubs. We do need to work on the outside of 3 miles from downtown but I suspect a comprehensive revamp of the bus system could do that trick.

Omaha gets it. These are great projects and it looks like developers there are delivering high quality urban projects.

I think this is something OKC can learn. Despite Omaha being smaller, their construction standard is second to none and speaks of a much larger city. Does Omaha have a design committee or are these projects organically done this great? OKC should adopt these standards for low-rise infill developments at least within 2 mile of downtown [23rd to 25th, Penn to MLK]. ...

Kudos on the BRT funding as well. It's nice for the Feds to send some startup help to the cities in the middle of the country for a change.

I think BRT would only work on NW Expressway in OKC; with the current plan for streetcar within 3 miles of downtown and CR connecting regional transit hubs. We do need to work on the outside of 3 miles from downtown but I suspect a comprehensive revamp of the bus system could do that trick.

We do have design standards in place. Omaha By Design is the non-profit that deserves a lot of the credit. Here is an interview with Omaha By Design's Director Connie Spellman about the history and their goals.

Project for Public Spaces | How to Really Look at Your City: An Interview With Connie Spellman (http://www.pps.org/blog/how-to-really-look-at-your-city-an-interview-with-connie-spellman/)

Here is the Urban Design Handbook that they put together to help developers to understand the new standards that they need to adhere to. http://www.cityofomaha.org/planning/urbanplanning/images/stories/UD_pdfs/Urban%20Design%20Handbook%20V1.1.pdf

That being said I really wish it had more teeth, there are still things that need to be improved upon, like we haven't even adopted a complete streets policy yet...

Plus our current Mayor has floated the idea of lowering the standards they we put in place less than a decade ago. She has made claims that we are losing out on development because the standards are too strict, saying a Sam's Club backed off from building because we wouldn't let them drop their standard design into the city. A lot of people have spoken out against those comments so hopefully there wont be any cuts, if anything they need to be strengthened.

I think it also helps to have some huge architecture firms HQd in Omaha. Per Wiki three of the 30 largest architecture firms are HQd here. Leo A Daly, DLR Group and HDR Inc. Gives us a lot of talent for larger projects.

Speaking of HDR, hot rumor is that they will move their offices from the suburbs to one of the proposed DT towers, they designed the white tower from a few posts up. Could be up to 1200 jobs added to the core which was be an awesome boost, especially getting a company that won a nationwide cycling competition for businesses that employ over 5000. They would really inject a great pedestrian energy.

A taste of the kind of things that still infuriate me. This week a century old building got the wrecking ball because Mutual of Omaha wants to make the land "more inviting to developers." The Clarinda-Page has sat on Turner Boulevard since 1909 and had been on the National Register of Historic Places since 1981. Amazing how fast deep pockets get that rescinded...
http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b343/tonicopeland/100_0448.jpg

Mutual claimed the building needed to be torn down because it was hurting potential future development near their awesome Midtown Crossing project. They brought in an architect that said the building could not be repurposed. Lo and behold some fine folks from Leo A Daly decided that was a bunch of bull and came up with an idea(on their own dime) to show how the building could be intergerated into a larger modern office/parking structure.
http://www.restorationexchange.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/Clarinda_Page_Design_Solution_Leo_A_Daly-e1397701631750.jpg

To no avail. Mutual continued their push toward demolition. Preservationists protested in the rain.
https://scontent-a-dfw.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xpf1/v/t1.0-9/604105_738234599545389_7496922122203141197_n.jpg?o h=e3aa2a307951278ab886555246b39c91&oe=54E506D0
https://scontent-b-dfw.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xap1/v/t1.0-9/10686893_738237669545082_5727495159246018595_n.jpg ?oh=d552501b1bf1fa7f4ebae9eee3481b65&oe=54E633E7

And again this week as workers were stripping the beauty.
https://fbcdn-sphotos-b-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-xfa1/v/t1.0-9/1471151_739827412719441_6550548345583168495_n.jpg? oh=e9fdbb0d0a29be0ee6a16c83e2b2ff39&oe=5517AF09&__gda__=1424172121_eff19c3a91a124ffbd46dcc40796ac6 1

Sadly this was the state yesterday...
https://fbcdn-sphotos-h-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-xpf1/v/t1.0-9/604122_1516599645265308_3009108419440574198_n.jpg? oh=1dafefaef89add716cc498934823a48f&oe=54DE8F70&__gda__=1428026801_fcfcbd319b427c3d6d730f0b6479804 2

Seeing how you guys were able to save a very similar building with your Marion project it just frustrates me that my city is still doing things like this.

On the other side of the coin at least we have a cool project happening in the are between Downtown and Midtown. 12 historic buildings are getting a $20 million rehab to create 153 units in what is now a nearly vacant area of downtown. They consists of row homes and traditional apartment buildings. The one thing I found kind of interesting was one of the development companies involved in this. TFL Development is one of the main developers and former Husker Ndamukong Suh is the principal of that company. Apparently he has been looking around for a substantial investment in downtown Omaha. Can't hurt to have a guy soon to get a $100 million contract actively involved in urban development.

Most of these buildings are involved:
http://necoyote.ipower.com/images1/random1/HSD22.jpg

And these four buildings across the street:
http://necoyote.ipower.com/images1/random1/HSD21.jpg

And a couple facades:
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

Even more development at the Nebraska Medical Center:

$70 million 170K SF outpatient surgery center:
http://app1.unmc.edu/publicaffairs/TodaySite/Images/SiteImages/large/Laur11112.jpg

$35 Million 85K SF College of Pharmacy Building:
http://blog.unmc.edu/construction/wp-content/uploads/sites/31/2014/01/COP-Rendering-sh23_Shot3.jpg

$6 Million to renovate ~12K Sf and add ~6500 SF to the student life center. Small potatoes compared to the rest, but will really help the growing campus:
http://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/livewellnebraska.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/d/ec/deccb620-5489-11e4-9f44-001a4bcf6878/543ea379d76c6.image.jpg

That brings the total construction at the Medical Center up to $434 million adding up to 838,500 SF in floor space u/c right now. INSANE construction boom for the campus.

The Pacific Life Building is well on it's way:
http://www.bradwilliamsphotography.com/images/SC8A31782.jpg
http://www.bradwilliamsphotography.com/images/SC8A3184.jpg


And just some awesome photos from the top of our city's tallest building. They are all by an awesome photographer named Jesse Attanasio of Onelapse.

Here is looking over the Old Market:
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/B2aRoH7IgAAMfE1.jpg:large

Looking into Midtown:
https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3933/15472660607_bbeedfe8bb_b.jpg

Looking over Central High School and a portion of Creighton's campus:
https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3938/15011132954_1cfe926e2c_b.jpg

Looking past Woodmen Tower and the Courthouse into the SW portion of downtown. This area has had the least investment over the last decade. I really think the first people the make a statement in this area will have something special on their hands. Tons of awesome building stock available.
https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5615/15565464295_1f6abcebbd_b.jpg

Omaha gets it. These are great projects and it looks like developers there are delivering high quality urban projects.

I think this is something OKC can learn. Despite Omaha being smaller, their construction standard is second to none and speaks of a much larger city. Does Omaha have a design committee or are these projects organically done this great? OKC should adopt these standards for low-rise infill developments at least within 2 mile of downtown [23rd to 25th, Penn to MLK]. ...

Kudos on the BRT funding as well. It's nice for the Feds to send some startup help to the cities in the middle of the country for a change.

I think BRT would only work on NW Expressway in OKC; with the current plan for streetcar within 3 miles of downtown and CR connecting regional transit hubs. We do need to work on the outside of 3 miles from downtown but I suspect a comprehensive revamp of the bus system could do that trick.

Placemaking is simply something OKC doesn't do very well. Omaha and Wichita do it very well. In terms of actual amenities offered, OKC beats them both, but when it comes to the human experience Omaha rates very well and may actually seem like a larger city thanks to their design standards and placemaking.

I don't know about Wichita, but I definitely agree about Omaha. They are developing multiple nodes into strong places, which starts to resemble a vibrant city. All of this development is very impressive for a city the size of Omaha.

I am going to preface this saying I will probably not describe the project as well as I could. I need to read up more, but this seems like a really bold idea for the city.

This project is one of the more interesting happening in Omaha. Seventyfive North is spearheading a mixed use/mixed income development on the site of a now demolished public housing complex. "The Highlander" as it is called is a 36 acre $76 million development that is in what much of the city considers the "ghetto." High crime and high poverty rates in the area.

There is a ton of information available, but to boil it way too far down this is an attempt to improve the most impoverished area of Omaha through well planned and thought out investment and a strong community.

The basic raw components of the final project:

280 units, both for sale and rental
The Accelerator building, a 70K SF space for entrepreneurship and cultural amenities
A greenhouse, aquaponics facility, orchard and a community garden
Retail space
Art Barn/Event Space

Master Plan:
http://www.eldo.us/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/1309-Highlander-site-plan-key.jpg

Phase One is centered around the community items and the housing would fill in the block in later phases.
http://www.eldo.us/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/1309-ACCELERATOR-SITE-PLAN.jpg
http://www.eldo.us/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/1309-renderingsMODS-11-SITE.jpg
http://www.eldo.us/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/image08.jpg
http://www.eldo.us/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/image11.jpg
http://www.eldo.us/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/image12.jpg
http://www.eldo.us/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/image01FINAL.jpg
http://www.eldo.us/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/image02.jpg
http://www.brinshore.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/Highlander-7.jpg
http://www.brinshore.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/Highlander-6.jpg

Lots more news coming through, but only about half of it has renderings.

Starting with North Downtown. The neighborhood around the baseball stadium is seeing the most construction since the stadium opened and will double it's residential units in 2015. Granted that will still only bring it about to 300 total, but progress none the less.

Nichol Flats, 67 unit $9.2 million 5 story apartment building. No rendering, but it is out of the ground.
http://necoyote.com/images1/random3/NF11.jpg

The Rochester, 75 unit $10.6 million apartment project. Converting the old warehouse, this developer has completed thousands of units in the urban Omaha area and is marketing this as a more affordable downtown option with less frills. Rents starting at $650.

Existing Building, both the red brick and the grey annex are being included:
http://necoyote.com/images1/random3/Roch11.jpg

Looking over the building's long time neighbors:
http://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/omaha.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/b/3e/b3ec1b92-6eb2-11e4-9dae-ffb038142860/546a86bd0937d.image.jpg?resize=1024%2C683

And the rendering, not much changing:
http://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/omaha.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/b/6b/b6b34af8-6eb2-11e4-99c8-83fe8d55a091/546a86c1a0ebb.image.jpg?resize=1024%2C577

Potentially my favorite North Downtown project. A capitol management firm is rehabbing an old firehouse into their office space. I had really thought this building would be torn down b/c it has a huge crack along the side of it. Very happy to see it put to use.
http://necoyote.com/images1/random3/WIT11.jpg

And it has an awesome relative of the Fred Jones Building in OKC as a neighbor:
http://necoyote.com/images1/random3/WIT13.jpg

The shipping container fad is hitting Omaha too. Plans for the $1.5 million project include 16 containers that will be installed into the last unfinished portion of the Mastercraft Building. The Mastercraft is a 140K SF building that was converted from a furniture factory to the tech/entrepreneurial hub of the city.
http://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/omaha.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/6/d2/6d22e2f5-12a6-5083-a340-a2679c5aa34f/54b02563efef2.image.jpg?resize=1024%2C542

Two other smaller buildings being gutted. No real info on specifics, but I love seeing all this history being activated.

http://necoyote.com/images1/random3/Fgrld12.jpg
http://douglascone.wgxtreme.com/java/wgx_douglasne/ImageServlet?type=photo&accountid=R0329380000&econarea=07&bldgid=1

Some other really good momentum in the oft overlooked North Omaha that I mentioned in my last post.

30 Metropolitan Place is set to break ground on a 5 floor mixed use building across the street from the community college campus. 110 apartments with commercial space.

Rendering is a little old as it only shows 4 floors, but it has been upped one:
http://lh4.ggpht.com/2RHK0N9aurb2SCwvN920dOnu3g0FQgE_JhLtHfPwzkjEFjuXT9 D3tYtjw2XbxAb3EZtoYtax0Ox1duusoHiDhEjNkQ=s766

Speaking of the MCC Campus. They themselves are making a massive $90 million investment in a campus expansion. That kind of investment would make ripples at any 4 year university let alone a 2 year CC.

Site Plan:
http://www.mccneb.edu/businessandcommunity/images/FOC_schematic_2014.png

Renderings:
http://www.mccpromise.org/wp-content/uploads/MetroCommunityCollege0000.jpg
http://www.mccpromise.org/wp-content/uploads/MetroCommunityCollege0001.jpg
http://www.mccpromise.org/wp-content/uploads/MetroCommunityCollege0003.jpg

30 Metropolitan Place is being built on the site of the parking lot on the far right of the last rendering to show how much that stretch will transform.

Back to downtown.

$22.5 Million 125 unit apartment building The Corvina is well underway.

http://necoyote.com/images1/random3/Corvina12.jpg
http://necoyote.com/images1/random3/Corvina11.jpg

The final look:
https://scontent-b-dfw.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xfp1/v/t1.0-9/10620688_1179134582114136_2399921541760016203_n.jp g?oh=08cebbadb2cfb5d9c3d47aa25d07ba04&oe=55663301

One of my favorite projects going right now. Boxcar 10 and Blue Barn Theater. Condos, restaurant and live theater all in one project, pretty damn cool.

http://necoyote.com/images1/random3/BBT14.jpg
http://necoyote.com/images1/random3/BBT13.jpg

Rendering:
http://payload241.cargocollective.com/1/7/249521/7125564/MinDay_120_03_1600.jpg

And a nice cross section gif:
http://payload241.cargocollective.com/1/7/249521/7125564/MinDay_120_04.gif

$17.8 million 132 room Hotel Omaha has broken ground. Six retail bays involved with this project as well.

http://necoyote.com/images1/random3/HotOma11.jpg

Rendering:
http://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/omaha.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/e/15/e15195a6-83c5-5448-8f9f-ee3201dc154d/53d2c3158c2a1.image.jpg

This one is a few years off, set for 2017 finish. An old power plant along the river is going to get a $36 million renovation to become apartments.

http://necoyote.ipower.com/images1/random2/MRP11.jpg

Rendering:
http://www.nustyle.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/OPPD.jpg

Small project in Midtown. A local bank is tearing down their old branch to update the location. Should have a much better presence on the street and will really modernize the area a bit.

http://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/omaha.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/d/af/daf7de33-f3a3-55da-829d-46b274a256e9/545952e505918.image.jpg?resize=1024%2C577
http://necoyote.com/images1/random3/SNB11.jpg
http://necoyote.com/images1/random3/SNB12.jpg

No rendering for two of these projects, but the burgeoning Blackstone District is getting ready to pop the historic neighborhood had become a downtrodden area even since the street was made one way and turned into a quasi highway out of the core, that all began to change when the street was converted back to two way traffic. The neighborhood between UNMC and Midtown went from having next to nothing to having a mexican restaurant, brewery, neighborhood bar, real estate office, tattoo parlor, late night food/bar, floral shop, bike shop, clothing store, barber shop, coffee shop and event space all in 2014 alone. Another brewery, pizza by the slice, wine bar, yoga studio and office space for startups are going to open in the early part of 2015 too.

Above view of the corridor. There are three apartment buildings announced. Point A will be a 5 floor 53 unit building with 4300 SF of retail, also only 19 parking stalls in the project. Point B will be a 4 floor 39 unit apartment building no retail, but again only 19 dedicated parking stalls.
http://s8.postimg.org/jrqubduhh/Picture_36.png

And the two story building here is being converted into 16 apartments and commercial space. The empty lot to the left is where the 5 story apartment building mentioned above is going.
http://s10.postimg.org/3nfpusua1/Picture_19.png

Tons more work going on at Aksarban Village.

The PacLife mixed use building is all framed up.
http://necoyote.com/images1/random3/PacLife11.jpg

180K SF of office and retail set to begin later this year. Waitt Plaza.
http://www.hdrinc.com/sites/all/files/content/projects/images/6143-waitt-plaza-7639.jpg

I will leave it with this awesome drove video of Memorial Park and the Dundee/Happy Hollow neighborhoods. The original "suburbs" of Omaha. Granted they started as streetcar suburbs.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6TwahwYfHH0

Really interesting article about the labor shortage in the Omaha metro area. We have billions in construction right now and it says that there are over 1000 skilled laborers from across the country in the area working on projects and we still cannot keep up with the construction demand.

Major Omaha-area construction projects face a shortage of workers - Omaha.com: Money (http://www.omaha.com/money/major-omaha-area-construction-projects-face-a-shortage-of-workers/article_dbf3b85c-ae48-521c-ace9-881207fa5dfd.html)


A sampling of major projects in the Omaha-Council Bluffs area
» Google data center expansion, Southlands facility, opposite MidAmerican plant along Interstate 29 south of Council Bluffs; $400 million. Since 2007, Google has invested more than $1.5 billion in data center operations in the Lake Manawa area and now the Southlands facility. Expected completion date not yet announced.
» Strategic Command headquarters at Offutt Air Force Base near Bellevue; $524.4 million. The 915,876-square-foot facility, located on the former Warrior Nine golf course, replaces the existing StratCom headquarters. Expected completion: 2016.
» Fred & Pamela Buffett Cancer Center, Omaha; $323 million facility at the University of Nebraska Medical Center. Expected to open in 2017.
» Madonna Rehabilitation Hospital, just west of the Village Pointe shopping center, Omaha; $93 million. The 200,000-square-foot, 110-bed hospital is expected to open in late 2016.
» University of Nebraska at Omaha sports arena, between 64th and 67th Streets; $81.6 million. Fall completion expected.
» Aksarben Village, Omaha. Construction of a new office-retail-garage complex expected to begin in late 2015; $50 million. Also, 40 more upscale apartments are to go up this spring and a five-story, $33 million office and retail building with Pacific Life Insurance Co. as the anchor tenant is to be completed later in the year.
» Six-story Think Whole Person Healthcare facility, northeast corner of 72nd Street and West Center Road, Omaha; $42.6 million. Expected to open this summer.
» The Lumberyard District of office, retail and apartments on the former Millard Lumber site near 135th and Q Streets, Omaha; $54 million. Construction expected to start this summer.
» Construction remains in progress on office, retail, residential, hotel and religious spaces at Sterling Ridge near 132nd and Pacific Streets, Omaha; original price tag in 2012 was $200 million to $250 million.
» Papillion expects to see construction next year on the Bellino Ninety Six project, about 25,000 square feet of commercial space and a 345-unit apartment complex at 96th Street and Cornhusker Road. Also to be completed: the $50 million Hillcrest Grand Lodge near 60th Street and Highway 370.

And that is only a sampling of the large projects. There are dozens that are smaller than that u/c right now, probably most of the picture in earlier posts aren't even covering these huge projects. Just staggering amounts of investment.

Thanks so much for the updates. Always appreciate them.

Is there anything like OKCTalk in Omaha?

I will be in Omaha this weekend, anything worth checking out besides the bourbon bar I have heard about?

Thanks so much for the updates. Always appreciate them.

Is there anything like OKCTalk in Omaha?

Yeah, Omaha Forums ? Index page (http://eomahaforums.com) is our forum, I think this is the forum's 10 year anniversary actually. There aren't as many active members as here, but a solid core group that are pretty dedicated to finding good info. I just wish we could get a bigger active base. I like all the action over here.

I will be in Omaha this weekend, anything worth checking out besides the bourbon bar I have heard about?

There are two killer bourbon/whiskey/scotch bars in Omaha. I have a feeling you are talking about Grane.
https://fbcdn-sphotos-h-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-xfp1/v/t1.0-9/14383_862097970514977_4330682413034318185_n.jpg?oh =15bea7b815295c998aed72546d2ec9aa&oe=55892262&__gda__=1434445665_022a4864d55047a6eae84d45c2a3d9a 7
https://scontent-dfw.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xpf1/v/t1.0-9/10957889_847838861940888_84446525178595692_n.jpg?o h=80a683377f34cc72c79ac5736d453533&oe=5582B0F4
https://scontent-dfw.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xpa1/v/t1.0-9/10479958_845403292184445_3357316158135747412_n.jpg ?oh=b1dba9a6864ac20727ef3e19407ad6e1&oe=5576CA5D
Grane is a literal first of it's kind. The owners developed a dispensing system with a company in Italy similar to how wine bars have with their small pours by machine. They got the exclusive rights to the technology for a couple years so the owners are quickly pursuing expanding the brand to Vegas and NYC. Grane is in the new Midtown Crossing development.

The other much older place is the Dundee Dell. They claim to hold one of if not the largest whiskey selections in the country. I have seen articles say anything from 500 to 900. They have a killer fish and chips too.
http://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0230/2837/files/dundee-dell-omaha.jpg?3694

Beyond that I am sure The Old Market would be fun. It is kind of like our Bricktown. Lots of local restaurants and bar with brick streets. I personally think Benson is the best Omaha has to offer though. It is an old streetcar suburb's downtown and is full of great beer bars, music venues and breweries. Other than that Dundee(where the Dundee Dell is obviously) and Blackstone are solid urban local neighborhoods. My regulars are Krug Park, 1912. Nite Owl, Wilson & Washburn, Scriptown Brewery, Infusion Brewery, Benson Brewery, Jake's Cigars and Crescent Moon/Huber Haus. I can give you a breakdown of some more if you are interested in anything.

I had someone tell me just last month that Omaha is America's "best kept secret." Wouldn't matter much except this guy is COO of a company in the top 100 of the Fortune 500. I asked him how it can be a secret when everybody associates Warren Buffet with Omaha and he's in the news all the time? His response: "Exactly." It took me awhile to catch on, but a brilliant response. Omaha is poised to explode. (He was saying that in so many minds Omaha IS Warren Buffet. But it is soo much more, which makes it a real gem or a "best kept secret.")

I had someone tell me just last month that Omaha is America's "best kept secret." Wouldn't matter much except this guy is COO of a company in the top 100 of the Fortune 500. I asked him how it can be a secret when everybody associates Warren Buffet with Omaha and he's in the news all the time? His response: "Exactly." It took me awhile to catch on, but a brilliant response. Omaha is poised to explode. (He was saying that in so many minds Omaha IS Warren Buffet. But it is soo much more, which makes it a real gem or a "best kept secret.")

I really do think our biggest issue isn't job creation or creativity or a lack uniquely Omaha things. It is purely perception and he is right, nationwide Omaha isn't synonymous with great food or music or art or sports, but Buffet. Until people start figuring out we actually have some great stuff to offer I will enjoy my cheap drinks, short waits for great food and easy tickets to concerts.

I know it's not Omaha, but ... I heard a report on NPR last night about Silicon Prairie. Lincoln, Nebraska was the new hot place to start up a dot-com. Low cost, great synergy. The only catch: keep your coastal (CA or NY) cell phone number so that you don't scare off investors.

I know it's not Omaha, but ... I heard a report on NPR last night about Silicon Prairie. Lincoln, Nebraska was the new hot place to start up a dot-com. Low cost, great synergy. The only catch: keep your coastal (CA or NY) cell phone number so that you don't scare off investors.

Lincoln has a fantastic tech and startup scene. I am very happy that the city down I80 has figured out ways to keep grads there. Lincoln is doing a lot of things I wish Omaha was doing, they are becoming much more than a simple college town.

There is actually a small digital media company based in Omaha called Silicon Prairie News (http://siliconprairienews.com/) that highlights companies, breaks news and organizes events in Omaha, Lincoln, KC and DSM. They run the AMAZING event called Big Omaha (http://bigomaha.co/) that actually just announced it's first batch of speakers for this year's version. Here is the video they released today too https://vimeo.com/122062721. Big Omaha has been called "The most important conference you've never attended" and "SXSW before SXSW got huge and crazy." It sold out its over 600 tickets in less than a week last year to people all over the country.

The comment about investors is obviously the biggest issue in flyover country, although sometimes being overlooked can create good things. That lack of interest has led to our city creating things on our own. We have a great community of entrepreneurs in this city. Dundee Venture Capital | Investing in dynamic and passionate entrepreneurs (http://dundeeventurecapital.com/), Straight Shot (http://straightshot.co/), Linseed Capital | (http://linseedcapital.com/), https://interfaceschool.com/ and Omaha Code School (http://omahacodeschool.com/)

Omaha really does remind me of Austin before the 90's. I'd rather see Omaha remain a secret. Rampant "exploding" growth would ruin it.

I'll be in Omaha the week of the 30th so any recommendations for cool places to check out would be awesome.

I guess it would depend on your interests and age. Music? Arts? Food? Tourist attractions? Everyone likes the Old Market (what Bricktown should aspire to be), so I'd start there.

I would be more than happy to give some specifics if you have certain things you are interested in seeing or doing. We have a bunch of breweries and good beer bars, a couple the focus on cocktails and wine. Like EricOK said the Old Market is the catch all. Pretty much something for every taste lots of great restaurants, although I do think the OM can get kind of college crazy at night. I personally prefer Benson or Blackstone/Midtown.

I would be more than happy to give some specifics if you have certain things you are interested in seeing or doing. We have a bunch of breweries and good beer bars, a couple the focus on cocktails and wine. Like EricOK said the Old Market is the catch all. Pretty much something for every taste lots of great restaurants, although I do think the OM can get kind of college crazy at night. I personally prefer Benson or Blackstone/Midtown.

I mostly meant areas to check out. I will be there for work for a week and kinda want to explore after work. I'm definitely into beer bars and breweries so anything of that nature, although college crazy doesn't sound too bad either. I am staying at the DoubleTree downtown, so anything within walking distance to that would be great, although I don't mind driving.

I mostly meant areas to check out. I will be there for work for a week and kinda want to explore after work. I'm definitely into beer bars and breweries so anything of that nature, although college crazy doesn't sound too bad either. I am staying at the DoubleTree downtown, so anything within walking distance to that would be great, although I don't mind driving.

Old Market is one that you can definitely walk to from the Double Tree, they also have a free shuttle I know. My favorites down there are Wilson & Washburn, Upstream Brewing Company, Brickway Brewery/Distillery, Ted & Wally's ice cream and Localmotive Food Truck. Harney Street Tavern has local music most nights. The Hive has live music too, but can get tough to get into, line out the door is fairly common. M's Pub, V. Mertz and The Boiler Room are the food headliners. These three I haven't been to yet, but they have great reputations just not my cup of tea. La Buvette wine bar, Havana Garage cigar lounge and The Berry & Rye is a craft cocktail lounge that is supposed to be as good as it gets. I guess they spent $15,000 on their "ice program" in order to have the best ice for their drinks. Kaneko/Bemis for the arts.

If you are willing to drive Benson is one I would make the trip for. It is the more "hip" urban neighborhood. It is 5 miles Northwest of the Double Tree, an old streetcar suburb that has nearly all of it's historic main street buildings still intact. It is more of the live music DIY art kind of scene. My go to night out spot. Krug Park has ~65 taps, Jake's is the neighborhood anchor type of bar, 1912 is new and has an amazing rooftop patio if it is nice out. Two breweries in the neighborhood, Infusion is a brewery that offers more a more unique selection, best brewery in the city IMO. Benson Brewery is a little more safe with their brews still really good, they also have an awesome food menu and their "Hop Box" patio can't be missed if the weather is right. There are about a dozen live music venues in the neighborhood so there is going to be something going on every night.

Blackstone District is the new urban renewal area that seems to have popped up overnight. On the east end of the district sits Beer Corner USA. The building houses a domestic craft beer bar, a German bier hall and a Belgian beer bar. Beertopia is a tiny little store next door and has one of the best craft beer selections anywhere. In this same strip there is Farnam House Brewing Company which focuses on European style beers with saisons being their specialty. Just a couple of blocks west is Scriptown Brewery, Mula Mexican Restaurant/Tequileria, Corkscrew Wine Bar and Nite Owl which has incredible food serving till 2AM along with a great collection of house cocktails.

EDIT: Order the free Omaha Craft Brewery Tour journal before you leave. It offers info on the breweries and you get a free beer at each place! Omaha Brewery Tour (http://www.visitomaha.com/craftbrew/#.VRNUdRzUpYU)

I'll be staying at the Magnolia Hotel this coming trip. Anyone been there before? Experiences? They also have locations in Dallas, Denver, Houston, and St. Louis.

I'll be staying at the Magnolia Hotel this coming trip. Anyone been there before? Experiences? They also have locations in Dallas, Denver, Houston, and St. Louis.

You will have to tell me how you like it. Never had a chance to stay at any of the Magnolias. I have been to a wedding at Omaha's though, the courtyard is crazy charming.

http://www.iwenexposures.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/pape_blog_28.jpg

Pretty big day for transit in Omaha. The bus system got a massive overhaul to increase frequency of service and make routes much more efficient, all within the same budget. CityLab did a good write up on it.

Omaha Just Improved Its Mass Transit System Without Spending Any Money - CityLab (http://www.citylab.com/cityfixer/2015/05/omaha-just-designed-a-way-better-transit-system-for-zero-cost/393620/)


But demand for better transit is ticking slowly upward in Omaha—especially downtown. Population in the core was up 5.5 percent in 2010 over 2000. Metro ridership has been on a steady rise and eclipsed 4.2 million trips in 2012. A microtransit start-up just launched a bar shuttle. Residential developments without on-site parking are no longer out of the question. "We're seeing more people live downtown and prefer to not own a car," says Schweitz.

A car-free lifestyle is about to get easier in Omaha. At the end of May, Metro will debut its FORWARD plan: a fully reconfigured bus network that emphasizes more frequency, better night and weekend service, direct lines through high-ridership corridors, and grid-style access to many parts of the city. The top five routes will now all get 15-minute peak service, and there's a new max wait time of an hour across the system—down from 90-to-120 minutes.

This is the new map.
http://cdn.citylab.com/media/img/citylab/2015/05/ometromap/lead_large.jpg?GE2DGMRRGMZTONZUFYYA====

And this is a small snippet of the old system, pretty clear how chaotic and redundant it had become.
https://cdn.theatlantic.com/assets/media/img/posts/2015/05/omaha_old/b01271117.jpg

Big one.

Nearly a year after the "official" groundbreaking ceremony JE Dunn has finally arrived on site of the new mixed-use "Capitol District" anchored by a 14 floor Marriott.

https://scontent-dfw1-1.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xft1/v/t1.0-9/11147124_894537800604907_3992239453731524201_n.jpg ?oh=274a36e23edda3c6988ffe070451d976&oe=55FA76A1

This project is so delayed most of the rendering links have expired. This is one of the few remaining...
http://i.imgur.com/TQHpg.jpg

The massive HDR Architecture is HQd in Omaha and employs ~1200 here. They recently announced that they are scouting new locations in the city for their offices when their lease ends in a couple years. They didn't say anything official, but there is a ton of rumors flying around suggesting that they will anchor a new highrise downtown. Different sources have suggested they are wanting a "splash" location and that they want a place that can help attract talent. Plus they are the architects behind this project and the timeline for their lease ending and this project being complete match up. Lets hope where there is smoke there is fire.

http://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/omaha.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/8/6d/86d86596-4ff7-5756-90b2-6d51b938e0ef/53b22a26c1f9c.image.jpg

Locally HQd insurance company National Indemnity has announced that they will move all of their operations to the OWH Building downtown. They currently take 108K Sf over 4 floors but will eventually take a total of 243K SF over 9 floors. Not new construction, but will really put another big chunk of workers downtown and drop the vacancy rate.
http://static01.nyt.com/images/2012/01/30/business/30Paper2/30Paper2-popup.jpg

This was the biggest announcement of the spring for DT Omaha. The Burlington Postal Annex was built in 1928 and is one of the last old school rail-centric buildings in the city that hasn't been rehabbed. There have been rumors going back a decade about everything from luxury condos to a brewery. Well we finally got the official plan and it is going to be great.

$25 million rehab project with $4 million in tax credits involved for the historic rehab and $2.4 million in TIF.
99K SF total office space, local construction company will move their HQ with over 100 employees to the space along with their alternative energy start up company.
The remaining top two floors are designated for up to 90 startup businesses. This is big for Omaha as the 140K SF Mastercraft building on the north side of downtown is bursting at the seems with creative/startup ventures.
It will provide restaurant space on the ground floor along with a number of shared amenities for all the tenants like showers for bikers and collaboration spaces.
It will also be as green as possible. The roof will feature solar arrays, wind turbines and a garden.

http://i58.tinypic.com/2zp3uqa.jpg
https://scontent-dfw1-1.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xtf1/v/t1.0-9/10308108_801184353283635_7766392504177815233_n.jpg ?oh=9941704d49306555bd639328db5ecab7&oe=5603FCB1
http://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/omaha.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/f/de/fde5c15d-1331-5c0a-a090-6779d5e79892/55529f58ddc67.image.jpg?resize=1024%2C670

The rest of the neighborhood south of downtown is getting nice improvements too.

Rows on South Hill. $7 million 36 unit condo project. Always like the stability of ownership being added to these neighborhoods.
http://static1.squarespace.com/static/55523b71e4b015fc1ad413e0/t/55565e4de4b0251d92cdb251/1431723641790/?format=1000w

Blue Barn Theater and Boxcar 10 condos are coming along. This theater itself is looking like a creative haven inside and out.
http://necoyote.com/images1/random4/BB52.jpg
Interior brickwork
https://scontent-dfw1-1.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xpt1/v/t1.0-9/11217962_10153309819704096_251357114168397891_n.jp g?oh=ac5a077a7068422ddfe65469ffa7cd37&oe=55E9743B
These 12x12x15 foot wood pieces are all different types of wood from the region that will be placed in the performance area.
https://scontent-dfw1-1.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xtp1/t31.0-8/q83/s960x960/11313171_10153353930634096_6588414054662788773_o.j pg

The $22.5 million 125 unit "Corvina" is topped out. It has ground floor commercial space that is going to house the offices of both the developer and architects of this project. One other kind of random addition is that there is going to be a car wash in the short black building. Just find it kind of funny to see an old warehouse being repurposed in an urban setting into a car wash.

http://necoyote.com/images1/random4/Cor51.jpg

Nice little art studio is moving into a building downtown and the facade is getting a facelift designed by Olson Kundig. Gallery 1516
https://scontent-dfw1-1.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xfa1/v/t1.0-9/13416_377145109143893_6845434650727203535_n.jpg?oh =b5bc63fc172c9bda34c7d9f9b7836d7c&oe=55FDFF6B
https://scontent-dfw1-1.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xpf1/v/t1.0-9/10438568_307509046107500_5572650251215353942_n.jpg ?oh=9cf73dcd65a66b1b5a578958bd650661&oe=56073685

West Downtown has long been a wasteland for development. Our overly wide one way streets created inhospitable thoroughfares that drove people through the area at speeds that would scare away any investor. Well now the area is sandwiched by huge success stories like Midtown and Downtown. The savvy investors, including Ndamukong Suh, have snatched up properties and we have nearly 300 apartment units and over 100 hotel units on the way along with a bevy of new retail opportunities. All of these projects are in the same 4 square block area.

$17 million 114 unit apartment building with 2K SF of retail announced. The developer is the same that rehabbed the tower in the back of the rendering into over 200 apartment units. The attached parking garages ended up being way larger than needed so this project will simply use that excess space instead of building it into the structure itself.

http://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/omaha.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/5/5c/55c8cb8f-bf17-5ee5-9a83-8a3b95f8f73f/551cbddad48ce.image.jpg?resize=1024%2C576

Just a block away from ^that^ project is a new $17.8 million hotel with ground floor retail space.

Elevator shaft topped out gives the scale we will get on the corner.
http://i58.tinypic.com/hs9xti.jpg
http://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/omaha.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/e/15/e15195a6-83c5-5448-8f9f-ee3201dc154d/53d2c3158c2a1.image.jpg

~175 of the apartment units u/c in the area are in historic buildings. This is just a couple of the ~20 buildings crawing with workers right now.
https://scontent-dfw1-1.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xtp1/v/t1.0-9/11064777_796285857106818_7984734810305315853_n.jpg ?oh=65e8ec37b1b192dc0a4ffe584261fe28&oe=55F25D4B
https://scontent-dfw1-1.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xtp1/v/t1.0-9/11012611_797242787011125_5612372922190996278_n.jpg ?oh=460f89edfb9163bacb0ccc2e852930bf&oe=55FCBE60
https://scontent-dfw1-1.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xpf1/v/t1.0-9/11025967_793938714008199_38119380456473705_n.jpg?o h=f65ec42585ee1b3965c83a09194c0132&oe=56013380
https://scontent-dfw1-1.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xaf1/v/t1.0-9/1622073_789344781134259_91888969044401690_n.jpg?oh =784d74c3e44aff6898ee5c686d9411c6&oe=562FF0D9
http://nebula.wsimg.com/c2df90854a23d33f7d0096c7564f03df?AccessKeyId=8B78D D1012D7E47C1124&disposition=0&alloworigin=1

This building housed "The Smoke Pit" BBQ for decades. The owner finally decided to retire and it closed. It hasn't been official yet, but it sounds like a brewery is interested in the space which would be a great anchor for the new hood.
https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/d9/04/14/d9041425d92dc80ea6063354d46ef60a.jpg

This was the very first project in the new area. The Kellogg Hotel was bought by a couple and have turned the ground floor into a coffee shop, bike store and dog care store. They plan to convert the above floors to apartments as they can find the time/funds.
http://x.lnimg.com/photo/poster_768/bfa0d3d847b14ca7885bf6a4e550938c.jpg
https://scontent-dfw1-1.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xfa1/v/t1.0-9/10868176_10152671638631914_2518833775127901130_n.j pg?oh=6b69b7f7b76a00cf88662c30cb75d51f&oe=56332787

^This^ neighborhood would really explode if the city decides to implement the long proposed Harney St Bikeway. It would change Harney from 4 lanes to 3 and would obviously greatly improve pedestrian friendliness.
http://www.omahabydesign.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/Harney-Bikeway.jpg

North Downtown isn't going quite that crazy, but slowly improving.

$10 million 67 unit apartment building.
http://i58.tinypic.com/2dnime.jpg

$10.6 million 75 unit rehab project is getting its finishing touches.
https://scontent-dfw1-1.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xta1/v/t1.0-9/11351403_10155627945065074_2818789176146002276_n.j pg?oh=084ac6195d1f475fe275c0073e46eea7&oe=55C4681B

This one is basic, but important. We have an incredible pedestrian bridge across the Missouri River, but if you are in North Downtown you have to walk numerous blocks out of your way to get to it b/c there is no access over the railroad tracks. We have finally got funding in line to remedy that issue.
http://s7.postimg.org/avvi22wq3/Picture_42.png

Moving west into Midtown we have a lot of new apartment construction. The good one first and the iffy ones follow.

Midtown Triangle is a 178 unit apartment project with 171 on site parking stalls.

The site is the area between Leavenworth and St. Marys.
http://bradwilliamsphotography.com/non_web_upload/MIDTOWN_TRIANGLE_2.jpg

The site plan.
http://s7.postimg.org/e3npuxky3/Picture_37.png

The cleared lot.
http://necoyote.com/images1/random4/MidTri11.jpg
http://necoyote.com/images1/random4/MidTri12.jpg

And what will be the final product.
http://s17.postimg.org/6skizvuu7/Picture_25.png

The issue is that now that "East Omaha" has become popular we have some developers moving in that aren't entirely improving these areas just here to throw down something inexpensive and reap the benefits of good developers hard work.

Ekard Court 36 units isn't all that bad. Some people don't like the pitched roof, but the neighborhood it is in is probably half single family homes so it isn't terribly out of place.

The site.
http://necoyote.com/images1/random3/Eck11.jpg

The rendering.
http://static1.squarespace.com/static/521e3683e4b074f4bd0447fc/54de362fe4b0e74b37be6d5e/5554f1e1e4b01ea315d488fe/1431630306210/Front+Elevation+edit.jpg?format=1000w

The One is a 26 unit project along Dodge Street. Pretty plain.
http://static1.squarespace.com/static/521e3683e4b074f4bd0447fc/54de3655e4b0e74b37be6e76/54de3679e4b062ed7afb4561/1423849082615/Perspective+2+021115.jpg?format=1500w

And this is the creme de la crap. $22 million 153 unit apartment building sounds great on paper...
http://necoyote.com/images1/random3/Conrad11.jpg
http://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/omaha.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/7/5f/75f72daa-6683-59a7-aa83-286523175b28/55277142e6439.image.jpg?resize=1024%2C491

I need some fun stuff now!

The University of Nebraska Medical Center campus and its surrounding neighborhood is in a MAJOR building boom. ~$1 billion in total investment is announced/planned.

This picture is a couple months old, but it is the best view of all 5 tower cranes dominating the UNMC skyline.
http://necoyote.com/images1/random4/UNMC66.jpg

The Buffett Cancer Center is simply massive. The shorter portion to the left will be as tall as the right portion is now and the part on the right has three more floors to go up.
http://i59.tinypic.com/ao9hf8.jpg

These shots are from the other side of campus and give a better look at the new pharmacy school and outpatient buildings.
https://scontent-dfw.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xpa1/v/t1.0-9/10931234_905591416146222_5088614585158112933_n.jpg ?oh=394842beb04719e2b00aed5d9ba75dc7&oe=55E4DB84

The parking lot in this shot will be replaced by another 4 floor $102 million building, no rendering yet. It will be a virtual reality teaching center, surgery simulations in the same idea as flight simulators. They are currently lobbying congress to get $25 million in federal funding to add another story and it would create the national biocontainment center here. This would be the anchor for the nation's entire system and national training would happen here.
https://scontent-dfw.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xta1/v/t1.0-9/11182217_905591412812889_386303499107243117_n.jpg? oh=48be431ae9e26c684c8afee1d5a3cb40&oe=55CAF934

The Medical Center also is building a 7 story 220 room hotel with ground floor retail on campus. No rendering here either, but it will fall on the foreground parking lot of this picture as the helipad will move to the top of the new cancer center.
http://blogs.nebraskamed.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/clarkson-tower-overhead.jpg

It isn't all public development though. A couple private developers are capitalizing on the momentum.

The Blackstone District is adding two apartment projects adding up to a little under 100 total units.

A gas station has already been torn down here and is being replaced by this mixed use project.
http://static1.squarespace.com/static/54a7207ae4b0ac4256e17c9a/54ee3760e4b0a0e0c107204e/54ee377ce4b0c70e83a3a880/1424897917530/from+South-West.jpg?format=1000w
http://static1.squarespace.com/static/54a7207ae4b0ac4256e17c9a/54ee3760e4b0a0e0c107204e/5531788ce4b0c39656cc952e/1429305510297/39th+and+Farnam.jpg?format=1500w

This one is just apartments, but it is more tucked into a neighborhood.
http://static1.squarespace.com/static/54a7207ae4b0ac4256e17c9a/54ee3760e4b0a0e0c107204e/55317866e4b0e276c28dacdc/1429305453315/41st+and+harney.jpg?format=1500w

A new 5 floor 102 room Home2Suites. Not a ground breaking design, but the parking is the bottom two floors so a good use of space.

The site.
http://www.bradwilliamsphotography.com/images/SC8A8715.jpg

The rendering.
http://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/omaha.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/9/af/9affdae8-f60b-11e4-b7a6-e78df5d8ed60/554d9a4b92f1f.image.jpg?resize=1024%2C576

Dundee is probably Omaha's most established well preserved neighborhood. It is the kind of place you might see Warren Buffett and Paul McCartney sitting on a bench.
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/BseUU4gCAAALkEf.jpg

One of the parking lots in the neighborhood "main street" is being replaced with a nice little mixed use project. Restaurant space on the ground, medical office on the second floor and 6 apartments on top.

No clear rendering yet, but you can see the scale here. With red brick it will be a perfect compliment to the neighborhoods.
http://s13.postimg.org/89rxl93s7/Picture_40.png

Benson is the biggest "hipster" neighborhood. Lots of live music and art in another old streetcar suburb.

Here is an aerial of the main strip of the neighborhood. It is actually really impressively well preserved along the main street.
https://scontent-dfw1-1.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xfa1/v/t1.0-9/10387633_775086585882533_634096870411033377_n.jpg? oh=3ee8fb4e6f7750808c754608af351f68&oe=55F2234D

Everything up to now has been rehabbing the old storefronts. This summer construction will begin on a $15 million 99 unit apartment building. It will be located on the parking lot caddy corner from the public housing building in the aerial ^above^.

This bank on the current site will be demoed and will go into the ground floor of the new building.
http://necoyote.com/images1/random4/BensonCityVent11.jpg
http://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/omaha.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/3/64/3645dc89-8f8c-5f87-8f3c-13b0fa668db7/554c20975bcc8.image.jpg?resize=1024%2C320

Aksarben Village still chugging along. With University of Nebraska Omaha making some big investments in their South Campus.

Here is a snap of the current area that will be affected.
http://s10.postimg.org/5g2sgirsp/Picture_43.png

The large square at the bottom of that photo will be a new 434 bed student housing project.
https://c4.staticflickr.com/8/7728/18394656646_a9efcc67d3_z.jpg
https://c4.staticflickr.com/8/7729/18234878779_2cbdeffc5c_z.jpg

The thin long stretch of grass in that photo will be replaced by this 1250 stall parking garage with a great solar array.
https://c4.staticflickr.com/8/7760/18233346940_ebbcbf0864_z.jpg

As you can see they have a ton of surface parking. The university plans to eliminate that with green space and more classrooms once they can get the parking stalls they need into structures.

The $100 million 7500 seat arena is well on its way. Another big time addition to campus life for UNO. It is built for the successful hockey program, but will also house both basketball teams and the volleyball team which have all had to play games a decentralized locations.

http://www.bradwilliamsphotography.com/images/SC8A9535.jpg
Practice rink/community ice.
http://www.bradwilliamsphotography.com/images/SC8A9541.jpg
Arena interior.
http://www.bradwilliamsphotography.com/images/SC8A9588.jpg
And the view into the growing Aksarben Village.
http://www.bradwilliamsphotography.com/images/SC8A9595.jpg

Near those projects UNO is getting a Newman Center that will have over 100 beds for student housing. The fact that what has long been a commuter university is getting a Newman center says a lot about the growing on campus life.
http://www.bvh.com/bvh/content/uploads/2015/03/Newman-Center-1-WB-1024x576.jpg

And private development in the village.

Pacific Life offices with ground floor retail.
http://necoyote.com/images1/random4/PL64.jpg

Local developer Tetrad Property group is moving their offices from the 'burbs to A/V. It will sit on this surface lot. As you can see still a lot more to eat up in the background.
http://necoyote.com/images1/random3/Tetrad02.jpg
http://x.lnimg.com/photo/poster_1920/eb3c4026f0ee45858e1f95e689c971a7.jpg

The TH!NK medical office building up the hill from A/V is a really sharp looking project.
https://scontent.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xtf1/t31.0-8/11415511_893093524082668_7354365843465198333_o.jpg
https://scontent.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xta1/t31.0-8/10995693_893093527416001_1211530881841041247_o.jpg

A coupe suburban things and I'll leave you guys be.

The long awaited Crossroads Mall redevelopment has gone through yet another design change. Everything in this photo will be demolished except for the Target and parking garage.

https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/70/7e/36/707e3669602065a9fef542ebbe89a872.jpg

The features now include:

$275 million investment
450K SF of retail/restaurant space
125K SF in office space
Hotel, probably Aloft
400 apartment units which would be built above the existing parking garage ^above^. Would give some nice height to the project.
Retailers include REI and Fresh Thyme officially and Crate & Barrel, Restoration Hardware and Apple are names the developer has floated.

New site plan.
http://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/omaha.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/1/f8/1f85a40a-eef0-11e4-8f30-8b8fd4d15f92/5541ad6ebd2fc.image.jpg?resize=1024%2C770

Across the street from Crossroads is an old Borders location that is being turned into a "Technology Library."


At Do Space you can brush up on your computer skills to prepare for a career change or get help troubleshooting your devices. We’re here so you can dive into a new programming language or use a computer or the Internet for the first time. If you want to learn about apps that streamline your life, prototype your big idea in the 3D printer lab or share your technology knowledge with the community.

http://i60.tinypic.com/28i6crr.jpg
http://www.dospace.org/_content/images/renderings/thumb/dospace-exterior-daytime.jpg

Millard is a suburb that has never once been mistaken for urban. While this isn't perfect it is quite the project for an old lumberyard property. Over $50 million over 350 apartments and retail space.

The site.
http://bradwilliamsphotography.com/non_web_upload/MILLARD.JPG

The site plan.
http://www.omenaconnects.com/s/cc_images/cache_4209723854.jpg

Apparently we are getting an Alamo Drafthouse. Honestly it is so far out into the suburbs I completely missed the development. I would like to go, but can't imagine myself driving 15 miles for a movie theater.

https://scontent-dfw1-1.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xpf1/v/t1.0-9/19318_880636428625745_6284434491237973105_n.png?oh =7676bfb1abab8a39d9e10143a100bada&oe=560333EA
http://necoyote.com/images1/random4/DraftH26.jpg

And lastly. Nebraska Crossing Outlets is less than a year old and is already getting a 60K SF expansion. The main anchor of the new buildings will be a 24K SF two floor H&M outlet.
http://www.rejournals.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/NEX-aerial-pic.jpg
http://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/omaha.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/b/96/b964ceec-e7fd-11e4-b968-875381daafc2/553605d1a9d6a.image.jpg

That's all very interesting, UN. Thanks for keeping us updated.

Pretty big day for transit in Omaha. The bus system got a massive overhaul to increase frequency of service and make routes much more efficient, all within the same budget. CityLab did a good write up on it.

Omaha Just Improved Its Mass Transit System Without Spending Any Money - CityLab (http://www.citylab.com/cityfixer/2015/05/omaha-just-designed-a-way-better-transit-system-for-zero-cost/393620/)



This is the new map.
http://cdn.citylab.com/media/img/citylab/2015/05/ometromap/lead_large.jpg?GE2DGMRRGMZTONZUFYYA====

And this is a small snippet of the old system, pretty clear how chaotic and redundant it had become.
https://cdn.theatlantic.com/assets/media/img/posts/2015/05/omaha_old/b01271117.jpg

Kudos to Omaha for reinventing its Transit network, it looks like a great plan and is something I wish OKC would adopt. OKC also has redundant bus routes through a significant portion of its service; adopting a hub and spoke with satellite hubs works best for convenience, network coverage, and efficiency.

I'd love to post this in the OKC Bus System thread - let me know if there's any objection.

Monster news for Downtown Omaha dropped today.

HDR to build downtown Omaha high-rise headquarters - Omaha.com: Money (http://www.omaha.com/money/hdr-to-build-downtown-omaha-high-rise-headquarters/article_40e3e738-19c5-11e5-9b3a-3724bf116b58.html?mode=story)


Global architectural and engineering firm HDR announced Tuesday that it will build its new corporate headquarters in downtown Omaha — in a high-rise containing nearly 300,000 square feet of space and stretching up to 20 stories.
Currently a parking area, the site is bounded by Dodge Street, Capitol Avenue, 11th Street and 12th Street.
The selection from among multiple contenders culminates a year and a half search by the company, which operates in 225 locations around the world.
It returns HDR, which this year broke into the Top 10 of the largest U.S. design firms, from its existing suburban Omaha campus to the urban business district where it started out nearly a century ago.



Little said the new site will allow about 900 Omaha-based workers, now spread among three different buildings, to unite under one roof.
Worldwide, HDR has nearly 10,000 employees.

No rendering at the moment. Considering what the firm does I have high expectations.

Monster news for Downtown Omaha dropped today.

HDR to build downtown Omaha high-rise headquarters - Omaha.com: Money (http://www.omaha.com/money/hdr-to-build-downtown-omaha-high-rise-headquarters/article_40e3e738-19c5-11e5-9b3a-3724bf116b58.html?mode=story)




No rendering at the moment. Considering what the firm does I have high expectations.


whatever happened to that 20-25 story high rise that was proposed last summer?

whatever happened to that 20-25 story high rise that was proposed last summer?

Still a grass lot. There are now 5 buildings with floor counts of 14, 12, 18-20, 20-25 and 14+ announced or proposed for DTO. The 14 floor hotel and 12 floor apartment tower have finally broken ground now and considering HDR is doing the 18-20 floor building it is basically a sure thing.

Around here we were all pretty surprised that HDR didn't go into one of the two still in the proposal stage. On the bright side it creates the opportunity for even more development than envisioned a year ago. The other two proposals have both said that the need to find an anchor tenant to go forward. It leaves us in a fog in terms of timeline and who could jump at the new buildings considering a lot of the major players in Omaha have made office investments the past decade. Over on our board we have been throwing all kinds of theories at the wall hoping something sticks in the coming months.

EDIT: There have also been rumors that Novare Group, the company behind all of the Skyhouse apartment towers popping up in cities left and right, has been in town scouting locations for a 20+ story apartment project.

Pretty big day for transit in Omaha. The bus system got a massive overhaul to increase frequency of service and make routes much more efficient, all within the same budget. CityLab did a good write up on it.

Omaha Just Improved Its Mass Transit System Without Spending Any Money - CityLab (http://www.citylab.com/cityfixer/2015/05/omaha-just-designed-a-way-better-transit-system-for-zero-cost/393620/)



This is the new map.
http://cdn.citylab.com/media/img/citylab/2015/05/ometromap/lead_large.jpg?GE2DGMRRGMZTONZUFYYA====

And this is a small snippet of the old system, pretty clear how chaotic and redundant it had become.
https://cdn.theatlantic.com/assets/media/img/posts/2015/05/omaha_old/b01271117.jpg

OKC needs to do this.

OKC needs to do this.

I think it has been a major improvement, but naturally there has been some complaining from those that lost near front door service. One move took a route a little too far from the VA Hospital, I think they end up fixing that route to remedy that. Another is that we have a great MOBY service that offers personalized pre-scheduled transit on smaller busses fare for ADA certified residents, does OKC or other similarly sized cities do this? I have always wondered, but don't really want to spend the research time, haha. Well MOBY only runs within route boundaries so cutting suburban coverage cut MOBY coverage and they also cut MOBY on Sundays.

Obviously changing the system will make some people mad, but the people that lost convenience will obviously be louder than the people that gained convenience. I just wish the people that are upset with the changes would direct their anger from our bus operator and towards our funding sources. Omaha only receives $36 per capita for our public transit compared to $56 per capita which is the average for other similarly sized cities. If we could even bump our spending up $10 per capita we could really start offering the coverage to help everyone.

We don't have massive mass transit ridership, but we are comfortably over 4.2 million a year. For a metro less than a million with parking lots everywhere and suburb dominated development patterns we could be much worse. I just wish we would start investing a little more, I don't expect to be Chicago or anything.

Another month another parking lot meets its demise.

"The Yard" is one of the most hated lots in the city. It sits across the street from a concert venue, art-house theater and Urban Outfitters. The people that bought this land paved it so they could use it for CWS parking :mad:. It killed the growing neighborhood's momentum IMO.

Well today we find out all of that is about to change to the tune of at least $50 million.

This lot:
http://lovgren.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/Yard-Signage.jpg

Will be replaced by Kiewit Construction's world wide training facility. They said they considered spots nationwide, but settled in their hometown. 62K SF facility. This quote shows how big of an impact this facility will have on the economy.


KU brings many of the company’s 25,000 employees in the U.S., Canada and Australia to Omaha. Kiewit was looking at other sites around the country with large concentrations of its employees for the facility. Keeping it in the contractor’s hometown will keep money in the local economy.

“When we bring our people to Omaha, we book about 15,000 hotel nights a year,” said Tom Janssen, director of external affairs at Kiewit. “We’re very excited to bring them to Omaha to show off our community and give them a little flavor of what Omaha has to offer.”

Janssen called it a commitment, noting the company spends more than $80 million a year on training. He said that’s six times the industry average.

http://www.ketv.com/image/view/-/34167508/medRes/1/-/maxh/460/maxw/620/-/lrvb7j/-/kiewit-1-JPG.jpg

On the other half of the lot a 5 floor 110 unit apartment building with 6K SF of retail will go up.
http://www.ketv.com/image/view/-/34167530/highRes/1/-/w/620/-/krna2dz/-/kiewit-4-JPG.jpg

The developer is also pursuing a hotel operator for the site. No info there yet.

This is going to be huge to changing the vibe of the area from an event district to a full blown daytime and nighttime year round neighborhood.

That is good news! Both times I was there I commented on how I hated that parking lot.

One thing I would really like to see in Omaha, based on my visits, is conversion of so many of the one way streets back to two way.

That is good news! Both times I was there I commented on how I hated that parking lot.

One thing I would really like to see in Omaha, based on my visits, is conversion of so many of the one way streets back to two way.

Yeah that lot among many in the North Downtown area are an embarrassment to the vision proposed a decade ago. I am really hoping that this can begin the change for the neighborhood. Getting a corporate presence along with the residential and hotel units will help to fill out the activity all day long. We could use another half dozen apartment projects before the area really takes off, but those may come. AP, I am sure you have noticed the massive lots near the baseball stadium and convention center/arena.

There is actually about 1 billion in investment either planned, announced or in the RFP stage in the roughly one square mile section of the north side of DT.

http://s24.postimg.org/4iyjft9rp/Picture_48.png

Parking lot 1 is where the project just above is set to go. $50 million

Parking lot 2 is where The Capitol District will be built. Site work has begun and the lot has been torn out. $205 million

Parking lot 3 is where HDR will build a 18-20 HQ. No official price tag, but lets put a number for a tower that size. ~$100 million or more

Grass lot 4 is where the proposed tower that could reach 25 floors would go. $100 million

Building 5 is set to be demolished and replaced by a mixed use project including a 14+ floor tower. $300 million

Lot 6 is set to have an RFP released and by the sheer size of the 4 square city blocks and what the city wants will be at least. ~$250 million

Added up that is $1.05 billion. There are still a ton of lots in that area too. Next 5 years should drastically change the north side of our urban area.

----

As for street conversions I totally agree, we actually have had more success outside of DT in Midtown and North O. I don't think there is much momentum behind that for downtown. Way too many people think more lanes means leaving work or the CWS or a basketball game faster. We have a street downtown that got just over 9K traffic count in the latest report, it is 4 lanes wide...

I just think energy is better spent trying to give them diets and getting wider sidewalks or angle parking or bike lanes. Seems more of an attainable goal.