Omaha Development Update

[G.Walker]

Omaha is one of a few cities I like to analyze and root for in regards to economic development. Hoping they get a new office tower downtown soon...TD Ameritrade would have been the perfect candidate for new office tower downtown, don't know why they settled for suburban office park, with 12 story tower, kinda ticked me off, and then the WallStreet Tower fiasco...ughhhh...

[UrbanNebraska]

Omaha is one of a few cities I like to analyze and root for in regards to economic development. Hoping they get a new office tower downtown soon...TD Ameritrade would have been the perfect candidate for new office tower downtown, don't know why they settled for suburban office park, with 12 story tower, kinda ticked me off, and then the WallStreet Tower fiasco...ughhhh...

TD should of gone downtown, easily could of built a 350 maybe 400 foot tower with a smaller footprint than where they decided to build. The one saving grace they did is that it should end up being the 8th largest LEED Platinum building in the country when all is said and done. Downtown is actually probably going to get another 4 floor HQ building that covers and entire city block . I enjoy the infill, but stuff like that is always going to leave you wanting more. There are some slight mention of some spec office space downtown a little down the road. DTO's vacant office space is under 8% last I heard, that is a tiny number that may actually prohibit some new DT businesses if they can't find good leasable space.

G.Walker, Omaha has gotten some HUGE news about our mixed use development called Aksarben Village between Sunday and Today.

A/V currently is about 65% developed and is located on land that used to hold Omaha's horse racing track and arena both dated back to 1923 and were torn down in the 90's. The surrounding neighborhood dates back about 80 years, but is practically all single family homes. The development includs corporate offices, movie theater, fitness club, neighborhood grocery store, restaurants ect. But the official announcements for the next phase just came out and I am rather excited. Here is what already exists.

BCBS Nebraska


Office above w/ retail below. The retail includes Jones Bros Cupcakes which has won on the show Cupcake Wars, if that means anything. They are quite good.


Aksarben Cinema 10 screen movie theater with fitness center in shared building.



DLR Group


Courtyard Marriott


~500 Apartments are completed with another ~200 u/c right now



Stinson Park


B-Cycle Omaha is centered around this development. Only 5 stations right now, but there are rumors of 100 new bikes and 20 stations across the city next year. We will see though, I am not exactly confident on that one.


University Nebraska-Omaha has their secondary campus right next door as well.

Mammel Hall UNO College of Business.


Scott Court dorms.


The announcements the past few days say the entire development should be finished by 2015. They include:

Gordmans department stores are HQed in Omaha and they will move their offices to a new building w/ ground floor retail.


21 Live/Work condo units.



Apartments


And then announced buildings w/o major tenants, but have said to have "high interest" from other local companies looking for new office space/retail space. A 119-room Marriott Residence Inn, next door to the Marriott Courtyard already in the development. More than 230 new residential units, ranging from apartments to town houses to luxury condos. A 60,000-square-foot retail building that could hold about 10 shops and restaurants. A 150,000-square-foot office building, which will include 40,000 square feet of retail space on the ground level.

Here is a current map.


Gordmans is going in the skinny green space by P2. The new hotel will go where the N^ sign is. The 60,000 sq foot retail building should go in the green space by 6. And I assume the 150,000 sq ft office and more apartments will be where the large A/V symbol is.

An incredible development for Omaha especially considering it isn't really associated with an historically "urban" area, although it is far from a suburban area. I do have some beef with the surface lots, but they are still necessary evils in a city like Omaha and were handled decently well hiding them from the street and putting some parking garages in. Perhaps in say 2020 demand will be so high they develop those as well .

And I apologize for the size of the post and info dump. The news this week has just got me really excited. $100+ million news can do that to a guy!

[Spartan]

We should look at this for C2S...

[metro]

Is Buffet behind any of this?

[UrbanNebraska]

Is Buffet behind any of this?

Buffett isn't really in the real estate development game and he has actually spoken out against a street car in Omaha. I don't have hard evidence to back this up, but have heard there are 100+ hundred millionaires in Omaha that can trace their fortune directly back to their investment in Buffet's company in it's early days. When Buffett first started his company many in Omaha invested in Class A stock that was selling under $200 a share. That same share is worth over $93,000 today. It is those investors with a lot of expendable income that are behind a lot of the development. Not Buffett directly.

[UrbanNebraska]

Some love from the KC paper. http://www.kansascity.com/2012/08/20...-downtown.html

Unfortunately, at least with some people around here, tax incentives are a dirty word. That knee-jerk negativism is making it more difficult to get things done when it comes to pursuing important public policy goals.

It’s not that way in Omaha.

And please, this is not intended to put Kansas City down. It’s only to puncture the parochialism and complacency that sometimes undermine our progress here.

Over the past four years, almost 900 apartments have been built or redeveloped in downtown Omaha with the help of — gasp — tax increment financing.

Like their Kansas City counterparts, Omaha developers say that while downtown living is popular, the rents people are willing to pay aren’t enough to cover the cost of new construction. That’s why incentives are critical.

Dominic Vaccaro said his firm has opened two new apartment projects totaling 124 units over the past couple of years. If they had been purely free market projects, he would have had to charge $1.55 per square foot for rent. That’s $1,550 for a 1,000-square-foot unit. But the top rent that people are willing to pay is $1.30, 16 percent less.

[UrbanNebraska]

A landmark came down today.

[UrbanNebraska]

Lerner building to get 3 floors added for 40 apartments.





And pretty big news Gavilon is building a new HQ downtown. Too bad it wont be changing the skyline.



On the positive side though it is a growing company making a very large investment in downtown Omaha. It is also good news for the State of Oklahoma. Gavilon does a lot of business there and is even working with Chesapeake Energy and SemGroup on a pipeline project right now. OKC, Omaha and Tulsa companies working together .

[Bellaboo]

In case anyone doesn't know, Aksarben is........ Nebraska spelled backwards. (as in post #106)

[Just the facts]

In case anyone doesn't know, Aksarben is........ Nebraska spelled backwards. (as in post #106)

I thought is was an alternative spelling of the prison in Harry Potter; or is it the same thing?

Lots of good stuff going on in Omaha. It seems the New Urbanism is taking hold in lots of places.

[zookeeper]

UrbanNebraska, I love your city. My mother's side of the family are all from the upper plains and most of them from the Omaha area. We always love visiting your city and Old Market is charming.

The Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium is highly respected and the folks in Omaha should be very proud of their zoo. I spent an entire month observing the cat complex and breeding facilities and learned so much from some of the best in the country.

Totally random but just wondering, is FNBO the tallest building in Omaha? How tall is it? Trying to compare to some other buildings I know, including our own Devon Tower.

[UrbanNebraska]

It is 634 feet and yes it is the tallest, hard to believe it is a decade old already. The skyline is going to stay the same in Omaha for a while. I mean it is hard to believe that this is going to be the first new downtown office construction downtown since UP finished their 314 footer in 2004. A 5 floor building covering an entire 1.4 acre city block with no retail bays.


I appreciate the investment in downtown, would of been pissed if they left for the burbs or left the city entirely. I think it just shows us locals that we aren't ready to take that next step yet as a city.

[Just the facts]

A 5 floor building covering an entire 1.4 acre city block with no retail bays

That is unfortunate. That is a big-time miss on someone's part.

[G.Walker]

Even though they might not be getting a high rise anytime soon, I think the Shamrock Mixed-Use Development will be a game changer for downtown Omaha, and will only fuel more development in that area. Would love to have something like that done here!

[UrbanNebraska]

Even though they might not be getting a high rise anytime soon, I think the Shamrock Mixed-Use Development will be a game changer for downtown Omaha, and will only fuel more development in that area. Would love to have something like that done here!

Totally agree. That type of development is next level stuff for a downtown like Omaha. What I am worried about is we are almost a year from announcement with not much recent news on the issue. We have been getting burned the past few years on major scale development. A lot of nice announcements($250 million mall renovation, $100 million outlet mall, Shamrock development, Wallstreet Tower.) None of which have seen so much as a turned shovel yet.

I am keeping my fingers crossed.

[dmoor82]

Does anyone know what happened to EOmaha forums?I have it on my favorites but the link has been dead for a while now!

[UrbanNebraska]

Does anyone know what happened to EOmaha forums?I have it on my favorites but the link has been dead for a while now!

I post there almost every day. You may have to clear your cookies, that is one of the cardinal rules of the forum. It seems to get temperamental for random members at random times. I had the same issue sometime this past winter and that fixed it.

[dmoor82]

^^Thanks

[UrbanNebraska]

This has ben the biggest week for private downtown development since before the recession IMO. Lots of projects starting, making progress, coming online, announced, and being continued after a delay.

Gavilon(19th largest privately held company in the country per Forbes) broke ground this week on their new DT HQ. A mere two and a half weeks after it's announcement.


159 room Hyatt Place Old Market is moving ahead after a two week delay. Three construction workers were injured when a sub floor gave way and nothing had happened on site until late this last week. Assuming for insurance, OSHA and inspection type things.

The accident:


New progress:


Official announcement about the building getting 3 floors added for 40 apartments. Calling it "The District Urban Lofts." Construction supposed to start this fall.


Barker Building is well underway for demo and exterior restoration. This is a shot of them just beginning cleaning the brick really cool seeing them cut through the grime. It is nearly done now and it POPS.


The Barker will have some of the coolest spaces in the city. These are from inside during demo/cleaning. There was really bad wear and tear because the former owner never bothered to close the windows for multiple years!


A little better:


And finally a clear view of what will most likely be one of the most desirable rental properties in the city.


And the view of Gene Leahy Mall(Central Park) from the top floor.


Green roof is in on the lower portion of "The Highline" 194 unit office to apartment project. Finishing up in the early spring.

Not the best view on earth in this picture. It does overlook our art museum though.

Internal demo is well underway at this 108 unit office to apartment project. You can see the crane pulling stuff off the roof in the picture above ^^.


And lastly L14 Flats opened for tenants. I have a friend that is living there, noting spectacular IMO but obviously a very welcome addition to the scene. Here is a time lapse of the construction.
Dicon Project Video - L14 Flats - YouTube

[UrbanNebraska]

Really exciting news happening right outside my front door. Omaha passed a new 3% cigarette tax to help fund a new $370 million 695,000 square foot cancer research/treatment facility. UNMC themselves have put $120 million forward, the state gave $50 million, the city is giving $35 million from the new tax, the country is giving $5 million and this still will be the largest fundraising project in state history donation wise. Studies have reported this facility will add 1200 jobs to the city, pump $100 million into the local economy every year and spur $383 million in private development in the surrounding area(where I live ). This will also give UNMC it's 4th 200+ foot tower on campus. UNMC has made it abundantly clear than a hotel will be built in conjunction with this and that they expect it to anchor a larger development, not just stand alone.

UNMC as it currently exists. I live between the campus and the cathedral in the background.


New cancer center will fall directly to the right of the pair of towers, the smaller parking garage and a small building will give way to this:



And a huge part of this project that is being touted as "transformational" for midtown Omaha is the relocation and flood control additions to Saddle Creek Road(yes Saddle Creek Records is named after a road over a buried creek.) These plans are being brought up to change this pedestrian nightmare:


Into an urban prairie with reclaimed waterways, native grasses and trees. With bike paths and a much more attractive appearance. These enhancements are considered important for future private development.



I am pretty damn pumped to see what comes of this incredible opportunity. Omaha gets to solidify it's name on the national medical research scene and the economic impact is staggering.


After a little research I see we took a page out of OU's book in passing a tobacco tax to fund a cancer center. Very cool.

[Snowman]

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

[Just the facts]

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

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

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

[UrbanNebraska]

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

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


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

[UrbanNebraska]

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


With the news of that it has been decided that the city will close and subsequently tear down the Civic Auditorium. The place holds some history everything from our brief NBA stint to the VP debate where the famous "Senator, you're no Jack Kennedy" line happened there. The market is just over saturated with arena space in Omaha with the new UNO one and the city would need to pump $25 million into the facility to bring it up to par. It will open a big chunk of developable land.

The location is in a key spot between Creighton and the CBD. City officials have said they are in talks with a few different developers.


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

[Pete]

Thanks for the update.

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

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