Gene Leahy Mall Remodel
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Re: Official: Gene Leahy Mall
The idea initially was to spur development along the mall. It did that in a small way with the library, office buildings, etc., but it didn't actually do what was envisioned, high rise housing, retail, 24/7 push. In the beginning it did bring people back downtown after hours and it did get downtown office workers outside during lunch. To bring it up to street level and drastically change it could bring it back to life.
Take a look at the pics I posted at this link. http://eomahaforums.com/viewtopic.php?f=24&t=8539 I don't have the time right now to repost the pics but take a look at one of the proposals for the mall. Boats, retail & restaurants & bars, etc., still below street level but a rather interesting idea.
What downtown seriously needs is high rise residential. I could be wrong but I believe Des Moines is getting two of them. I'm not saying Des Moines doesn't deserve them at all. Conversions are nice but a 20-30 story residential tower with retail & food & beverage on the first (& second) floors makes for a more 24/7 feel to downtown. And YES, there are way too many surface lots downtown. There are parking garages but they are too small. Also, street parking should be redesigned to allow for more of that.
Take a look at the pics I posted at this link. http://eomahaforums.com/viewtopic.php?f=24&t=8539 I don't have the time right now to repost the pics but take a look at one of the proposals for the mall. Boats, retail & restaurants & bars, etc., still below street level but a rather interesting idea.
What downtown seriously needs is high rise residential. I could be wrong but I believe Des Moines is getting two of them. I'm not saying Des Moines doesn't deserve them at all. Conversions are nice but a 20-30 story residential tower with retail & food & beverage on the first (& second) floors makes for a more 24/7 feel to downtown. And YES, there are way too many surface lots downtown. There are parking garages but they are too small. Also, street parking should be redesigned to allow for more of that.
Re: Official: Gene Leahy Mall
These renderings are amazing. Definitely something I would like to see.iamjacobm wrote:http://riverfrontrevitalization.com/|expletive| ... _11X17.pdf
http://riverfrontrevitalization.com/|expletive| ... Slides.pdf
Posting these here as well. They are all under the same study, but the riverfront and GLM obviously have different discussions and goals.
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Re: Official: Gene Leahy Mall
Are you going there at 3am? Its the busiest park in town. Every time I am there its busy.Garrett wrote: I disagree. I think it's a brilliant renovation to bring more use to a drastically underused park.
You can make nice additions like Cafe's and restaurants without destroying a beautiful park.Garrett wrote:Adding cafes and restaurants is smart.
That's because those developments are sponsoring those events, booking the events, and have a staff of people promoting the events. Take those two off the list and all the other public spaces sit empty all the time.Garrett wrote:And how often are the event lawns at Aksarben and MTC used? Quite often.
Again, minor adjustments to whats there. Take out that hill by 11th street and you would have a really nice flat area, at street level, overlooking the lake. It could be a really cool spaceGarrett wrote:In its current form, you can basically walk around, take some pictures, and that's about it. From a design perspective, it may be nice to look at, but it's not super functional as a public space. The most successful parks in the country, from Grant Park/Millennium Park here in Chicago to Central Park, Washington Square Park, and Bryant Park in NYC are all relatively simple and flat.
There are nice areas like that over by ricks and even in Heartland of America park . It would be really nice to try to make some of these existing areas work with minimal money and effort and see if there is even demand for yet another outdoor festival area.Garrett wrote:This redesign could even fit events like a multi-stage music festival, so you don't end up having stages set up in parking lots like a certain festival of the past.
Also, why build another spot and cannibalize places like Aksarben and MTC?
I also don't understand why Memorial park is only used one time a year for a concert.
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Re: Official: Gene Leahy Mall
Brad,Brad wrote:Are you going there at 3am? Its the busiest park in town. Every time I am there its busy.Garrett wrote: I disagree. I think it's a brilliant renovation to bring more use to a drastically underused park.
You can make nice additions like Cafe's and restaurants without destroying a beautiful park.Garrett wrote:Adding cafes and restaurants is smart.
That's because those developments are sponsoring those events, booking the events, and have a staff of people promoting the events. Take those two off the list and all the other public spaces sit empty all the time.Garrett wrote:And how often are the event lawns at Aksarben and MTC used? Quite often.
Again, minor adjustments to whats there. Take out that hill by 11th street and you would have a really nice flat area, at street level, overlooking the lake. It could be a really cool spaceGarrett wrote:In its current form, you can basically walk around, take some pictures, and that's about it. From a design perspective, it may be nice to look at, but it's not super functional as a public space. The most successful parks in the country, from Grant Park/Millennium Park here in Chicago to Central Park, Washington Square Park, and Bryant Park in NYC are all relatively simple and flat.
There are nice areas like that over by ricks and even in Heartland of America park . It would be really nice to try to make some of these existing areas work with minimal money and effort and see if there is even demand for yet another outdoor festival area.Garrett wrote:This redesign could even fit events like a multi-stage music festival, so you don't end up having stages set up in parking lots like a certain festival of the past.
Also, why build another spot and cannibalize places like Aksarben and MTC?
I also don't understand why Memorial park is only used one time a year for a concert.
Firstly thanks for all of the photos you post, really great work. I disagree with you about the mall though.
Although the mall is beautiful to look at and a great post card picture, it fell victim to many other public spaces of the 70’s-80’s. As such, it fundamentally doesn’t function as a modern piece of the urban fabric. It is sunken far below street level with water making it more difficult for people to access and cross though. Because it is below street level there is a lot of visual refuge that homeless populations tend to seek out as living spaces. According to William Whyte the easiest thing you can do to kill an urban space is to separate it from the street by more than three feet.
If you don't know of William Whyte, I would strongly suggest watching his film The Social Life of Small Urban Spaces. https://archive.org/details/SmallUrbanSpaces
It is older but all of his concepts are widely accepted as fundamental to creating successful urban places.
There is very little flat space in the park for people to actualy “do” anything there. If you think about it, aside from the slides and the large steps, you don’t do much in the park besides passively meander through the paths and look at the water. All of the incredibly innovative parks being planned and built around the country have the same elements shown in this plan. Heavy programming, lots of flat flexible space, and a lot of things to help draw families like dog parks and play grounds. Even thinking back to the beginning of urban parks, the most heavily used and popular places in Central Park NY are the clearings of lawn. The mall needs to incorporate all of these elements to have the development impact that it should. Creating an afterthought flat space isn’t a full remedy of the problem.
The design firm has an incredibly similar project in Dallas called Klyde Warren Park that has had a dramatic impact on the area. They created a long linear park over three blocks of interstate. It has basically the same uses proposed for the mall and is a simple flat space. According to this case study https://www.cnu.org/sites/default/files ... Dallas.pdf the park cost $110 million but has created $312 million in economic development in the area immediately surrounding the park, and has created $12 million in direct tax revenue between 2012 and whenever the study was done. I think ultimately this is what is trying to be accomplished through this project. I’m not sure a retrofit of the current mall would be sufficient to accomplish this.
Re: Official: Gene Leahy Mall
Pulling out William Whyte on one of your first posts? It's like you're after my heart. This post is perfect. As you said, while the mall may be pretty, it doesn't really have much more of a use beyond a walking trail and a photo op.Chungus wrote: Brad,
Firstly thanks for all of the photos you post, really great work. I disagree with you about the mall though.
Although the mall is beautiful to look at and a great post card picture, it fell victim to many other public spaces of the 70’s-80’s. As such, it fundamentally doesn’t function as a modern piece of the urban fabric. It is sunken far below street level with water making it more difficult for people to access and cross though. Because it is below street level there is a lot of visual refuge that homeless populations tend to seek out as living spaces. According to William Whyte the easiest thing you can do to kill an urban space is to separate it from the street by more than three feet.
If you don't know of William Whyte, I would strongly suggest watching his film The Social Life of Small Urban Spaces. https://archive.org/details/SmallUrbanSpaces
It is older but all of his concepts are widely accepted as fundamental to creating successful urban places.
There is very little flat space in the park for people to actualy “do” anything there. If you think about it, aside from the slides and the large steps, you don’t do much in the park besides passively meander through the paths and look at the water. All of the incredibly innovative parks being planned and built around the country have the same elements shown in this plan. Heavy programming, lots of flat flexible space, and a lot of things to help draw families like dog parks and play grounds. Even thinking back to the beginning of urban parks, the most heavily used and popular places in Central Park NY are the clearings of lawn. The mall needs to incorporate all of these elements to have the development impact that it should. Creating an afterthought flat space isn’t a full remedy of the problem.
The design firm has an incredibly similar project in Dallas called Klyde Warren Park that has had a dramatic impact on the area. They created a long linear park over three blocks of interstate. It has basically the same uses proposed for the mall and is a simple flat space. According to this case study https://www.cnu.org/sites/default/files ... Dallas.pdf the park cost $110 million but has created $312 million in economic development in the area immediately surrounding the park, and has created $12 million in direct tax revenue between 2012 and whenever the study was done. I think ultimately this is what is trying to be accomplished through this project. I’m not sure a retrofit of the current mall would be sufficient to accomplish this.
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Re: Official: Gene Leahy Mall
I think Chungus addressed your other points phenomenally well, but as for this, the main reason I'll give is that it's in a low density area without nearby businesses. It's a bit too far from Dundee to be considered a gathering place, it's flanked by fair acres and Brownell Talbot, and UNO Students can use the far more accessible Elmwood Park. And while it's big, there really isn't much to it beyond the Memorial itself. Jane Jacobs would be another resource to consult here: she argues the most successful parks are the ones that are used at all times of day around spaces where people are. The Mall has the best location between the Financial District, North Downtown, and the Old Market. It just needs better design to make it a truly great park.Brad wrote: I also don't understand why Memorial park is only used one time a year for a concert.
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Re: Official: Gene Leahy Mall
I'm with you, Brad. Leave GLM the way it is. Paving it over would be a colossal waste of money.
Re: Official: Gene Leahy Mall
And that's a nice option to have, for people who want to quietly meander through a picturesque setting among lit up trees, reflective water and an architecturally pleasing perimeter -- without having frisbees and dogs whip past them. Honestly, you can "do things" at the Heartland of America Park which is connected to GLM anyway.Chungus wrote: There is very little flat space in the park for people to actualy “do” anything there. If you think about it, aside from the slides and the large steps, you don’t do much in the park besides passively meander through the paths and look at the water.
Just because other cities have "flat spaces" to "do things" in the heart of their downtown, doesn't mean Omaha should follow suit. GLM is a beauty mark on the face of the city. Why would you laser that sucker off?
Re: Official: Gene Leahy Mall
Just because the park is redesigned doesn't mean it will be hideous. There will still be substantial water sections both in GLM and HoA. This redesign just allows the park to have more usage than just a walking trail and a photo op.edsas wrote:And that's a nice option to have, for people who want to quietly meander through a picturesque setting among lit up trees, reflective water and an architecturally pleasing perimeter -- without having frisbees and dogs whip past them. Honestly, you can "do things" at the Heartland of America Park which is connected to GLM anyway.Chungus wrote: There is very little flat space in the park for people to actualy “do” anything there. If you think about it, aside from the slides and the large steps, you don’t do much in the park besides passively meander through the paths and look at the water.
Just because other cities have "flat spaces" to "do things" in the heart of their downtown, doesn't mean Omaha should follow suit. GLM is a beauty mark on the face of the city. Why would you laser that sucker off?
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Re: Official: Gene Leahy Mall
From this mornings W-H:
“Omaha’s movers and shakers, with more than half the funds pledged privately, are forging ahead with a $290 million proposal to breathe new life into the city’s downtown riverfront.
A conceptual master plan calls for adding spacious lawns for events, a Farnam Street walking promenade that stretches past Eighth Street to the river, a ribbon-shaped rink for ice skating and rollerblading, a water plaza where kids can play and splash, and a dog park.
That would be accomplished by raising most of Gene Leahy Mall to street level and downsizing existing water features to create an open, continuous park leading all the way to the Missouri River.”
“Dirt could move as soon as the middle of next year, with the project wrapping up in 2022. Stinson said that depends on permitting and approvals.”..
The complete story link-
http://www.omaha.com/news/plus/transfor ... b2669.html
Ciao..LiO...Peace
“Omaha’s movers and shakers, with more than half the funds pledged privately, are forging ahead with a $290 million proposal to breathe new life into the city’s downtown riverfront.
A conceptual master plan calls for adding spacious lawns for events, a Farnam Street walking promenade that stretches past Eighth Street to the river, a ribbon-shaped rink for ice skating and rollerblading, a water plaza where kids can play and splash, and a dog park.
That would be accomplished by raising most of Gene Leahy Mall to street level and downsizing existing water features to create an open, continuous park leading all the way to the Missouri River.”
“Dirt could move as soon as the middle of next year, with the project wrapping up in 2022. Stinson said that depends on permitting and approvals.”..
The complete story link-
http://www.omaha.com/news/plus/transfor ... b2669.html
Ciao..LiO...Peace
Go Cowboys!
Re: Official: Gene Leahy Mall
Thanks for the info and link. I would love to be able to go to the meeting tonight but don't think I'll be able to make it. If anybody goes can you let the forum know if the display at Gallup will at least continue to be viewable to the public- thanks.
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Re: Official: Gene Leahy Mall
Omaha Cowboy wrote: ↑Tue Jun 12, 2018 6:24 am From this mornings W-H:
“Omaha’s movers and shakers, with more than half the funds pledged privately, are forging ahead with a $290 million proposal to breathe new life into the city’s downtown riverfront.
A conceptual master plan calls for adding spacious lawns for events, a Farnam Street walking promenade that stretches past Eighth Street to the river, a ribbon-shaped rink for ice skating and rollerblading, a water plaza where kids can play and splash, and a dog park.
That would be accomplished by raising most of Gene Leahy Mall to street level and downsizing existing water features to create an open, continuous park leading all the way to the Missouri River.”
“Dirt could move as soon as the middle of next year, with the project wrapping up in 2022. Stinson said that depends on permitting and approvals.”..
The complete story link-
http://www.omaha.com/news/plus/transfor ... b2669.html
Ciao..LiO...Peace
Half of the amount was privately raised already? Impressive, that's quite a chunk of change.
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Re: Official: Gene Leahy Mall
The article shows some impressive pics. Can someone grab them?Omaha Cowboy wrote: ↑Tue Jun 12, 2018 6:24 am From this mornings W-H:
“Omaha’s movers and shakers, with more than half the funds pledged privately, are forging ahead with a $290 million proposal to breathe new life into the city’s downtown riverfront.
A conceptual master plan calls for adding spacious lawns for events, a Farnam Street walking promenade that stretches past Eighth Street to the river, a ribbon-shaped rink for ice skating and rollerblading, a water plaza where kids can play and splash, and a dog park.
That would be accomplished by raising most of Gene Leahy Mall to street level and downsizing existing water features to create an open, continuous park leading all the way to the Missouri River.”
“Dirt could move as soon as the middle of next year, with the project wrapping up in 2022. Stinson said that depends on permitting and approvals.”..
The complete story link-
http://www.omaha.com/news/plus/transfor ... b2669.html
Ciao..LiO...Peace
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Re: Official: Gene Leahy Mall
I was excited to see they are hoping to build on Lot A. I had not heard that mentioned before and previously the committee had seemed resistant to building private development in that area. The massing looks great and I am happy to see it wouldn't detract from park space. I still think a Children's museum would tie into Lewis and Clark landing perfectly, but maybe the lead makes that prohibitively expensive.
Here are some images:
Edit: looks like skinzfan beat me to it
Here are some images:
Edit: looks like skinzfan beat me to it
Re: Official: Gene Leahy Mall
Extremely exciting and impressive. Well designed and a big improvement over what’s there as far as functionality goes.
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Re: Official: Gene Leahy Mall
I am planning on going to the public meeting at Gallup tonight so I will report back what they said.
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Re: Official: Gene Leahy Mall
Looks great! I think there will still be issues in drawing people to the riverfront as it's still pretty cut off from the rest of downtown. It's an improvement though.
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Re: Official: Gene Leahy Mall
They are extending Capitol and Douglas to the river. Hopefully that helps. Excellent renderings, though.TitosBuritoBarn wrote: ↑Tue Jun 12, 2018 9:19 am Looks great! I think there will still be issues in drawing people to the riverfront as it's still pretty cut off from the rest of downtown. It's an improvement though.
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Re: Official: Gene Leahy Mall
No doubt. That is a TON of coin already allocated to the project..MadMartin8 wrote: ↑Tue Jun 12, 2018 7:33 amOmaha Cowboy wrote: ↑Tue Jun 12, 2018 6:24 am From this mornings W-H:
“Omaha’s movers and shakers, with more than half the funds pledged privately, are forging ahead with a $290 million proposal to breathe new life into the city’s downtown riverfront.
A conceptual master plan calls for adding spacious lawns for events, a Farnam Street walking promenade that stretches past Eighth Street to the river, a ribbon-shaped rink for ice skating and rollerblading, a water plaza where kids can play and splash, and a dog park.
That would be accomplished by raising most of Gene Leahy Mall to street level and downsizing existing water features to create an open, continuous park leading all the way to the Missouri River.”
“Dirt could move as soon as the middle of next year, with the project wrapping up in 2022. Stinson said that depends on permitting and approvals.”..
The complete story link-
http://www.omaha.com/news/plus/transfor ... b2669.html
Ciao..LiO...Peace
Half of the amount was privately raised already? Impressive, that's quite a chunk of change.
This project looks great and could be THE game changer as it relates to the downtown core attracting new jobs.. Adding this massive street level, pedestrian friendly element flowing all the way to the riverfront.. Should attract more singles and even more families to downtown.. Perhaps DT can finally attract that “big box” grocery store to the area (Que HyVee)..
But like everything else, I won’t start turning cartwheels until earth moves and ground is broken..
This looks like a fantastic visionary plan for downtown and the riverfront ...
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Re: Official: Gene Leahy Mall
You’re welcome ..
I’d like to be at the meeting tonight too. But my schedule prevents it unfortunately...
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Re: Official: Gene Leahy Mall
I look forward to hearing your take and feedback ...
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Re: Official: Gene Leahy Mall
Very encouraging renderings! I like how they extended a pedestrian 11th street connection connecting to the north and included a grade transition reworking the slides east of 11th and the existing archway remnant, adding the boulder field, stairs and ramps going down to the current lower grade around the old Burlington and McKesson-Robbins building's basement level. I really liked the original GLM design from the 70's and was worried they might ruin it, but the replacement will offer much more usable space for countless activities by significantly scaling back the current miniature river valley design and by raising the grade west of 11th.
I also really like the Farnam and Douglas St. extensions to the river, along with the great lawn extension too. I think they'll need to keep a hardened batter-wall edge, similar to the current Lewis & Clark Landing, all the way down to the river's edge, since the water level can vary 15-25 feet depending on the seasons and occasional flooding. The rendering shows grass and trees all the way down to water level, which is unrealistic given all of the debris that goes by during higher water levels. All-in-all, I think this will achieve a better solution than the original 1960-70s "Back-to-the-river plans.
This will be very exciting to see this actually happen!
I also really like the Farnam and Douglas St. extensions to the river, along with the great lawn extension too. I think they'll need to keep a hardened batter-wall edge, similar to the current Lewis & Clark Landing, all the way down to the river's edge, since the water level can vary 15-25 feet depending on the seasons and occasional flooding. The rendering shows grass and trees all the way down to water level, which is unrealistic given all of the debris that goes by during higher water levels. All-in-all, I think this will achieve a better solution than the original 1960-70s "Back-to-the-river plans.
This will be very exciting to see this actually happen!
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Re: Official: Gene Leahy Mall
I am a believer in having some green space in a downtown setting. This retains that but expands on it's usability 10 fold. I love it!
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Re: Official: Gene Leahy Mall
Did I miss the part of the story about what happens to the Railroad tracks? This is the most significant change in all of this. This Railroad Tracks are the barrier between North Downtown and the River Front and between Heartland of America Park and the River. Everything else is great but removing those Railroad Tracks is huge.
Re: Official: Gene Leahy Mall
Two good videos here.
http://www.riverfrontrevitalization.com/
First one has interviews with key players, the second one under "The Plan" is a pure flythrough of the Omaha side of the river and GLM. Still a little sunken water to hopefully preserve a little of the "iconic" Omaha skyline shot.
http://www.riverfrontrevitalization.com/
First one has interviews with key players, the second one under "The Plan" is a pure flythrough of the Omaha side of the river and GLM. Still a little sunken water to hopefully preserve a little of the "iconic" Omaha skyline shot.
Re: Official: Gene Leahy Mall
The world-herald said the plan calls for adding a "tunnel over the tracks" so it sounds like they are going to cap them, not remove them.Joe_Sovereign wrote: ↑Tue Jun 12, 2018 2:41 pm Did I miss the part of the story about what happens to the Railroad tracks? This is the most significant change in all of this. This Railroad Tracks are the barrier between North Downtown and the River Front and between Heartland of America Park and the River. Everything else is great but removing those Railroad Tracks is huge.
Re: Official: Gene Leahy Mall
About 4:10on the first video they show a train going into a tunnel. They also talk about the tracks right after thatTaco wrote: ↑Tue Jun 12, 2018 4:58 pmThe world-herald said the plan calls for adding a "tunnel over the tracks" so it sounds like they are going to cap them, not remove them.Joe_Sovereign wrote: ↑Tue Jun 12, 2018 2:41 pm Did I miss the part of the story about what happens to the Railroad tracks? This is the most significant change in all of this. This Railroad Tracks are the barrier between North Downtown and the River Front and between Heartland of America Park and the River. Everything else is great but removing those Railroad Tracks is huge.
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Re: Official: Gene Leahy Mall
There is an awful lot to digest here. As one of the few forum members who can recall the days before the Central Park/GL Mall was ever built, and who watched its block by block construction in the 1970s and 1980s, I will acknowledge that it never lived up to its potential in attracting people to the area, except for the Christmas tree lighting events, the Summer Arts Fair and a few other annual occasions. Yet I have enjoyed countless strolls along the waterway over the decades, and I appreciate that by lowering the elevation of the mall it succeeds at creating a quieter environment, one where you are able to divorce yourself from the hustle and bustle of street traffic. So I have decidedly mixed emotions about these proposed changes. I have seen too many promises sold to the public, promises that don’t pan out. And frankly I think that all of us will miss the iconic imagery of Omaha as viewed from the 10th Street bridge over the waterway. That imagery is worth countless millions of dollars, and I fear that we will lose it forever if this plan is approved as presented.
I am extremely encouraged, on the other hand, by the proposed changes to Lewis and Clark Landing. Giving people of all ages and interests reasons to visit the Landing is both wise and essential. And there will be trees!!! The lack of shade in the present configuration and design has the same effect on summer visitors as spending an hour in a microwave or conventional oven, depending on the humidity level on the particular day one is visiting. My views on the changes in Heartland Park are still up in the air. Again, it has not lived up to its potential, but is a very beautiful addition to downtown.
I don’t understand why the city would replace green space with city streets dissecting the present mall. Talk about irony. Those streets were specifically removed for a reason: to give the mall a unified feel. Maybe I am misinterpreting the planned design, I just don’t know.
If I had my druthers the only Street I would rebuild would be 9th Street, from Howard to Farnam. And I would then line it with big “ugly” brick buildings of 8-10 stories. But I digress.
I am extremely encouraged, on the other hand, by the proposed changes to Lewis and Clark Landing. Giving people of all ages and interests reasons to visit the Landing is both wise and essential. And there will be trees!!! The lack of shade in the present configuration and design has the same effect on summer visitors as spending an hour in a microwave or conventional oven, depending on the humidity level on the particular day one is visiting. My views on the changes in Heartland Park are still up in the air. Again, it has not lived up to its potential, but is a very beautiful addition to downtown.
I don’t understand why the city would replace green space with city streets dissecting the present mall. Talk about irony. Those streets were specifically removed for a reason: to give the mall a unified feel. Maybe I am misinterpreting the planned design, I just don’t know.
If I had my druthers the only Street I would rebuild would be 9th Street, from Howard to Farnam. And I would then line it with big “ugly” brick buildings of 8-10 stories. But I digress.
Re: Official: Gene Leahy Mall
Ok, I didn't take notes but quick hitters.
Hope to start next spring and be done by the end of 2022
$260-$290 million, 50 committed from the city(no raised taxes) 2/3 of the rest has verbal commits from philanthropic sources already
MECA will run it and maintain it
I didn't look close enough in the renderings, but they are proposing developing both the library and the block immediately east
These figures do not include the CB costs as far as I could tell
The structure on the river was mentioned as a potential children's museum/science center, not included in the budget
This is happening. We get beat over the head with studies a lot, but this feels like the ball is reaching full speed.
Hope to start next spring and be done by the end of 2022
$260-$290 million, 50 committed from the city(no raised taxes) 2/3 of the rest has verbal commits from philanthropic sources already
MECA will run it and maintain it
I didn't look close enough in the renderings, but they are proposing developing both the library and the block immediately east
These figures do not include the CB costs as far as I could tell
The structure on the river was mentioned as a potential children's museum/science center, not included in the budget
This is happening. We get beat over the head with studies a lot, but this feels like the ball is reaching full speed.
Re: Official: Gene Leahy Mall
Did they show any designs for Baby Bob or share what it's timeline for completion is?iamjacobm wrote: ↑Tue Jun 12, 2018 6:51 pm Ok, I didn't take notes but quick hitters.
Hope to start next spring and be done by the end of 2022
$260-$290 million, 50 committed from the city(no raised taxes) 2/3 of the rest has verbal commits from philanthropic sources already
MECA will run it and maintain it
I didn't look close enough in the renderings, but they are proposing developing both the library and the block immediately east
These figures do not include the CB costs as far as I could tell
The structure on the river was mentioned as a potential children's museum/science center, not included in the budget
This is happening. We get beat over the head with studies a lot, but this feels like the ball is reaching full speed.
Re: Official: Gene Leahy Mall
No mention of the baby bob.
They did make a comment about the Capitol St connection which would basically run right across Lot A and would be necessary for any development back there.
They more or less said “if they let us” which sounds like that is very much in the air. I would personally rather see Lot A go away and developed before B. They won’t eliminate both at the same time and I think getting people near this park is really important.
They did make a comment about the Capitol St connection which would basically run right across Lot A and would be necessary for any development back there.
They more or less said “if they let us” which sounds like that is very much in the air. I would personally rather see Lot A go away and developed before B. They won’t eliminate both at the same time and I think getting people near this park is really important.
Re: Official: Gene Leahy Mall
I'll be cautiously optimistic until the developers reveal how much of the project they want taxpayers to fund.
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Re: Official: Gene Leahy Mall
Wasnt most if not all of the stuff laid in this redevelopment plan suggested a year years back in the Downtown Master Plan? I am quite impressed with what there planing to do for GLM/Heartland/Riverfront. I will like to see what the final project on both sides of the river look like when finished.
Re: Official: Gene Leahy Mall
Wow, 'tunneling' over the railroad tracks is an amazing development we've called for here, that I never thought Omaha would pursue... 'Millennium Park' like.
Although I have to say, if they've truly obtained private commitments of half the cost of this project, I'm wondering if that money wouldn't be better spent pursuing a streetcar line (which increasingly suburban Omahans are not likely to approve if a ballot initiative is required)... which itself would probably spur enough additional property tax revenue to ultimately help pay for project as well.
Although I have to say, if they've truly obtained private commitments of half the cost of this project, I'm wondering if that money wouldn't be better spent pursuing a streetcar line (which increasingly suburban Omahans are not likely to approve if a ballot initiative is required)... which itself would probably spur enough additional property tax revenue to ultimately help pay for project as well.
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Re: Official: Gene Leahy Mall
They got promises for millions from rich donors. Thats B.S. They should not be even allowed to talk about those millions unless they got guarantees. I thought the Gene Leahy Mall was stupid when they built it and it was. That being said its here now and we should keep it. The only one that wins in this project is the developers and construction guys and the wheeler and dealers. This aint going to bring people downtown! The same idiots that want to do this are the same idiots that thought it was a good idea to tear down Rosenblatt and put a stadium downtown that now sits empty most of the time. These people are epic fools.
Re: Official: Gene Leahy Mall
It's past your bedtime grandpa.
Shoot for the Moon... if you miss, you'll land among the stars.
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Re: Official: Gene Leahy Mall
I agree with Grandpa is the sense that the reliance of the most powerful wealthy people in the city to propose drastic civic changes that were not initiated by the public is a circumvention of democracy. Furthermore it's troubling to me that MECA who has no direct public oversight (they're not elected by the people) will administer this park. Green space is wonderful, and I want more of it, but I agree that economically speaking mass transit is a better use of these large resources. I think mass transit would trigger more development across a larger part of the city.
All that being said, the plans look gorgeous. I especially like the boardwalk that goes south from the heartland of America park to the breaker apartments.
All that being said, the plans look gorgeous. I especially like the boardwalk that goes south from the heartland of America park to the breaker apartments.
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