Urban Village (30th and Leavenworth)

[Seth]

Work on this building is continuing.  It's going to look very sharp when it's finished, and hopefully will spur redevelopment of more properties in the area.  There's another big apartment building just around the corner on Mason that's recently been condemned, but looks prime for renovation.  It's been well boarded-up, so it looks like the type of condemnation meant primarily to evict the riff-raff and shut down a slumlord.

[SaveOmaha]

Seth, is the property 3070 Mason?

[SaveOmaha]

Also, 30th Ave. is a super cool street. Lots of older homes.

Just need to get this one rehabbed.
http://douglascone.wgxtreme.com/java/wg ... 1235940000

[Seth]

Just need to get this one rehabbed.
http://douglascone.wgxtreme.com/java/wg ... 1235940000

I've been eyeing that house even since we moved into the neighborhood.  It's pretty rough (divided up into 4 or 5 apartments) and really been run into the ground, but still has architectural details you just can't reproduce these days.  Sadly, it's owned by an out-of-state landlord, been vacant for at least a year, it's not even boarded up, and I think it's on the demolition list.  If it ever went up for sale, I'd love to restore it.

[Seth]

I just noticed this project got mentioned in Omaha By Design's December newsletter:

streetscapes: park avenue, st. mary’s avenue to mason
http://www.omahabydesign.org/2013/12/st ... -to-mason/

[iamjacobm]

Also on this topic, Urban Village redid the apartment building at Park Ave and Poppleton and dubbed it "The Newport."

[Seth]

Also on this topic, Urban Village redid the apartment building at Park Ave and Poppleton and dubbed it "The Newport."

I don't think UV did that one. It's not on their website, and the Assesor lists the owner as "Harvest Development, LLC", which isn't one of Reimer's companies: http://douglascone.wgxtreme.com/java/wg ... 0917730002

The fact that other developers are beginning to do some nice projects in the area really indicates forward momentum in the neighborhood. The building next to this one was done by Byron Reed, and is also pretty nice. We just need more single-family homes converted back to owner-occupied, and the Park Ave corridor will really have shed it's ugly past.

[iamjacobm]

Great youtube clip on the project. This is an incredible transformation when you see just how bad these buildings were.

Edit: Also really cool to hear about how aggressive city leaders were when it came to these buildings.

[BBvideo 560,340][/BBvideo]

[PrismA3D]

My wife and I have driven by there on several occasions and we are always impressed, amazed, at the quality of the renovation and the substantial improvement this project brings to this neighborhood. This video really brings it home. Thanks for posting.

[Coyote]

Yes Jacob, thanks for finding this video. Really shows what happens when someone puts their mind to restoring a structure without even knowing the possibilities in advance.

[riceweb]

Yes Jacob, thanks for finding this video. Really shows what happens when someone puts their mind to restoring a structure without even knowing the possibilities in advance.

I liked the tidbit about the city of Omaha making a push for Urban Village to include this area in their development plan. I feel like the city has become much more proactive about managing growth and directing investment to areas of need. In the case of Urban Village, they helped clear hurdles to redevelopment. In the case of Crossroads, they helped to get a whole bunch of different owners and stakeholders on the same page working toward a single vision.

I'm not trying to get political, because I'm sure this is less a political issue and more of a bureaucratic one, but our city leadership is really impressing me as they work neighborhood by neighborhood on revitalization efforts.

[Brad]

Not really in the "Urban Village" on Park Aver, but its a really nice tribute!

[iamjacobm]

They should clean up that lot and make it a little park.

[Seth]

Wow, that looks nice!

I agree, a small park would be pretty nice down there.

[U R my Helix]

If you are going to put that much effort to paint the side of a building .... why wouldn't you pull the weeds from the sidewalk and curb?
oh and I hate to bring this up but.... Isn't a sign permit required for this?

Sec. 51-13. - Permit required.
(a)
Free-standing signs (ground, pole, or monument) constructed entirely of masonry, concrete or wood, containing no internal illumination and having a height no greater than six feet and a sign area no greater than 32 square feet.

5.
Painted wall signs.
(Ord. No. 33769, § 1(51-13), 12-19-95; Ord. No. 33946, § 1, 8-13-96)


Sec. 51-15. - Permit fees.
Before any sign, ............. or face change permit shall be issued under the provisions of this article, the following appropriate fee shall be paid:

Signs 35 square feet or less in area: $41.00.

Signs 36 to 75 square feet in area: $82.00.

Signs 76 to 150 square feet in area: $155.00.

Signs 151 to 300 square feet in area: $206.00.

Signs over 300 square feet in area: $309.00.

[iamjacobm]

Just assuming they didn't go through that process?

[U R my Helix]

yes just assuming... I would not know if they did or did not. but is it art or an advertisement?

[nativeomahan]

Not really in the "Urban Village" on Park Aver, but its a really nice tribute!

Somebody went to an awful lot of trouble. I love it!

[U R my Helix]

I have become a big fan of the work done by UVOmaha. I do not see that this one at 3009 Harney has been previously posted. Here is a before and after. I believe the building (14 units) used to be called the Troy. More nice work.

[iamjacobm]

If you randomly travel through the area between 480 and Dundee, especially south of MTC you can see a ton of the properties that they have redone.

[Seth]

I have become a big fan of the work done by UVOmaha. I do not see that this one at 3009 Harney has been previously posted. Here is a before and after. I believe the building (14 units) used to be called the Troy. More nice work.

I think this was one of their earlier ones. If it wasn't done when we moved here in 2010, it was shortly after.

They really have done well in the area, and their foresight into the new popularity of midtown is apparent now that so many other developers are jumping in.