Omaha Forums

guitarguy wrote:Is that really a 'true' rooftop bar? its more of a open second level bar.. anyways I'm absolutely loving the focus on density in Benson the way things are going if you fast forward 2-3 years I don't see any other way that Benson won't be the premier bar scene in the city most likely even better than the Old Market!

Carmichael hopes to open the spot this fall. The bar and grill will also have a ground-level patio out back, as well as both indoor and rooftop stages. Carmichael said he doesn't intend 1912 to be a venue, per se, but he does want to feature live music during Benson First Friday, the Omaha Entertainment Awards showcase and other neighborhood events.

Dan has done these walking tours in 3,500 different cities and towns, and here is what he sees: The abandoned warehouse's big windows would be perfect for a Benson apartment building. The cracked parking lot could easily be transformed into outdoor seating on the back side of a Maple Street restaurant. And those sagging telephone lines give this spot its character. They should stay.

Best of all, we could walk around the place that Dan has created in its mind. It would become a key part of a new kind of Benson.

A Benson that is friendly to strolling. A Benson weened off the almighty automobile.

“We can't blame the car. It isn't the car's fault,” Dan says. “We can blame ourselves for not understanding how cities work. The cities that figure it out first — they will win.”

Coyote wrote:Can't find it right now, but I remember hearing Beercade is moving and something cool is taking its place?

iamjacobm wrote:

Coyote wrote:Can't find it right now, but I remember hearing Beercade is moving and something cool is taking its place?

It is probably buried in this thread.  It is going to be a cocktail bar, but it wont have standing room.

Coyote wrote:

iamjacobm wrote:

Coyote wrote:Can't find it right now, but I remember hearing Beercade is moving and something cool is taking its place?

It is probably buried in this thread.  It is going to be a cocktail bar, but it wont have standing room.

Ok, terms,
Cocktail bar=???
Standing room =???

Once Beercade moves, Larkin and Roskelley are planning to open a craft cocktail lounge in the space currently occupied by Beercade. The yet-to-be-named lounge will feature cocktails along the lines of those served at the Boiler Room, Larkin said. Customers will be seated as if they were at a restaurant, and occupancy will be limited to the number of seats.

iamjacobm wrote:

Coyote wrote:

iamjacobm wrote:

Coyote wrote:Can't find it right now, but I remember hearing Beercade is moving and something cool is taking its place?

It is probably buried in this thread.  It is going to be a cocktail bar, but it wont have standing room.

Ok, terms,
Cocktail bar=???
Standing room =???

Found it back on page 3 of this thread.  This is the quote from the article linked there.

Once Beercade moves, Larkin and Roskelley are planning to open a craft cocktail lounge in the space currently occupied by Beercade. The yet-to-be-named lounge will feature cocktails along the lines of those served at the Boiler Room, Larkin said. Customers will be seated as if they were at a restaurant, and occupancy will be limited to the number of seats.

GetUrban wrote:It would be a shame if they didn't get rid of that old shingled canopy / facade while they're at it. There must be something better underneath all of that |expletive|.

The corral, made up of several bike racks, is an on-street parking option for cyclists. It's part of local bike enthusiasts' efforts to make Benson more bike-friendly.

There are plans to install more bike racks near popular destinations in Benson, and soon the area will house a self-serve bike repair station for minor adjustments. Several area businesses even offer discounts to cyclists to promote biking.

Carlos Morales, the bicycle and pedestrian coordinator for the city, called the bike corral a pilot program.

“Let's try it out, see how it works,” he said. “If it works and we can implement it citywide, we will.”

The corral houses 12 bikes comfortably and took the place of one parking stall in front of Sarah Johnson's Omaha Bicycle Co. The corral is marked with reflective tape to boost visibility. Two streets signs surrounding the corral designate the area as bike parking.

Bike corrals are already popular in New York City, Chicago and Portland. Bicycle parking options will continue to expand in Benson. The city hopes to install eight more bike racks by the end of the year in the neighborhood, which is considered a “high-demand” location, said Morales, the bicycle and pedestrian coordinator. There are currently 25 individual bike racks near 11 Benson businesses.

Linkin5 wrote:Just put a bid in on a house in Benson, hopefully going to move there next month!

Brad wrote:

Linkin5 wrote:Just put a bid in on a house in Benson, hopefully going to move there next month!

Awesome!  Congratulations!

Linkin5 wrote:

Brad wrote:

Linkin5 wrote:Just put a bid in on a house in Benson, hopefully going to move there next month!

Awesome!  Congratulations!

Thanks!  Officially just got it, I have spent way too long in Ralston!

Seth wrote:

Linkin5 wrote:

Brad wrote:

Linkin5 wrote:Just put a bid in on a house in Benson, hopefully going to move there next month!

Awesome!  Congratulations!

Thanks!  Officially just got it, I have spent way too long in Ralston!

Congrats!  That is definitely a happening neighborhood lately.

Linkin5 wrote:

Brad wrote:

Linkin5 wrote:Just put a bid in on a house in Benson, hopefully going to move there next month!

Awesome!  Congratulations!

Thanks!  Officially just got it, I have spent way too long in Ralston!

iamjacobm wrote:I keep forgetting that I have a smart phone now and could of snapped a photo, but the 1912 project has big windows like the ones at Krug next door installed and the wedge is completely off with brick exposed.  It looks light years better.

Coyote wrote:Has anyone been to the Sweatshop Gallery on 62nd. They are supposed to be an Avant-Garde artistic collaboration, and I see they will be having the band Perfect Pussy there next month?

iamjacobm wrote:

iamjacobm wrote:And this building used to be all white.  It looks nice since they took the paint off, but that awning needs to be fixed in the worst way.

Coyote wrote:Yeah, but I have to give it up to my father; when he built our house in '67, he carpeted all of our kids floors. When the last one left, he pulled up the carpeting, and there were perfect oak floors...

iamjacobm wrote:And this building used to be all white.  It looks nice since they took the paint off, but that awning needs to be fixed in the worst way.

Coyote wrote:

iamjacobm wrote:And this building used to be all white.  It looks nice since they took the paint off, but that awning needs to be fixed in the worst way.

Ate across the street from this yesterday (Benson Star Deli). It looks like they still need to clean the area behind the awning before they put it back up.

For her, more parking means growth. Customers will buy more of an expanded selection of what Jane's Health Market wants to offer, but can't because current store traffic doesn't support offering those products, some perishable.

"I just think that our only big setback is parking, really, truly,” she said.

"It is not a driving neighborhood. It is not a parking neighborhood. It is a walking neighborhood, which is why we need the wider sidewalks,” said John Larkin, Benson business owner.

The priorities look different on Larkin's side of Maple Street, where he's busy growing -- moving Beercade and opening Saint Andrews. He said the improvement plan is not just about parking.

"We may lose a couple of spots on Maple street to add these pedestrian bump outs, which will slow traffic, increase safety and make it more walkable. Those few parking spots aren't going to make a dent in anyone's business,” Larkin said.

“At this point, there are a lot of ideas on the table and a lot of things being considered. The goal is to accommodate everyone in the neighborhood,” said Sarah Johnson, of Omaha Bicycle Company.

Like Larkin, Johnson is involved in the planning and said there's time for a solution for Jane’s.

"Maybe widening sidewalks on one side and adding parking on the other so that everybody's happy, because, again, Jane's can't leave,” Johnson said.

Garrett wrote:So... Parking garage anyone?

iamjacobm wrote:Apparently the owners of Jane's have put their space on the market.  Saying they will lease it out to someone else if parking doesn't change.  Seems like the easiest solution would be to take out the mini 16th street concept on the side of their building and add a handful more parallel spaces.



I think this would be a band-aid solution and wouldn't really make much of a dent in the overall scheme of the area.  Also the other side is arguing that Benson already has some of the smallest sidewalks in the city and that we need to preserve and enhance them for an area that is much more inclined to walk and bike than nearly any there else in the city.

Globochem wrote:

iamjacobm wrote:Apparently the owners of Jane's have put their space on the market.  Saying they will lease it out to someone else if parking doesn't change.  Seems like the easiest solution would be to take out the mini 16th street concept on the side of their building and add a handful more parallel spaces.



I think this would be a band-aid solution and wouldn't really make much of a dent in the overall scheme of the area.  Also the other side is arguing that Benson already has some of the smallest sidewalks in the city and that we need to preserve and enhance them for an area that is much more inclined to walk and bike than nearly any there else in the city.

I'm not sure why there's such a knee jerk reaction to cutting down every mature tree in every urban setting.  Dundee looks ghastly with its pitiful twigs poking comically out of ridiculously puny rock gardens.  Now 16th street will uproot the only decent decision the city made 35 years ago when annihilating what remained of the coolest urban retail space in the city by chopping down a gorgeous tree canopy.  For parking.  Ah yes, the holy car has no need for shade.  Perhaps if people parked a block or two away they could walk the sidewalk UNDER the SHADE of mature landscape trees.

iamjacobm wrote:Apparently the owners of Jane's have put their space on the market.  Saying they will lease it out to someone else if parking doesn't change.  Seems like the easiest solution would be to take out the mini 16th street concept on the side of their building and add a handful more parallel spaces.



I think this would be a band-aid solution and wouldn't really make much of a dent in the overall scheme of the area.  Also the other side is arguing that Benson already has some of the smallest sidewalks in the city and that we need to preserve and enhance them for an area that is much more inclined to walk and bike than nearly any there else in the city.