Ekard Court (617 S. 31st)

Post by **Coyote** » Thu May 29, 2014 11:21 pm

It looks like those two buildings north of St. Mary's along 31st St. will be demolished to make way for Ekard Court, a four story 36 unit apartment building (28 one bedroom, 8 two bedrooms), asking for $500k in TIF, for this $4m project.

iamjacobm · Post by **iamjacobm** » Sun Jun 01, 2014 6:20 pm

Coyote wrote:It looks like those two buildings north of St. Mary's along 31st St. will be demolished to make way for Ekard Court, a four story 36 unit apartment building (28 one bedroom, 8 two bedrooms), asking for $500k in TIF, for this $4m project.

Interesting that both projects are requesting TIF at the same time. Could be a lot of action here pretty soon!

Post by **Coyote** » Sun Jun 01, 2014 7:34 pm

iamjacobm wrote:
Coyote wrote:It looks like those two buildings north of St. Mary's along 31st St. will be demolished to make way for Ekard Court, a four story 36 unit apartment building (28 one bedroom, 8 two bedrooms), asking for $500k in TIF, for this $4m project.
Interesting that both projects are requesting TIF at the same time. Could be a lot of action here pretty soon!

Those, and the four new buildings just south of there that Reimer is renovating...

Garrett · Post by **Garrett** » Mon Jun 02, 2014 12:32 am

Coyote wrote:It looks like those two buildings north of St. Mary's along 31st St. will be demolished to make way for Ekard Court, a four story 36 unit apartment building (28 one bedroom, 8 two bedrooms), asking for $500k in TIF, for this $4m project.

Which buildings are these? Also, different thread maybe?

MDWLAW13 · Post by **MDWLAW13** » Thu Jun 12, 2014 8:32 am

Coyote wrote:It looks like those two buildings north of St. Mary's along 31st St. will be demolished to make way for Ekard Court, a four story 36 unit apartment building (28 one bedroom, 8 two bedrooms), asking for $500k in TIF, for this $4m project.

Those buildings are staying and are being renovated by the same group. They are also going to be building some modern townhouses in the area on a lot where a single family house was recently torn down. I was sitting in the planning meeting when the plans were being discussed.

iamjacobm · Post by **iamjacobm** » Sun Jun 15, 2014 3:15 pm

MDWLAW13 wrote:
Coyote wrote:It looks like those two buildings north of St. Mary's along 31st St. will be demolished to make way for Ekard Court, a four story 36 unit apartment building (28 one bedroom, 8 two bedrooms), asking for $500k in TIF, for this $4m project.
Those buildings are staying and are being renovated by the same group. They are also going to be building some modern townhouses in the area on a lot where a single family house was recently torn down. I was sitting in the planning meeting when the plans were being discussed.

So where would the new construction go? Where that laundry shop is?

MDWLAW13 · Post by **MDWLAW13** » Mon Jun 16, 2014 8:26 am

The plan that was discussed is building a triangle building with apartments and retail on the land between leavenworth and st. marys. The buildings that will be renovated are existing apartment buildings north of st marys along 31st street.

iamjacobm · Post by **iamjacobm** » Mon Jun 16, 2014 5:29 pm

MDWLAW13 wrote:The plan that was discussed is building a triangle building with apartments and retail on the land between leavenworth and st. marys. The buildings that will be renovated are existing apartment buildings north of st marys along 31st street.

My fault I meant the Ekard Court project Coyote mentioned, are the existing buildings being renovated going to be Ekard Court or is there another 4 story apartment building going up somewhere in the area?

iamjacobm · Post by **iamjacobm** » Wed Jul 09, 2014 8:28 am

http://www.omaha.com/money/more-apartme ... 235e6.html

A separate $3.86 million redevelopment plan for 617 S. 31st St. would demolish a pair of existing apartment structures and replace them with a new four-story structure containing 36 market-rate units.

Dubbed Ekard Court (that’s Drake spelled backward), the project site is across from Jackson Elementary School and currently occupied by two buildings with 27 units. The buildings were constructed around 1910 by Drake Realty and Construction.

The city has issued code violation notices there, and the owners determined that rehabilitation would not be cost-effective.

Seth · Post by **Seth** » Wed Jul 09, 2014 12:34 pm

Even as a resident of this neighborhood, I continue to be impressed with the pace of redevelopment. It's a little sad to see these old buildings go, but they are in really rough shape. I'm interested to see what the new structure will look like.

iamjacobm · Post by **iamjacobm** » Fri Nov 28, 2014 10:44 am

Those buildings are rubble now.

daveoma · Post by **daveoma** » Wed Dec 03, 2014 12:28 am

Does anyone know if the building is going to be an actual triangle or a trapezoid? If it's a triangle will the developer be trading out 31st street between St. Mary's and Leavenworth?

Also it's my understanding that the Park Avenue area is one of the most densely populated areas in the state of Nebraska. What do you all think about the viability of some kind of mass transit through this area?

Seth · Post by **Seth** » Wed Dec 03, 2014 12:54 pm

iamjacobm wrote:Those buildings are rubble now.

Wow, that was fast! I haven't been past there since before Thanksgiving, but everything was still standing then.

Seth · Post by **Seth** » Wed Dec 03, 2014 12:57 pm

daveoma wrote:Does anyone know if the building is going to be an actual triangle or a trapezoid? If it's a triangle will the developer be trading out 31st street between St. Mary's and Leavenworth?

The Park Ave redevelopment plan that was commissioned by Destination Midtown from a few years back included a proposal for re-structuring the St. Mary's/Leavenworth intersection, but I'm not aware of anything actually in the books for it. It really would be nice, because between people who don't know what they're doing, and the game of chicken that is turning left off of 31st Ave, that's one dangerous intersection. Unless the city get's behind something, I don't see how a developer could justify the effort or expense to push for changes, though.

iamjacobm · Post by **iamjacobm** » Wed Dec 03, 2014 2:47 pm

Just to make sure we are on the same page I thought this thread was about the smaller project along 31st. Not the large one on Leavenworth.

skinzfan23 · Post by **skinzfan23** » Wed Dec 03, 2014 3:09 pm

Overall, I really love the layout of the triangle. Not saying I like bad intersections, but I wish Omaha had a few more streets like this. The city is basically just a big north, south, east, west grid. I lived in Dubuque, IA and I love their boulevards and diagonal streets. Even their 5-way intersections were interesting.
https://maps.google.com/maps?q=Dubuque, ... a&t=h&z=19

Post by **BRoss** » Wed Dec 03, 2014 3:16 pm

I personally really like unique street/intersection configurations. I know traffic flow and safety typically are problems, but it really adds character to the city.

skinzfan23 · Post by **skinzfan23** » Wed Dec 03, 2014 3:17 pm

HR Paperstacks wrote:I personally really like unique street/intersection configurations. I know traffic flow and safety typically are problems, but it really adds character to the city.

Exactly what I think.

Garrett · Post by **Garrett** » Wed Dec 03, 2014 5:51 pm

I'd say Chicago is the king of 6-way intersections

Seth · Post by **Seth** » Wed Dec 10, 2014 11:50 am

Seth wrote:
iamjacobm wrote:Those buildings are rubble now.
Wow, that was fast! I haven't been past there since before Thanksgiving, but everything was still standing then.

I went past the other night, and it is in fact the buildings at 617 S. 31st St that have been demolished. Everything in the triangle area is still up and open.

These are the buildings that were demolished:
http://douglascone.wgxtreme.com/java/wgx_douglasne/static/accountinfo.jsp?accountno=R2103560000

Post by **Coyote** » Sat Dec 27, 2014 7:47 pm

iamjacobm · Post by **iamjacobm** » Sun Dec 28, 2014 7:03 pm

Coyote did you notice that building at the left edge of the photo getting work done?

Post by **Coyote** » Sun Dec 28, 2014 8:28 pm

iamjacobm wrote:Coyote did you notice that building at the left edge of the photo getting work done?

Not really, I got there Saturday afternoon around three... I didn't see any dumpsters that I was aware of at least...

iamjacobm · Post by **iamjacobm** » Tue May 12, 2015 7:56 pm

TitosBuritoBarn · Post by **TitosBuritoBarn** » Wed May 13, 2015 10:23 am

I'm getting the impression that many developers are completely misunderstanding what's driving the urban renaissance. It's not suburban |expletive| without large yards.

skinzfan23 · Post by **skinzfan23** » Wed May 13, 2015 11:12 am

TitosBuritoBarn wrote:I'm getting the impression that many developers are completely misunderstanding what's driving the urban renaissance. It's not suburban |expletive| without large yards.

Yeah, I feel the same way. Obviously they are trying to keep their expenses down, but some of the new "infill" apartments are lackluster. On the bright side, it is adding to the downtown population and hopefully with that and time more retail comes.

Linkin5 · Post by **Linkin5** » Wed May 13, 2015 11:30 am

Who is the developer here? It looks like the same awful company that tore down the neighborhood on Leavenworth for an apartment complex.

RNcyanide · Post by **RNcyanide** » Wed May 13, 2015 11:43 am

If no one had told me different, I would have honestly taken this for a cheap motel. It kind of reminds me of the Value Place or whatever it's called near I80 and Harrison Street. The hotels around Village Point have more urban appeal than this place does.

Midwestern · Post by **Midwestern** » Wed May 13, 2015 2:22 pm

Yikes, and I thought the "Ones on 35th" design was bad, but this about takes the cake. Yuck.

MTO · Post by **MTO** » Wed May 13, 2015 3:13 pm

mr. omaha · Post by **mr. omaha** » Wed May 13, 2015 3:14 pm

TRB must stand for Terribly Rendered Buildings.

Imagine how bad this cheapie is going to look in 10 years. Just awful. Shame on you TRB. This Really Blows.

iamjacobm · Post by **iamjacobm** » Wed May 13, 2015 3:50 pm

It fronts the street, puts the parking behind and is located in an area with a number of single family homes across from a school. This is on 31st street not 16th...

Looks pretty damn similar to 8th St apartments except with way more brick than vinyl siding.

mr. omaha · Post by **mr. omaha** » Wed May 13, 2015 4:24 pm

8th St. has balconies though, and that makes a huge difference. Breaks up the facade and adds depth.

daveoma · Post by **daveoma** » Wed May 13, 2015 8:41 pm

I agree I wish there was a more modern look in the design of the buildings. This is the project between St Mary's and Jackson, not the larger one a block south between St Mary's and Leavenworth...right?

Perhaps there should be more pressure from the public on the city council (especially councilman Jerram since this is his district) about the design of these products. To Jacob's point this is a great project for the area but I think distinctive architecture reflects well on the city. When I look at this design I see a very wide 3 storey house.

Seth · Post by **Seth** » Thu May 14, 2015 12:57 pm

RNcyanide wrote:If no one had told me different, I would have honestly taken this for a cheap motel. It kind of reminds me of the Value Place or whatever it's called near I80 and Harrison Street. The hotels around Village Point have more urban appeal than this place does.

I'd have to agree with you:

skinzfan23 · Post by **skinzfan23** » Thu May 14, 2015 1:21 pm

Seth wrote:
RNcyanide wrote:If no one had told me different, I would have honestly taken this for a cheap motel. It kind of reminds me of the Value Place or whatever it's called near I80 and Harrison Street. The hotels around Village Point have more urban appeal than this place does.
I'd have to agree with you:

Haha, nice. I was going to post the same picture of the Value Place hotel.

iamjacobm · Post by **iamjacobm** » Sun Jul 12, 2015 5:38 pm

This one looks like it could go vertical any day now.

iamjacobm · Post by **iamjacobm** » Sun Sep 06, 2015 4:52 pm

Linkin5 wrote:Who is the developer here? It looks like the same awful company that tore down the neighborhood on Leavenworth for an apartment complex.

The developer is Harvest Development. They have done a lot of rehab work in the area and their offices are right on Park Ave.

iamjacobm · Post by **iamjacobm** » Thu Sep 17, 2015 1:02 pm

Framing finally started here.

Seth · Post by **Seth** » Thu Sep 17, 2015 1:33 pm

iamjacobm wrote:
Linkin5 wrote:Who is the developer here? It looks like the same awful company that tore down the neighborhood on Leavenworth for an apartment complex.
The developer is Harvest Development. They have done a lot of rehab work in the area and their offices are right on Park Ave.

If it's Harvest, I'm more optimistic about what the final product will look like. They've been doing quite a few rehabs pretty much along the same style as Urban Village, and they look really good. They're just finishing up one at the corner of 33rd and Turner Blvd, and it looks fantastic. It's a relatively boring postwar brick apartment building, but the dark windows, cleaned brick, and landscaping make it look better than it probably did new.