Official: North Downtown Discussion

Downtown, Midtown, and all parts east of 72nd.

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nebraska
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Re: Official: North Downtown Discussion

Post by nebraska »

Of course, I'd be in favor of keeping the current bridge if we could address it correctly. And by correct, I mean addressing the needs of pedestrians traveling between DT and N.DT.

For example, click the link below to see how Chinatown has grown under the Manhattan Bridge in NYC.

https://www.google.com/maps/@40.7137588 ... 312!8i6656

Or this example in Flushing, NYC, where the main road goes under a railroad bridge.

https://www.google.com/maps/@40.7585577 ... 312!8i6656
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Re: Official: North Downtown Discussion

Post by Omaha_corn_burner »

Great examples. I'm wondering, is there anything in our city laws or building codes that prevent a permanent structure from being built under the interstate?
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Re: Official: North Downtown Discussion

Post by nebugeater »

TitosBuritoBarn wrote:Were none of you taught how to cross a street when you were kids? If at a traffic light, wait for the walk signal, otherwise look both ways and wait for traffic to clear.

Because it would replace I-480, it's not like there would be any traffic anyway.
never taught to understand a little humor? :D
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Re: Official: North Downtown Discussion

Post by BRoss »

Omaha_corn_burner wrote:Great examples. I'm wondering, is there anything in our city laws or building codes that prevent a permanent structure from being built under the interstate?
I'm guessing NDOR is the main stopping factor. They probably like having easy access for maintenance. But it would be awesome if it was done. Then those bridges wouldn't be as much of a barrier. I like this idea better than making a ground level boulevard.
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Re: Official: North Downtown Discussion

Post by Omaha_corn_burner »

How about hanging some nets off the bridges and opening up batting cages or a quad copter park where kids can fly their quad copters outside, but inside of a giant netted area.
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Re: Official: North Downtown Discussion

Post by TitosBuritoBarn »

nebugeater wrote:
TitosBuritoBarn wrote:Were none of you taught how to cross a street when you were kids? If at a traffic light, wait for the walk signal, otherwise look both ways and wait for traffic to clear.

Because it would replace I-480, it's not like there would be any traffic anyway.
never taught to understand a little humor? :D
You and your ha-ha's!
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Re: Official: North Downtown Discussion

Post by MadMartin8 »

TitosBuritoBarn wrote:Were none of you taught how to cross a street when you were kids? If at a traffic light, wait for the walk signal, otherwise look both ways and wait for traffic to clear.
Again, this is Omaha. You take your life into your own hands each time you cross the street, or even walk next to one... regardless of signals, lights, barricades, etc. :shock:
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TitosBuritoBarn
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Re: Official: North Downtown Discussion

Post by TitosBuritoBarn »

MadMartin8 wrote:
TitosBuritoBarn wrote:Were none of you taught how to cross a street when you were kids? If at a traffic light, wait for the walk signal, otherwise look both ways and wait for traffic to clear.
Again, this is Omaha. You take your life into your own hands each time you cross the street, or even walk next to one... regardless of signals, lights, barricades, etc. :shock:
I mean, in my head, it'd be about the same as any other downtown street. I don't necessarily envision that what traffic does use that part of I-480 would ALL convert to using the boulevard instead. Whenever you hear a news story about a construction project on a freeway in a major city that's supposed to lead to "carmageddon," it's often followed by another story after construction has completed reporting that "carmageddon" was less severe than expected. That's because with a city grid system, you have options. In Omaha for example, to get to the Missouri River bridge from somewhere on the west side of downtown, you could take Cuming or Leavenworth or Douglas or Farnam or a number of others. So when a highway closes for construction or otherwise, some motorists will detour on street A, some will detour on street B, some will detour on street C - the traffic gets dispersed fairly evenly.
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Re: Official: North Downtown Discussion

Post by Busguy2010 »

If we would tear down I-480, we shouldn't lay a ground level street right where it stood. Instead, we should level it, re-establish the street grid around it, and build buildings where it stood. Keep an interstate entrance and exit at Dodge/Douglas, and one by the I-480 and US 75 interchange for Cass and Chicago. Make Cass street the main street that runs the entirety of North Downtown.
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Re: Official: North Downtown Discussion

Post by bones »

Busguy2010 wrote:If we would tear down I-480, we shouldn't lay a ground level street right where it stood. Instead, we should level it, re-establish the street grid around it, and build buildings where it stood. Keep an interstate entrance and exit at Dodge/Douglas, and one by the I-480 and US 75 interchange for Cass and Chicago. Make Cass street the main street that runs the entirety of North Downtown.
I realize that tearing down I-480 is a pipe dream, but I think that doing so would be one of the best things for downtown development. eliminate the barrier between North Downtown and the rest of downtown, open up acres of real estate in the downtown area, and reestablish the grid system. If they were to do this, I would love for them to make Capitol Ave. a destination street. Extend it all the way East to the river. Make it boulevard that goes all the way up to Central high school.
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Re: Official: North Downtown Discussion

Post by bones »

Random question/thought that occurred to me while down at the CWS these last couple days... what on earth is with the building at 13th and Mike Fahey? The mural is nice and all, but as far as I have been able to discern, its just a giant warehouse... right in the heart of the recent North Downtown revitalization. Maybe I am overestimating the impact of the presence of TDAmeritrade and C'link, but at least to me, that real estate (being right between CU and the MECA facilities) would be worth some considerable money. Would think that it would be prime for some development, no?
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Re: Official: North Downtown Discussion

Post by GetUrban »

bones wrote:Random question/thought that occurred to me while down at the CWS these last couple days... what on earth is with the building at 13th and Mike Fahey? The mural is nice and all, but as far as I have been able to discern, its just a giant warehouse... right in the heart of the recent North Downtown revitalization. Maybe I am overestimating the impact of the presence of TDAmeritrade and C'link, but at least to me, that real estate (being right between CU and the MECA facilities) would be worth some considerable money. Would think that it would be prime for some development, no?
It is the NRG Energy plant building. It provides chilled water, steam, and hot water to several downtown Omaha buildings. All of those buildings would have to find another source for their heating and cooling systems if they had to shut it down. Typically, buildings have their own chillers and boilers, but the concentrated location downtown allows many buildings to utilize a much larger energy plant for increased efficiency and lower cost than running their own equipment.
Image

http://www.nrg.com/business/large-busin ... cts/omaha/

I agree it is a prime location now that the area is filling in. Maybe they'll build another plant somewhere else someday. But, having that plant there should make it less costly to build a building in the area, if you can tap into the NRG source and not have to buy your own chillers and boilers.
He said "They are some big, ugly red brick buildings"
...and then they were gone.
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Re: Official: North Downtown Discussion

Post by bones »

GetUrban wrote:
bones wrote:Random question/thought that occurred to me while down at the CWS these last couple days... what on earth is with the building at 13th and Mike Fahey? The mural is nice and all, but as far as I have been able to discern, its just a giant warehouse... right in the heart of the recent North Downtown revitalization. Maybe I am overestimating the impact of the presence of TDAmeritrade and C'link, but at least to me, that real estate (being right between CU and the MECA facilities) would be worth some considerable money. Would think that it would be prime for some development, no?
It is the NRG Energy plant building. It provides chilled water, steam, and hot water to several downtown Omaha buildings. All of those buildings would have to find another source for their heating and cooling systems if they had to shut it down. Typically, buildings have their own chillers and boilers, but the concentrated location downtown allows many building to utilized a much larger energy plant for increased efficiency and lower cost than running their own equipment.
Image

http://www.nrg.com/business/large-busin ... cts/omaha/

I agree it is a prime location now that the area is filling in. Maybe they'll build another plant somewhere else someday. But, having that plant there should make it less costly to build a building in the area, if you can tap into the NRG source and not have to buy your own chillers and boilers.
Well, I guess that is a little more challenging than moving a warehouse haha. Google was telling me it was Kardia Logistics (distribution center), which to me seemed quite ridiculous given the location. While I understand the need for such services, and I certainly can respect the efficiency of having a single center over each facility owning and operating their own, it is quite unfortunate it must take up so much space (and prime real estate). Not sure where you could even move such a facility in downtown omaha that would not seem like a wast of good space... maybe under 480 :lol:
Just being in North Downtown the last two weeks made me realize how much unfulfilled potential that area has.
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skinzfan23
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Re: Official: North Downtown Discussion

Post by skinzfan23 »

Thought I would post this picture from the World Herald here since it shows how nicely the area is filling in. It will be great to see lot B filled in too:

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Re: Official: North Downtown Discussion

Post by iamjacobm »

skinzfan23 wrote:Thought I would post this picture from the World Herald here since it shows how nicely the area is filling in. It will be great to see lot B filled in too:
Considering Lot B doesn't even fill up during the CWS...

Lot D usually has hundreds of empty stalls too.
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Re: Official: North Downtown Discussion

Post by nebraska »

iamjacobm wrote:Considering Lot B doesn't even fill up during the CWS...

Lot D usually has hundreds of empty stalls too.
Well, it doesn't fill up during an out of town event. Most of the people in the stadium pictured probably stayed in a DT hotel. But what about an in town event, like a Creighton game or a concert?
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Re: Official: North Downtown Discussion

Post by skinzfan23 »

I am pretty sure that most of the lots are full or nearly full for Creighton games. I think with the CWS being in the summer, a lot of people park near the Old Market and walk or take the shuttle to the games. With Creighton games, people aren't usually hanging around outside b/c it is so cold, so they park closely and walk in to the CLink.
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Re: Official: North Downtown Discussion

Post by iamjacobm »

nebraska wrote:
iamjacobm wrote:Considering Lot B doesn't even fill up during the CWS...

Lot D usually has hundreds of empty stalls too.
Well, it doesn't fill up during an out of town event. Most of the people in the stadium pictured probably stayed in a DT hotel. But what about an in town event, like a Creighton game or a concert?
I don't think that is true. Even with a strong showing this year most attendees are locals and I bet it isn't all that close either.

Even if that were the case a large amount of out of towners still drive in.

I know Lot D does not fill up for CU games either. There are garages that sit empty and plenty of opportunity for more creative parking solutions that unlock land that would be much better served developed rather than paved over for parking.

Lot D has some value I get that its out of the way and is getting a good tailgate rep for the series, but I just know I will hear bitching about parking when Lot B starts getting torn up and its going to make me want to pull my hair out.
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Re: Official: North Downtown Discussion

Post by buildomaha »

iamjacobm wrote:
nebraska wrote:
iamjacobm wrote:Considering Lot B doesn't even fill up during the CWS...

Lot D usually has hundreds of empty stalls too.
Well, it doesn't fill up during an out of town event. Most of the people in the stadium pictured probably stayed in a DT hotel. But what about an in town event, like a Creighton game or a concert?
I don't think that is true. Even with a strong showing this year most attendees are locals and I bet it isn't all that close either.

Even if that were the case a large amount of out of towners still drive in.

I know Lot D does not fill up for CU games either. There are garages that sit empty and plenty of opportunity for more creative parking solutions that unlock land that would be much better served developed rather than paved over for parking.

Lot D has some value I get that its out of the way and is getting a good tailgate rep for the series, but I just know I will hear bitching about parking when Lot B starts getting torn up and its going to make me want to pull my hair out.
If you take a moment to look at 3D apple maps of other larger cities' downtowns and then come back home and look at Omaha you'll realize how ridiculous it is that we have those gian lt surface parking lots in our downtown. It makes everything look and feel so empty compared to other cities.
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Re: Official: North Downtown Discussion

Post by skinzfan23 »

That isn't true about not having big parking lots in other cities:

Houston:
Image

Detroit:
Image

Dallas:
Image
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Re: Official: North Downtown Discussion

Post by MadMartin8 »

skinzfan23 wrote:That isn't true about not having big parking lots in other cities:

Houston:
Image

Detroit:
Image

Dallas:
Image
Minneapolis and I believe Denver have some large ones too.
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Re: Official: North Downtown Discussion

Post by TitosBuritoBarn »

Most large cities still have a lot of surface parking. Sometimes they're not located in the most obvious places. We still have a number of surface lots in Chicago.

That said, we should try to get rid of as many as we can. They're not a very efficient use of space
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Re: Official: North Downtown Discussion

Post by Omaha Cowboy »

skinzfan23 wrote:Thought I would post this picture from the World Herald here since it shows how nicely the area is filling in. It will be great to see lot B filled in too:

Image
I really liked that W-H pic.. I only wished it stretched a little more to the east to show the Capitol District and the Marriott Hotel developments...

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Re: Official: North Downtown Discussion

Post by Lillian Bean »

Blue Line Coffee closed a couple weeks ago.

http://www.omaha.com/go/blue-line-coffe ... 2f6c7.html
Thinking there's not a whole lot to say anymore now that people listen & she has to make sense.
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Re: Official: North Downtown Discussion

Post by TitosBuritoBarn »

Damn. That was one of my go-to places when I lived in Council Bluffs. Really I'm surprised it held on this long. There hasn't been enough traffic in North Downtown yet.
Last edited by TitosBuritoBarn on Tue Aug 01, 2017 7:15 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Official: North Downtown Discussion

Post by almighty_tuna »

TitosBuritoBarn wrote:darn. That was one of my go-to places
For sure! Whenever I was downtown I'd recommend that place, not only because they put out a great product (holy |expletive|, loved the lox and bagel) but they were the only local coffee place anywhere near NDT.
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Re: Official: North Downtown Discussion

Post by Omaha Cowboy »

almighty_tuna wrote:
TitosBuritoBarn wrote:darn. That was one of my go-to places
For sure! Whenever I was downtown I'd recommend that place, not only because they put out a great product (holy |expletive|, loved the lox and bagel) but they were the only local coffee place anywhere near NDT.
I'm thankful the Blue Line Coffee is still open and seemingly healthy in Dundee..

I, too, am surprised the North Downtown location held on for as long as it did. The times I frequented that coffee shop, there was little, if any patronage..

For a local, independent coffee shop, Blue Line (along with Aroma's) is at the top of my list- high quality coffee drinks/product at a pretty reasonable price...

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Re: Official: North Downtown Discussion

Post by justnick »

Lillian Bean wrote:Blue Line Coffee closed a couple weeks ago.

http://www.omaha.com/go/blue-line-coffe ... 2f6c7.html
One of the guys from Beansmith is moving a new coffee shop (not beansmith) into this space. Supposedly by end of April.
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Re: Official: North Downtown Discussion

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Re: Official: North Downtown Discussion

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Re: Official: North Downtown Discussion

Post by iamjacobm »

Small warehouse on 17th and Cuming was knocked down today.
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Re: Official: North Downtown Discussion

Post by skinzfan23 »

iamjacobm wrote:Small warehouse on 17th and Cuming was knocked down today.
Was that on the southeast of the intersection?
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Re: Official: North Downtown Discussion

Post by iamjacobm »

Yes it was this building owned by Creighton.

Image

Assessor says it was built in 1910, but it looks like it had been chopped to pieces a lot already.
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Re: Official: North Downtown Discussion

Post by Otown88 »

justnick wrote: Fri Feb 16, 2018 12:25 pm
Lillian Bean wrote:Blue Line Coffee closed a couple weeks ago.

http://www.omaha.com/go/blue-line-coffe ... 2f6c7.html
One of the guys from Beansmith is moving a new coffee shop (not beansmith) into this space. Supposedly by end of April.
Looks like this one will be called Rally Coffee and there planning on having it open by June
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Re: Official: North Downtown Discussion

Post by skinzfan23 »

This is a nice shot from WOWT's citycam showing the Alvine building and Capitol Place apts as well as the development in CB near River's Edge.

Image
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Re: Official: North Downtown Discussion

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The Great Wall of Hilton in all of her glory.
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Re: Official: North Downtown Discussion

Post by TitosBuritoBarn »

Linkin5 wrote: Mon May 21, 2018 3:33 pm The Great Wall of Hilton in all of her glory.
It wouldn't look so bad if they would develop the grass close to 12th St. into retail or something.
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Re: Official: North Downtown Discussion

Post by Greg S »

Just saw on their Facebook page that the Dugout across from TD Ameritrade Park is closing. They have started their going out of business sale.


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Re: Official: North Downtown Discussion

Post by skinzfan23 »

Yeah, that is sad to see about the Dugout. I am sure with no CWS this year, that may have been the final nail in the coffin. I always liked buying shirts there. They would have some great deals compared to a lot of the other tents south of the stadium. And I was also able to get a deal on Creighton gear a lot of times too.
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