Don't get your hopes up because this won't happen.Busguy2010 wrote: Hopefully a good chunk of their employees will use transit.
HDR Aksarben Office
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Re: HDR Aksarben Office
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Re: HDR Aksarben Office
Hey "starbucks". I hope this means you'll spend a lot of time with us here!starbucks wrote:As a current HDR employee, I'm absolutely amazed at all the strong opinions expressed on this forum about where a single private company should setup shop. I'd like to share a few of my thoughts on the subject as someone who's most directly affected by the decision.
Was that Tennessee you worked in then?
Anyway, for most of us here HDR's new office is a puzzle piece for our urban planning dreams and not the deeper star of the conversation. I think many of your notes actually explained this very well. Urban sprawl is bad, it's inefficient for infrastructure spending, bad for the environment, makes us rely on cars where mass transportation would be a better option.
Me personally, I would like to see the Downtown option for a few reasons:
- Infill
Chance of a light rail (Mass transportation, relieve some traffic!)
Increase demand for not commuting from BFE west Omaha
A little infill immediately across the river
I'm in the group that was Generation Y before we got lumped into millennials, and the midwest isn't really into the "living urban" as much as a lot of the country, but we are still much more into it than the previous generation too. That said, there will always be outliers on any sampling.
In short (and to keep from writing a bona fide novel): AV is a good choice, a great consolation prize IMO. Maybe for HDR and HDR's employees on average the best possible choice. But for many of us on the forum, it isn't the best thing HDR could have done for Omaha over the next 20 years (not too far off, just not optimal) and that's the source of a lot of the conversation. Enthusiasts always want everything perfect. I'll compare it to one of my many other hobbies, cars. There is always someone asking Honda for example to build a 500hp, midengine RWD sportscar for the price of a Civic or Accord. It isn't exactly impossible, but it isn't anywhere near realistic either. We just always want something a little better.
Re: HDR Aksarben Office
I guess other stewards of the community will have to step up and represent Omaha in the downtown area when people come in from Eppley. Something Hal Faub fought for has become forgotten. Should of just kept the Asarco in operation. At least they wanted to be downtown.
Re: HDR Aksarben Office
Lord, all the traffic chicken littles are going to have AKV and PW totally gumming up the neighborhood to 'fix' it.
I think the location is fine, not as good as DT. Please oh please lets not freak out about a little congestion at the peak hour and pave over all the on street parking for lanes so we can empty the place out in 5 minutes like DT.
I think the location is fine, not as good as DT. Please oh please lets not freak out about a little congestion at the peak hour and pave over all the on street parking for lanes so we can empty the place out in 5 minutes like DT.
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Re: HDR Aksarben Office
Hey I got a few good friends who are bike freaks so I know how these guys can be but come on. There aint no way its safer to ride your bike to work everyday then drive your car. And before you start calling me a wussy just remember that you couldn't pay me enough to ride my bike with a helmet on!
Re: HDR Aksarben Office
I have to applaud HDR's choice to go with a higher-density "Urban" configuration for their design, one that fronts the streets, is pedestrian-friendly, places the parking behind the main buildings, and provides room for retail at ground level. This design seems to do a better job providing those things than their previous design for the downtown location. Why they couldn't have made that work downtown, we'll never know.
Glad to see HDR also appears to have adopted good urban design principles already espoused by many other architecture firms, locally, nationwide and internationally.
Glad to see HDR also appears to have adopted good urban design principles already espoused by many other architecture firms, locally, nationwide and internationally.
He said "They are some big, ugly red brick buildings"
...and then they were gone.
...and then they were gone.
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Re: HDR Aksarben Office
I think we need to come to terms with the fact that cities contain many, many people and those people are going to have similar commute patterns to one another. Traffic in some form will always be an issue.
BTW: According to Google Maps, my commute time here in Chicago out of the City into the suburbs is roughly double what one in Omaha of a comparable distance into the City would be.
BTW: According to Google Maps, my commute time here in Chicago out of the City into the suburbs is roughly double what one in Omaha of a comparable distance into the City would be.
"Video game violence is not a new problem. Who could forget in the wake of SimCity how children everywhere took up urban planning." - Stephen Colbert
- loess hill lusting
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Re: HDR Aksarben Office
Biggest loss with relocating from Indian Hills to Aksarben Village is that ≈1,000 jobs are moving off the Dodge Street BRT route. Every major Omaha office development really should be along the line from here on out.
But like others have stated here, the silver lining is hopefully more intensity at AV only helps justify a second BRT line between there and the UNMC area (where I'd imagine it'd either interline with the Dodge line, run parallel on Cuming or Leavenworth, or run crosstown to Benson or the North O transit center).
Personally, I was really holding out hope for the Turner Park North LLC parcels on the 2900/3000 block of Farnam. In my opinion, Turner Park North had better civic presence, better proximity to shops and restaurants, better traffic circulation, and better Interstate access than the downtown site. All the express buses either stop within walking distance or could have with nominal service impacts. And since HDR keeps touting access to the Keystone, this site kinda had that too with the new Turner Blvd and South Omaha trails.
The paragraphs above are exactly why I wish Omaha would stop awarding urban design and master planning contracts to HDR; they aren't good at urban design. However, the architecture and site design looks a little better now, but I'd attribute that to Noddle, not to HDR.
But like others have stated here, the silver lining is hopefully more intensity at AV only helps justify a second BRT line between there and the UNMC area (where I'd imagine it'd either interline with the Dodge line, run parallel on Cuming or Leavenworth, or run crosstown to Benson or the North O transit center).
Personally, I was really holding out hope for the Turner Park North LLC parcels on the 2900/3000 block of Farnam. In my opinion, Turner Park North had better civic presence, better proximity to shops and restaurants, better traffic circulation, and better Interstate access than the downtown site. All the express buses either stop within walking distance or could have with nominal service impacts. And since HDR keeps touting access to the Keystone, this site kinda had that too with the new Turner Blvd and South Omaha trails.
The paragraphs above are exactly why I wish Omaha would stop awarding urban design and master planning contracts to HDR; they aren't good at urban design. However, the architecture and site design looks a little better now, but I'd attribute that to Noddle, not to HDR.
Re: HDR Aksarben Office
With respect to the Indian Hills area, don't be surprised to see some significant activity for that area sometime soon.
Re: HDR Aksarben Office
As a young professional new to Omaha, HDR's decision is extremely disappointing. It cannot be overstated that cities thrive and grow when they build a vibrant downtown. HDR itself recognized this fact when it created Omaha's downtown master plan, stating: "Downtown Omaha should be the dominant Economic Engine for the metro region." I for one have called OPA and voiced my disapproval of their handling of the situation. I encourage all of you with similar passion for Omaha's downtown to do likewise.
Last edited by tpaine on Mon Mar 27, 2017 11:57 am, edited 1 time in total.
- PotatoeEatsFish
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Re: HDR Aksarben Office
It looks like |expletive|.
Just being honest.
You'd think with it being an architectural firm they'd actually care about their headquarters.
Just being honest.
You'd think with it being an architectural firm they'd actually care about their headquarters.
#SaveTheUglyGrainSilos2024
Re: HDR Aksarben Office
Here's a question for the educated or savvy, is distributed density or concentrated density better?
15-17, 26, 32
Re: HDR Aksarben Office
Let me preface this by saying cities do not exist in the realms of theory, and building them with theory in mind vs people and practice in mind is incredibly unhealthy. However, how you approach the answer to this reflects your belief in theory. Distributed density is far better for a city, in my opinion for a city like Omaha as it exists today. It offer the best access to urban areas across the city. I don't think Downtown needs to be the center of everything. That is an unhealthy model to aspire to. Should it still be the premiere place to be? Certainly. But there should also be other good urban spaces outside of it. Aksarben, Midtown, Benson, Blackstone, and even Millard and Elkhorn should be strong urban spaces if you want the entire city to be transit friendly and sustainable, and not just one part.MTO wrote:Here's a question for the educated or savvy, is distributed density or concentrated density better?
OMA-->CHI-->NYC
Re: HDR Aksarben Office
16th Street Revitalization is one of the best designs in the city (and will be even more amazing when it's finished - you have no idea what you're talking about.loess hill lusting wrote:The paragraphs above are exactly why I wish Omaha would stop awarding urban design and master planning contracts to HDR; they aren't good at urban design.
Re: HDR Aksarben Office
As people have said a hundred times - you think of them as solely an architectural firm - you think they are going to have a grandiose building. True. If you think of most of their clients being government and other cost-conscious entities, then you would understand why they need to dial back the design.PotatoeEatsFish wrote:It looks like |expletive|.
Just being honest.
You'd think with it being an architectural firm they'd actually care about their headquarters.
- loess hill lusting
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Re: HDR Aksarben Office
Sorry to have offended. Sure, 16th is a fine design, but I don't think fairly straightforward and formulaic sidewalk + planting/furnishing zone + parking w/ bulbouts rises to the level that would refute my "not good" claim. It's exceptionally clean and clear engineering/roadway design, but there isn't much to it in terms of urban design/program/image. I was mostly talking about contracts with broader scopes and/or at greater scales though.guest2017 wrote:16th Street Revitalization is one of the best designs in the city (and will be even more amazing when it's finished - you have no idea what you're talking about.loess hill lusting wrote:The paragraphs above are exactly why I wish Omaha would stop awarding urban design and master planning contracts to HDR; they aren't good at urban design.
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Re: HDR Aksarben Office
By "good chunk" I optimistically mean 5%.guest2017 wrote:Don't get your hopes up because this won't happen.Busguy2010 wrote: Hopefully a good chunk of their employees will use transit.
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Re: HDR Aksarben Office
I'm going to second this. It's not a bad design, but it's underwhelming. Sure there's now some parking to encourage activity, but the opportunity was there to make the street more multi-modal as it was intended to be (more or less) back in the day and they didn't really capitalize on it. Perhaps there were some budget constraints I'm not aware of, but some sort of bike infrastructure or attractive bus stops would have helped. Or, to be really innovative, they could have made the street into a woonerf. And it's almost completely without any fun little gimmicks (like the pagoda bus stop. why is the pagoda bus stop gone?!).loess hill lusting wrote:Sorry to have offended. Sure, 16th is a fine design, but I don't think fairly straightforward and formulaic sidewalk + planting/furnishing zone + parking w/ bulbouts rises to the level that would refute my "not good" claim. It's exceptionally clean and clear engineering/roadway design, but there isn't much to it in terms of urban design/program/image. I was mostly talking about contracts with broader scopes and/or at greater scales though.guest2017 wrote:16th Street Revitalization is one of the best designs in the city (and will be even more amazing when it's finished - you have no idea what you're talking about.loess hill lusting wrote:The paragraphs above are exactly why I wish Omaha would stop awarding urban design and master planning contracts to HDR; they aren't good at urban design.
"Video game violence is not a new problem. Who could forget in the wake of SimCity how children everywhere took up urban planning." - Stephen Colbert
Re: HDR Aksarben Office
That would have been perfect.TitosBuritoBarn wrote:Or, to be really innovative, they could have made the street into a woonerf.loess hill lusting wrote:Sorry to have offended. Sure, 16th is a fine design, but I don't think fairly straightforward and formulaic sidewalk + planting/furnishing zone + parking w/ bulbouts rises to the level that would refute my "not good" claim. It's exceptionally clean and clear engineering/roadway design, but there isn't much to it in terms of urban design/program/image. I was mostly talking about contracts with broader scopes and/or at greater scales though.guest2017 wrote:16th Street Revitalization is one of the best designs in the city (and will be even more amazing when it's finished - you have no idea what you're talking about.loess hill lusting wrote:The paragraphs above are exactly why I wish Omaha would stop awarding urban design and master planning contracts to HDR; they aren't good at urban design.
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Re: HDR Aksarben Office
Ultimately I think HDR will be great for the already-booming Aksarben Village area. For those who don't think traffic is an issue, though, consider the following:
- The major ingress/egress points for the area all have some sort of limitation (blue circles):
- 67th & Center: From eastbound Center, short left turn into the Village; From southbound 67th, short left turn lane out of the Village and busy right turn lane immediately next to curbside parallel parking.
- 72nd & Mercy: From westbound Mercy Rd., short single left turn lane onto southbound 72nd.
- 72nd & Pine: Combined straight/right turn lane from westbound Pine onto northbound 72nd is ALWAYS backed up.
- 67th & Pacific: Short left turn lane from northbound 67th onto westbound Pacific.
- The many T-intersections in the heart of Aksarben Village don't require cars to stop along 67th St., and have particularly bad sightlines due to angled parking, benches, etc. (red circles). They also have center turn lanes which seem to be more confusing than a 4-way stop to most Omaha drivers.
- The intersections at 67th & Mercy and 67th & Frances (the part that goes east from 67th) have 3-way stops (green circles) that often back up traffic, especially traffic coming into the Village from 67th & Center.
- Portions of Mercy Rd. or 67th St. are often blocked off for festivals and other events in the Village (blue slashes).
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Re: HDR Aksarben Office
I have to agree with SchuMatt... (But what does he know about auto traffic in AV ) Even if you know the streets of AV, it is hard to get out of during peak traffic. Take getting out of the Gordman's/Blue Cross parking garage to go SE. You hit Frances and 67th and you can't turn south. You come to the second Frances and 67th Stop Sign, you come to 67th & Mercy Stop Sign, you come to a short light at 67th and Center and hope there is no traffic coming north.
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Re: HDR Aksarben Office
Anyone who is minimizing the reality that traffic congestion at AK Village is a major issue during peak hours, has never experienced the glory of being a part of it with any consistency.. Right now, AK Village is a congested traffic mousetrap which will become much worse once HDR joins the party.. This is no chicken little proclamation, again- it's reality.. And a major issue which must get untangled, figured out and solved..
Look, I'm pleased as punch HDR is remaining in Omaha and building their corporate HQ's. I want to be clear about that..
But what is also clear, is that HDR's first choice to build their corporate HQ's was downtown Omaha.. And the reality that the plan fell through..and the city/HDR/OPAS couldn't place ego, agenda, greed and apathy (on the part of the mayors office) aside to make this work is an embarrassing/pathetic reflection all around..
HDR wanted a premier, highly visible corporate HQ's location. What they settled for locating in AK Village is 2nd fiddle.. And as I've stated before, in the long run, George Little may regret this decision..
What is telling, and not worthy of even posting a link here to read it, is the W-H generated probably the shortest editorial they have ever published in Saturday's (today's) edition entitled "HDR's Aksarben plan good news for Omaha". The editorial is one paragraph long. Let me repeat this- ONE PARAGRAPH LONG.. Lol.. Even the W-H can't muster up much more than a "Meh" reaction to HDR's decision..
Okay, I'm done beating the dead horse lol..
But still, all I'll probably ever muster up regarding this HQ move (most likely) will always be- MEH...
Ciao..LiO...Peace
Look, I'm pleased as punch HDR is remaining in Omaha and building their corporate HQ's. I want to be clear about that..
But what is also clear, is that HDR's first choice to build their corporate HQ's was downtown Omaha.. And the reality that the plan fell through..and the city/HDR/OPAS couldn't place ego, agenda, greed and apathy (on the part of the mayors office) aside to make this work is an embarrassing/pathetic reflection all around..
HDR wanted a premier, highly visible corporate HQ's location. What they settled for locating in AK Village is 2nd fiddle.. And as I've stated before, in the long run, George Little may regret this decision..
What is telling, and not worthy of even posting a link here to read it, is the W-H generated probably the shortest editorial they have ever published in Saturday's (today's) edition entitled "HDR's Aksarben plan good news for Omaha". The editorial is one paragraph long. Let me repeat this- ONE PARAGRAPH LONG.. Lol.. Even the W-H can't muster up much more than a "Meh" reaction to HDR's decision..
Okay, I'm done beating the dead horse lol..
But still, all I'll probably ever muster up regarding this HQ move (most likely) will always be- MEH...
Ciao..LiO...Peace
Go Cowboys!
Re: HDR Aksarben Office
It's funny as heck reading all the posts by all the urbanists, who crave density, who are complaining about the traffic problems. These two things go hand in hand! Yep, driving around there may suck, so do the urbanists thing and ride your bike, take the bus, car pool or use uber and then you can really play the role of an urbanists. And why would George have regrets about not being downtown? HDR will get its headquarters and plenty of parking in an area that was one of their top two choices. The regrets seem to be those who's Sim City model did play out as they fantasized it would.
Re: HDR Aksarben Office
I wonder what kind of "eclectic" retail and restaurant they are envisioning with the HDR site? I hope it's not another Panera, Cherry Berry, Juice Stop, pizza joint, or bar & grill. That'd be too much excitement for Omaha to handle.
Re: HDR Aksarben Office
How about an e-cig joint and a head shop?choke wrote:I wonder what kind of "eclectic" retail and restaurant they are envisioning with the HDR site? I hope it's not another Panera, Cherry Berry, Juice Stop, pizza joint, or bar & grill. That'd be too much excitement for Omaha to handle.
When fortune smiles on something as violent and ugly as revenge, it seems proof like no other that not only does God exist, you're doing his will.
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Re: HDR Aksarben Office
Another flaw he didn't mention is if you're headed north on 67th St. and want to turn left (west) onto Pine St. to eventually leave the Ak area on 72nd St., there is a left turn lane, but no left turn arrow light. So usually you have to wait until the light turns yellow to make your left turn. Omaha has too many intersections like this, with no left turn arrow along with the left turn lane.Coyote wrote:I have to agree with SchuMatt... (But what does he know about auto traffic in AV ) Even if you know the streets of AV, it is hard to get out of during peak traffic. Take getting out of the Gordman's/Blue Cross parking garage to go SE. You hit Frances and 67th and you can't turn south. You come to the second Frances and 67th Stop Sign, you come to 67th & Mercy Stop Sign, you come to a short light at 67th and Center and hope there is no traffic coming north.
He said "They are some big, ugly red brick buildings"
...and then they were gone.
...and then they were gone.
Re: HDR Aksarben Office
Ooooh yeah. And bring back Sheri's Gentleman Club. Men prefer Sheri's dancers 10:1.RNcyanide wrote:How about an e-cig joint and a head shop?choke wrote:I wonder what kind of "eclectic" retail and restaurant they are envisioning with the HDR site? I hope it's not another Panera, Cherry Berry, Juice Stop, pizza joint, or bar & grill. That'd be too much excitement for Omaha to handle.
Re: HDR Aksarben Office
Agreed about the editorial. I think the world herald showed a disgusting bias toward OPAS. I guess this is par for the course for the establishment media in this country nowadays.Omaha Cowboy wrote:Anyone who is minimizing the reality that traffic congestion at AK Village is a major issue during peak hours, has never experienced the glory of being a part of it with any consistency.. Right now, AK Village is a congested traffic mousetrap which will become much worse once HDR joins the party.. This is no chicken little proclamation, again- it's reality.. And a major issue which must get untangled, figured out and solved..
Look, I'm pleased as punch HDR is remaining in Omaha and building their corporate HQ's. I want to be clear about that..
But what is also clear, is that HDR's first choice to build their corporate HQ's was downtown Omaha.. And the reality that the plan fell through..and the city/HDR/OPAS couldn't place ego, agenda, greed and apathy (on the part of the mayors office) aside to make this work is an embarrassing/pathetic reflection all around..
HDR wanted a premier, highly visible corporate HQ's location. What they settled for locating in AK Village is 2nd fiddle.. And as I've stated before, in the long run, George Little may regret this decision..
What is telling, and not worthy of even posting a link here to read it, is the W-H generated probably the shortest editorial they have ever published in Saturday's (today's) edition entitled "HDR's Aksarben plan good news for Omaha". The editorial is one paragraph long. Let me repeat this- ONE PARAGRAPH LONG.. Lol.. Even the W-H can't muster up much more than a "Meh" reaction to HDR's decision..
Okay, I'm done beating the dead horse lol..
But still, all I'll probably ever muster up regarding this HQ move (most likely) will always be- MEH...
Ciao..LiO...Peace
Re: HDR Aksarben Office
I'm not an expert on new urbanism but I think the traffic issue is symptomatic of a flaw in the philosophy that people will live nearby their job. Professional jobs nowadays are MUCH less stable than they were during the 1940s-1970s. People change jobs and careers frequently, therefore the locations of those jobs change. For this reason people will choose to buy homes primarily for reasons other than a location relative to their job.MSizlack wrote:It's funny as heck reading all the posts by all the urbanists, who crave density, who are complaining about the traffic problems. These two things go hand in hand! Yep, driving around there may suck, so do the urbanists thing and ride your bike, take the bus, car pool or use uber and then you can really play the role of an urbanists. And why would George have regrets about not being downtown? HDR will get its headquarters and plenty of parking in an area that was one of their top two choices. The regrets seem to be those who's Sim City model did play out as they fantasized it would.
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Re: HDR Aksarben Office
Couldn't have said it better myself. This isn't George Little's problem. He tried to contribute to downtown Omaha. I am not sure why some here thought it was his obligation to develop on their terms.MSizlack wrote:It's funny as heck reading all the posts by all the urbanists, who crave density, who are complaining about the traffic problems. These two things go hand in hand! Yep, driving around there may suck, so do the urbanists thing and ride your bike, take the bus, car pool or use uber and then you can really play the role of an urbanists. And why would George have regrets about not being downtown? HDR will get its headquarters and plenty of parking in an area that was one of their top two choices. The regrets seem to be those who's Sim City model did play out as they fantasized it would.
Re: HDR Aksarben Office
Except that one of the main focuses of HDR as a company is to find solutions to urban-related design problems, including architecture, planning, and traffic engineering, and to help improve as many related things as possible through their solutions. It's funny how people forget that.CapitalGuy wrote:Couldn't have said it better myself. This isn't George Little's problem. He tried to contribute to downtown Omaha. I am not sure why some here thought it was his obligation to develop on their terms.MSizlack wrote:It's funny as heck reading all the posts by all the urbanists, who crave density, who are complaining about the traffic problems. These two things go hand in hand! Yep, driving around there may suck, so do the urbanists thing and ride your bike, take the bus, car pool or use uber and then you can really play the role of an urbanists. And why would George have regrets about not being downtown? HDR will get its headquarters and plenty of parking in an area that was one of their top two choices. The regrets seem to be those who's Sim City model did play out as they fantasized it would.
If traffic becomes a nightmare in AK village, HDR themselves are partially to blame, since they played a role in the development of AK village to begin with, working for Noddle.
He said "They are some big, ugly red brick buildings"
...and then they were gone.
...and then they were gone.
Re: HDR Aksarben Office
My general thoughts on some of the "urbanists" comments made.
New Urbanism doesn't mean getting rid of everyones vehicles and making everyone walk or bike to everything that they need. The goal is to first, give the people that want to limit their vehicle use that option and second to create places that require parking once and completing a number of tasks.
In A/V an HDR employee can leave work and walk to the gym and workout or get their nails done or grab something as Spirit World before they hit the road to head home, it is a shame that Wholner's didn't make it b/c it would be great for people to grab some food before they head home. I would like A/V to get some more services like a dry cleaners to help make the area even more useful.
What that does for traffic and land use in the city is that a number of errands can be accomplished while using the parking spot you use for work. In the suburban model you need that space at work from 8-5 then a space at the nail salon, then one at the gym, then one at the liquor store ect. Inefficient use of land, creating more gridlock and wasting your time as you drive miles out of your way to get to all the things you need.
New Urbanism doesn't mean getting rid of everyones vehicles and making everyone walk or bike to everything that they need. The goal is to first, give the people that want to limit their vehicle use that option and second to create places that require parking once and completing a number of tasks.
In A/V an HDR employee can leave work and walk to the gym and workout or get their nails done or grab something as Spirit World before they hit the road to head home, it is a shame that Wholner's didn't make it b/c it would be great for people to grab some food before they head home. I would like A/V to get some more services like a dry cleaners to help make the area even more useful.
What that does for traffic and land use in the city is that a number of errands can be accomplished while using the parking spot you use for work. In the suburban model you need that space at work from 8-5 then a space at the nail salon, then one at the gym, then one at the liquor store ect. Inefficient use of land, creating more gridlock and wasting your time as you drive miles out of your way to get to all the things you need.
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Re: HDR Aksarben Office
I don't think anyone here felt it was George Little's obligation to build downtown.. The carrot was dangled then snatched away..
The level of frustration comes from this- In June/2015 HDR releases a presser indicating they will locate their corporate HQ's in downtown Omaha.. A very "rough" timeline is given and all media outlets present the story- including multiple front pagers in the W-H. This was big news indeed.. Then, fast forward to end of January/2016, HDR releases their downtown HQ's rendering- prominently presented on all area media outlets (which was robustly scrutinized on this forum.. It is well documented here that I liked the rendering, I was in the minority on that one ).. Then, a mere 2 months later on April 7th, HDR pulls the plug on downtown completely due to a parking "snafu" with OPAS.. The HQ's downtown should have been built. It was clearly George Littl'e's first choice to have a prime, visible corporate HQ's downtown.. But for whatever the reason- ego, greed and imo complacency at city hall put the cabash on the development.. I said this several months back, does anyone think this deal would have fell through under Hal Daub's watch?.. Highly unlikely..
So replace the word "fantasy" with frustration. Little was never obligated to build downtown, but he definitely wanted to be there. Alas, his well documented downtown HQ's plan fell through and he had to go the alternate route to AK Village as the 2nd fiddle choice..
Like I said before, it's great HDR is staying in Omaha by building their corporate HQ's here.. It's just frustrating because clearly, to me, this was an opportunity lost for downtown Omaha.. And I'm simply putting out there that somewhere down the line, George may look back and say "dang, if we could have worked something out downtown".. Oh well..
As for the traffic issue at AK Village.. I work there. I see it every work day and get stuck in it. I agree with the point made that density and traffic congestion go hand in hand.. That's why you plan to have an infrastructure in place to handle the issue once the development is completed.. Currently, there is no such infrastructure in place to handle the current and future worsening congestion issue at AK.. This really needs to be addressed and soon.. One silver lining, is this could step up the timeline for light rail extending from downtown to AK..
Well, one can dream on the light rail idea at least ...
Ciao..LiO...Peace
The level of frustration comes from this- In June/2015 HDR releases a presser indicating they will locate their corporate HQ's in downtown Omaha.. A very "rough" timeline is given and all media outlets present the story- including multiple front pagers in the W-H. This was big news indeed.. Then, fast forward to end of January/2016, HDR releases their downtown HQ's rendering- prominently presented on all area media outlets (which was robustly scrutinized on this forum.. It is well documented here that I liked the rendering, I was in the minority on that one ).. Then, a mere 2 months later on April 7th, HDR pulls the plug on downtown completely due to a parking "snafu" with OPAS.. The HQ's downtown should have been built. It was clearly George Littl'e's first choice to have a prime, visible corporate HQ's downtown.. But for whatever the reason- ego, greed and imo complacency at city hall put the cabash on the development.. I said this several months back, does anyone think this deal would have fell through under Hal Daub's watch?.. Highly unlikely..
So replace the word "fantasy" with frustration. Little was never obligated to build downtown, but he definitely wanted to be there. Alas, his well documented downtown HQ's plan fell through and he had to go the alternate route to AK Village as the 2nd fiddle choice..
Like I said before, it's great HDR is staying in Omaha by building their corporate HQ's here.. It's just frustrating because clearly, to me, this was an opportunity lost for downtown Omaha.. And I'm simply putting out there that somewhere down the line, George may look back and say "dang, if we could have worked something out downtown".. Oh well..
As for the traffic issue at AK Village.. I work there. I see it every work day and get stuck in it. I agree with the point made that density and traffic congestion go hand in hand.. That's why you plan to have an infrastructure in place to handle the issue once the development is completed.. Currently, there is no such infrastructure in place to handle the current and future worsening congestion issue at AK.. This really needs to be addressed and soon.. One silver lining, is this could step up the timeline for light rail extending from downtown to AK..
Well, one can dream on the light rail idea at least ...
Ciao..LiO...Peace
Go Cowboys!
- Omaha Cowboy
- The Don
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Re: HDR Aksarben Office
Well stated..GetUrban wrote:Except that one of the main focuses of HDR as a company is to find solutions to urban-related design problems, including architecture, planning, and traffic engineering, and to help improve as many related things as possible through their solutions. It's funny how people forget that.CapitalGuy wrote:Couldn't have said it better myself. This isn't George Little's problem. He tried to contribute to downtown Omaha. I am not sure why some here thought it was his obligation to develop on their terms.MSizlack wrote:It's funny as heck reading all the posts by all the urbanists, who crave density, who are complaining about the traffic problems. These two things go hand in hand! Yep, driving around there may suck, so do the urbanists thing and ride your bike, take the bus, car pool or use uber and then you can really play the role of an urbanists. And why would George have regrets about not being downtown? HDR will get its headquarters and plenty of parking in an area that was one of their top two choices. The regrets seem to be those who's Sim City model did play out as they fantasized it would.
If traffic becomes a nightmare in AK village, HDR themselves are partially to blame, since they played a role in the development of AK village to begin with, working for Noddle.
Traffic congestion is a problem currently at AK Village, it will soon become a nightmare once HDR joins the party.. Unless a plan is developed and put into place fairly quickly...
Ciao..LiO...Peace
Go Cowboys!
- Busguy2010
- County Board
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Re: HDR Aksarben Office
Well, you do have to consider that as of now, not many people use the bus... Streetcar is even slower... Driving a car will be frustrating...Omaha Cowboy wrote:
Well, one can dream on the light rail idea at least ...
Ciao..LiO...Peace
The only other options are BRT or Light rail.
I think West Center is prime for light rail or BRT since there is so much ROW. it could easily be done there, but east of the interstate there is not a whole lot of real estate.
- Dundeemaha
- Human Relations
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Re: HDR Aksarben Office
I wonder what impact this has on MAPA's planning. All of their looking range options with more transit investment include a Center - Saddlecreek - Maple BRT line.guest2017 wrote:Don't get your hopes up because this won't happen.Busguy2010 wrote: Hopefully a good chunk of their employees will use transit.
Re: HDR Aksarben Office
As far as BRT facilitating AV those companies can go |expletive| themselves we already have a downtown and that's where the BRT should service.
15-17, 26, 32
Re: HDR Aksarben Office
Dodge Street BRT, which has been in development for years now isn't scheduled to come on service until 2018 - if it ever does - even though TIGER funding was approved by the U.S. Department of Transportation in 2014. Don't get your hopes up for a BRT line that isn't on Dodge for the next decade.Dundeemaha wrote:I wonder what impact this has on MAPA's planning. All of their looking range options with more transit investment include a Center - Saddlecreek - Maple BRT line.guest2017 wrote:Don't get your hopes up because this won't happen.Busguy2010 wrote: Hopefully a good chunk of their employees will use transit.
- Dundeemaha
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Re: HDR Aksarben Office
So.. you're saying 2027guest2017 wrote:Dodge Street BRT, which has been in development for years now isn't scheduled to come on service until 2018 - if it ever does - even though TIGER funding was approved by the U.S. Department of Transportation in 2014. Don't get your hopes up for a BRT line that isn't on Dodge for the next decade.Dundeemaha wrote:I wonder what impact this has on MAPA's planning. All of their looking range options with more transit investment include a Center - Saddlecreek - Maple BRT line.guest2017 wrote:Don't get your hopes up because this won't happen.Busguy2010 wrote: Hopefully a good chunk of their employees will use transit.
Re: HDR Aksarben Office
Yeah, right after 156th, 168th, 180th, and 192nd are expanded from two lanes to four from Maple to Center.Dundeemaha wrote:So.. you're saying 2027guest2017 wrote:Dodge Street BRT, which has been in development for years now isn't scheduled to come on service until 2018 - if it ever does - even though TIGER funding was approved by the U.S. Department of Transportation in 2014. Don't get your hopes up for a BRT line that isn't on Dodge for the next decade.Dundeemaha wrote:I wonder what impact this has on MAPA's planning. All of their looking range options with more transit investment include a Center - Saddlecreek - Maple BRT line.guest2017 wrote:Don't get your hopes up because this won't happen.Busguy2010 wrote: Hopefully a good chunk of their employees will use transit.