Nebraska Medicine

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eomaha
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Post by eomaha »

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Existing Durham Research Center

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Omaha World Herald wrote: UNMC has plans for a $74 million research tower

LINCOLN - Another laboratory tower is in the works at the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha.

A year after dedicating the $77 million Durham Research Center, whose 116 labs will be filled by January, the medical center will ask the Board of Regents to build another one just like it.

Chancellor Harold Maurer said he did not anticipate needing more laboratories so soon after the Durham center's dedication last November. But federal research grants have multiplied, taking UNMC to $68 million in the last fiscal year from $23.9 million 10 years ago.

In August, the medical center was awarded its largest grant ever, $17 million, from the National Institutes of Health.

Dr. Harold Maurer, University of Nebraska Medical Center chancellor, with a model of the new research tower proposed for next to the Durham Research Center on the midtown Omaha campus.

The medical center's new goal is to reach $200 million in annual research funding.

"We're recruiting really outstanding medical scientists," Maurer said, "and they want top-notch facilities."

The building would have the same height and architectural design as the Durham Research Center but would have 242,000 square feet compared to Durham's 289,000 square feet.

Maurer said there is no need to duplicate the large auditorium that exists in the first tower.

Like the Durham center, the second, $74 million tower would be constructed largely with private funds. The only money currently available for construction of the new facility is $12 million approved by the Nebraska Legislature earlier this year for bioterrorism preparedness.

Maurer said he is optimistic about fund raising.

"It's good for the state, it's good for the university and it's good for the nation," he said. "Nebraskans will step forward like they have in the past."

Preliminary plans call for the new 10-story tower to have two floors for bioterrorism preparedness research, two floors for cancer research, two floors for clinical pathology labs and the remainder for other biomedical research.

If the regents give their approval Friday, the medical center would begin a fund-raising effort. Construction would start next October, with completion planned for October 2007.

"This building will propel us forward nationally in our research effort, and it can be an economic developer for the state," Maurer said.

The Durham center, he said, is occupied by scientists whose work is funded with $95 million in multiyear grants. "We're going to try to bring scientists into the new facility who are already funded," Maurer said.

The new facility eventually would be staffed by 64 research scientists, 125 lab technicians, 10 office personnel and 64 students assigned to research scientists.
Last edited by eomaha on Sat Oct 23, 2004 11:41 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Post by DMRyan »

Whoa, that's some great news! The UNMC skyline continues to expand.
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Post by zefiris »

Another great addition!!
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Post by almighty_tuna »

This is spectacular news!!! :) :)
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Post by Coyote »

The Durham building was built to fulfill the needs of the then current research projects with room for growth especially in Bio-Med. Needing more space is due to the amazing increase in grants UNMC has been able to procure. In 1998, the University of Nebraska Medical Center set goals in its strategic planning to become a world-class health sciences center and to rank among the leading research centers. Chancellor Maurer challenged the UNMC faculty in 1998 to double the amount of research funding at UNMC in five years, and triple it in 10 years. The announcement of a new building bespeaks the aggresiveness and success UNMC has had just recently - now believing that $200 M can be raised annually for research - while also trying to bring in projects already funded. Success breads success. UNMC recently stole the state's best heart transplant surgeon from Lincoln. Once an institute builds a critical mass of high tech researchers, faculty and capable students to assist, you can then really start to think world class.

Look for more changes to come to UNMC. There has been plans in the books for a few years to turn 42nd street into an entrance mall making the facilities look more like an actual campus - sort of like when Creighton turned California into a pedestrian mall a few years back.
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Another 'World-Class' facility for UNMC

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$5 million gift to create Omaha’s first comprehensive outpatient women’s health center will augment existing Olson Center at UNMC


A $5 million gift commitment by Dr. Leland and Dorothy Olson of Omaha will enable the University of Nebraska Medical Center to create the city’s first comprehensive outpatient center focused exclusively on women’s health.

This gift, made to the University of Nebraska Foundation, will establish the Olson Women’s Outpatient Care Center as part of the Olson Center for Women’s Health. UNMC anticipates completion of the facility, to be located on the first floor of The Nebraska Medical Center’s Durham Outpatient Center on the UNMC campus by the end of 2005.

Carl Smith, M.D., chairperson of UNMC’s department of obstetrics and gynecology, said the Olsons’ gift allows UNMC to create a facility that is “world-class in terms of its ability to care for women.”

“Right now we do an excellent job of providing care to a multitude of patients in a multitude of settings,” he said. “This gift enables us to take a quantum leap forward in being the local, regional and possibly national center of excellence for women’s health.”

The Olson Women’s Outpatient Care Center will house physicians and other health care professionals in obstetrical and gynecological care, internal medicine, radiology, laboratory support and selected subspecialties. Subspecialties may include cardiology, gastroenterology and endocrinology.

Rodney Markin, M.D., Ph.D., president and CEO of University Medical Associates (UMA), said creation of the center will allow UNMC to present an array of women’s health services in one location, providing patients greater convenience. “Employing this model of care will eliminate the need for women to go to different clinics for different health care needs,” he said. UMA, the UNMC physician group practice, includes nearly 445 health care providers who offer services in 50 specialties and subspecialties.

Whether patients need to see a gynecologist or an internist, have a mammogram or undergo a cardiovascular disease screening, the Olson Women’s Outpatient Care Center will provide patients a “one-stop” approach to their health care. “With one call a woman will be able to schedule doctor’s appointments and screenings,” Dr. Smith said. “The hope is that we’ll coordinate these appointments so the majority, if not all, will take place within this area.”

As a retired health care professional, Dr. Olson sees this approach to delivering outpatient care as the future of medicine.

“You’re not going to be able to have multiple places for women to go for their health care,” said Dr. Olson. “These services have to be centralized and by combining them into one location we make a stronger presentation of what a woman needs.” Dr. Olson practiced obstetric and gynecological medicine in Omaha until his retirement in 1986.

Dr. Smith believes that bringing women’s health care services together in one location will provide patients advantages beyond convenience. He hopes this collaborative environment also will lead to the development of up-to-date protocols for treating common diseases and health screenings.

“The desire is that collaboration between these clinicians will result in treatment and screening protocols such as what age a screening test should occur, what type of screening should be used or frequency of a test,” he said. “We’ll be setting the standard for quality of care so each patient can be assured of having the most current view of what she needs to do to maintain or improve her health.”

This gift also extends the Olsons’ relationship with the University of Nebraska that began 66 years ago when Dr. Olson first enrolled at NU. The Olsons and their three children all graduated from the university. Three generations of the Olson family, including two Olson children and a granddaughter, also are graduates of the UNMC College of Medicine.

In the late 1980s, the Olsons made a gift to the NU Foundation to help launch the UNMC Olson Center for Women’s Health. Based in the UNMC department of obstetrics and gynecology, the Olson Center is recognized nationally for its efforts in advancing women’s health through innovative approaches to education, research and service.
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Dedication of "Crown Jewel" Durham Research Center

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UNMC dedicates its 'crown jewel'

Dignitaries laud Chancellor's vision, donors' generosity

World-class vision, leadership and generosity have led to the opening of UNMC’s crown jewel – the Durham Research Center.

On a crisp November Thursday, a standing-room only crowd filled the 319-seat auditorium to celebrate the dedication of the Durham Research Center and pay tribute to the generous philanthropists who made the building a reality.

"This Citadel for research will create an environment that will allow those who occupy it to make advances in the health sciences and add incrementally to the benefit of society," said University of Nebraska Foundation President Terry Fairfield. "This investment of individuals has enabled us to have a future that’s exciting and boundless."

UNMC’s research funding from external sources is at an all-time high – now exceeding $62 million annually. Just five years ago, it was $30 million, Dr. Maurer said. "We’re well on our way to $100 million by 2005. Our dream of being a leader in research is becoming a reality."

"Research is the best investment you can make," said Charles Durham, chairman of the board and chief executive officer of Durham Resources, after unveiling a plaque in his honor. The plaque, which will hang in the Durham Research Center atrium, reads: "Charles W. Durham: Champion of medical research to prevent, cure, give hope and advance the common good."

Durham’s gift – the largest in UNMC history – led the fund-raising effort for the $77 million building, which was built almost exclusively with private funds. Of the research center’s cost, Nebraska’s Congressional delegation secured $2.5 million in federal funds for the project. The private sector provided gifts for the rest of the cost; no state funds were involved. Durham’s contribution is not being made public at his request.

A second plaque, also unveiled Thursday, highlights the principal donors of the Durham Research Center:

The Peter Kiewit Foundation.
Suzanne and Walter Scott Jr.
Ruth and Bill Scott.
Stanley Truhlsen, M.D.
Mary and Dick Holland.
The Dr. C.C. and Mabel L. Criss Memorial Foundation.
Gail Walling Yanney, M.D., and Michael Yanney.
A donor who has asked to remain anonymous.
The plaque also will hang in the building’s glass-enclosed atrium.

The Durham Research Center will further put Nebraska on the map, said Roger Bulger, M.D., president of the Association of Academic Health Centers. "Whether it’s on bioterrorism or public health infrastructure creative clinical arrangements or educational innovations or global health I find the University of Nebraska is there with a model. . . . Their name is out there."

Buildings such as the Durham Research Center, he said, explain a Research America survey that says 85 percent to 90 percent of Americans want more invested in research. "Now that’s powerful," Dr. Bulger said. "It says something about the staying power of this building."

Researchers will begin moving into the 10-level building in stages from December through March. Among them will be Pascale Lane, M.D., associate professor of pediatrics, who will conduct kidney research on the sixth floor. Dr. Maurer and Tom Rosenquist, vice chancellor for research "have inspired us to reach new heights with our research," she said. "We’re going to do our part to make the good life even better."

During the hour-long dedication, a number of dignitaries shared their thoughts on UNMC’s newest building. "It’s a crown jewel and a powerful recruiting tool," said University of Nebraska President L. Dennis Smith, Ph.D., who began his career as a biological sciences researcher. "It will enable us to recruit the best new faculty and elevate current faculty to superstar status."

Similar to Durham, businessman Walter Scott said he invests in projects that benefit the future, that showcase excellence and that attract new minds and retain the best and brightest.

The vision for the Durham Research Center is a shining example of how excellence in education, research and health care "can make life better for all of us," said U.S. Sen. Ben Nelson.

The crowd smiled when U.S. Sen. Chuck Hagel remarked: "(This shows) the world that the community of Nebraska is far more than just the center of the universe."

Lt. Gov. Dave Heineman summed up his remarks in the form of a researcher’s mathematical equation saying: "The world-class vision of Chancellor Hal Maurer plus the world-class vision of the medical center staff, the world-class leadership of Walter Scott, Ken Stinson, Mike Yanney and others, plus the world-class generosity of Chuck Durham, equals the world-class University of Nebraska Medical Center."

Mayor Mike Fahey called the Durham Research Center a "shining star for Omaha," which would carve a strategic niche for future economic growth and help revitalize Omaha’s central neighborhoods.

Ken Stinson, chairman of the board for UNMC’s hospital partner, The Nebraska Medical Center, praised the clinical and educational partnership. "The value of a clinical organization having a relationship with a top-tier medical school and research institution is immeasurable," he said. "As UNMC researchers advance the frontier of medical knowledge their discoveries will lead to better patient care and patient treatment."

The Durham Research Center is 289,000 gross square feet, and towers over the western edge of UNMC. The research center features 116 research laboratories, a 319-seat auditorium, three classrooms and 12 conference/seminar rooms. About 55 of UNMC’s top researchers, accounting for nearly $55 million in extramural support, will move to the building. About 25 percent of the building’s space is being left open for research expansion and the recruitment of new, top-level researchers.

The plaza area adjoining the Durham Research Center – 45th Street from Emile Street to Dewey Avenue and Dewey Avenue from 45th Street to 44th Street – has been named the Durham Research Plaza.

"Chuck has helped propel UNMC forward," Dr. Maurer said. "We’re eternally grateful to this true champion."
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Post by OhioStreetKid »

8) Good news for sure!!!
Durham gift to build second UNMC tower

BY BILL HORD



WORLD-HERALD BUREAU
LINCOLN - The Durham Foundation, which already has paid most of the cost of a research building at the University of Nebraska Medical Center, will now pay to double its size.

At the foundation's request, the amount of the first gift in 2000 and the new gift won't be disclosed. In both cases, the university refers to the donations as "exceptionally generous" and states that they make up a substantial part of the cost.

The first Durham Research Center building, dedicated a year ago, cost an estimated $77 million. The Durham gift toward that construction was the largest ever received by the medical center, eclipsing the previous record of $15 million.

A new 10-story tower, connected to the first tower, will cost an estimated $74 million.

New tower
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The 10-story facility proposed for the University of Nebraska Medical Center would have:

242,000 square feet, compared with 289,000 square feet in the first tower

Two floors for bioterrorism preparedness research

Two floors for cancer research

Two floors for clinical pathology labs

Rest for other biomedical research


The Board of Regents approved plans in October for the new research tower, which will allow the medical center to continue to attract grants and top scientists after the first tower reaches capacity next year.

Last year, UNMC attracted a record $68 million in research grants.

The regents will be askedSaturday to OK an agreement between the NU Foundation and the Durham Foundation.

The Durham Foundation was established by Charles Durham of Omaha and his wife, the late Margre Durham. Charles Durham, 87, is the retired chairman and CEO of Henningson, Durham and Richardson Inc., an international engineering and architectural firm.

The only money previously available for the construction was $12 million approved by the Nebraska Legislature for bioterrorism preparedness.

The new 242,000-square-foot building will be the same height and design as the first tower. It will have space devoted to bioterrorism preparedness research, cancer research, clinical pathology and other biomedical research. Completion is expected in 2007.
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Post by OmahaDevelopmentMan »

Great news!

I like how big UNMC is becomming. They're starting to add their own skyline to the metro. If you count UNMC, thats 3 skylines in Omaha. How awsome is that!
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Post by FatGuy »

In the model picture, does the proposed tower look shorter than the existing one?
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Post by almighty_tuna »

From what I understand it will be an exact copy of the first research tower. It may appear shorter however because the first is on a prime piece of hilltop realestate.
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Post by FatGuy »

I think the land the proposed tower will sit on is at a higher elevation than the existing tower. Land adjacent to Saddle Creek I am guessing is lower. It looks like the proposed one will be just east of the existing tower, which is up a hill.

I tried counting from the little picture and the proposed seems to be about 6 or 7 floors. I counted a couple more floors for the existing. My counting might be off, it is a little picture and my eyes are bad.
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Post by Coyote »

Swanson Hall is directly east of the original tower, across 45th St. and is connected now by a second floor walkway.
The new tower will be just to the south of the original along side Emile street, which is about the same level.
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Post by almighty_tuna »

That will look awesome!

(I stand corrected, btw)
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Post by OmahaDevelopmentMan »

The new building will be 10 stories and the existing tower is 8 stories according to emporis.com.
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Post by OmahaDevelopmentMan »

Okay so there are two underground levels. I see. Is the new one similar to this?
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Post by Coyote »

I would guess that the new building would be the same 10-level 8 stories design.
Emile from Saddle Creek slopes up to 45th St.
The only difference woud be that it would not include a second auditorium.
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Post by OmahaDevelopmentMan »

None the less, this is still great news. Think if the city of Omaha was as progressive as UNMC, wow what a city we'd live in!
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Post by Coyote »

Yes - this offer from Mr. Durham makes the huge vision of UNMC come true.
But this vision has been in coordination with Nelson and others as they politic to bring federal bioterrorism funding to Nebraska ie Omaha.
All the while trying to bring space to UNO. Omaha is trying.

A few days ago I ran across an old proposal from the Daub regime
and I only have to wonder what if. What if.
What if a Hal Daub, a Gene Leahy, even a Dahlman or Sorensen were mayor right now!
Where are the visionaries when the potential is so great?
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Post by OmahaDevelopmentMan »

Coyote, you wouldn't happen to have a copy of the Daub plan to put for us to see would you?
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Post by FatGuy »

Coyote, Thanks for setting me straight (even though I already was, in a different sense though). I was thinking Swanson was going to be imploded for the new building. This way both buildings will have a nice view of Saddle Creek.

Do you guys remember the proposal to turn Saddle Creek back into a real creek? Did that idea get the Kbosh, or is it also in our 250 year plan?
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Post by Coyote »

OmahaDevelopmentMan wrote:Coyote, you wouldn't happen to have a copy of the Daub plan to put for us to see would you?
I just have copies of Hal's 2001-2006 Omaha Capital Improvement Program
his Consolidated Submission for Community Planning and Development Programs 1998-2002
Fahey's 2002-2007 Omaha Capital Improvement Program
and The North Omaha Renaissance 2000 Plan that councilman Fred Conley and Co put together.
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Post by Coyote »

OWH wrote: Durham's hope high for his gift


Think about it. Dream about it - vaccines to ward off cancer.

When Omahan Chuck Durham thinks and dreams about such a wonderful medical breakthrough, he opens his checkbook. If he could buy a solution to cancer, he would. Maybe he can.

"That's the kind of thing we are trying to do," he said last week following reports of his second multimillion-dollar contribution to build research laboratories at the University of Nebraska Medical Center.

Durham, now 87, and his late wife, Margre, have been major donors to a lot of charities over the years. Most recently, though, Durham has focused his giving on education and health care.

He shares a vision with UNMC Chancellor Harold Maurer that great things can happen for Nebraskans and the nation as some of the world's top scientists work in some of the world's finest laboratories in the heart of Omaha.

Those laboratories exist in large part because Durham has donated tens of millions of dollars (the exact amount has not been disclosed) to build two 10-story research towers.

The 108 laboratories in the first research tower - called the Durham Research Center - are full only a year after the building was dedicated. So Durham has contributed millions more to build a second tower to be completed in 2007.

Already the development has created 400 new jobs for Omaha, all paid for by grants. When scientists moved into the building a little more than a year ago, they had $55 million in outside research grants. Now they have $79 million.

More contributions are needed for the second tower, Maurer said, but Durham's leadership encourages others to contribute.

"If Chuck Durham has done it," Maurer said, "then people know it's a good project."

The health-care possibilities mean so much to Durham that one wall of the boardroom at Durham Resources Inc. is lined with picture montages depicting the research that is going on.

"We put these up to sort of keep our targets straight," Durham said.

Each picture frame has a heading with words such as transplant biology, cancer, cardiovascular and renal, pulmonary, eye research, neuroscience, liver/stem cell and nanomedicine.

Durham likes the idea of having teams of scientists working on one targeted area - prostate cancer, breast cancer, Alzheimer's disease.

"For example, if we could get a vaccine for cancer, that would be a real accomplishment," he said.

Durham talked about the "vision" in his central Omaha office, where the small staff at Durham Resources manages the wealth accumulated over years of successful business.

Durham, who started work as an engineer for $3 a day, was a driving force behind the growth of Omaha-based Henningson, Durham and Richardson Inc., known today as HDR Inc.

During his tenure, the company went from a 75-employee architectural and engineering company to a 1,400-employee, international firm.

Durham sold the company in 1983 to a French firm for $60 million. In 1996, the company's managers and employees bought the firm, and it now has about 3,600 employees around the world.

Durham Resources has managed Durham's personal business investments since the 1970s. Those businesses, which mostly have been sold off, included nursing homes, banks, real estate and natural gas.

Durham monitors his investments daily as his companion Tina - part Pekingese and part poodle - lies on the corner couch. The office walls are lined with memorabilia of business, family and philanthropic success. Aircraft models attest to a lifelong passion for flying.

His wife of 59 years, the former Margre Henningson, died in 1999 of complications from pneumonia. Durham said most everything he does now is motivated by her memory.

He has a stock answer when asked about the secret to his success.

"I've been lucky," he said.

"Lucky" is the title of a Durham and HDR biography written by 11 writers, each contributing a portion of the book. He signs an autographed copy with the postscript, "Be lucky 2!"

Durham gets around in a wheelchair to conserve energy, but even after numerous knee surgeries and a broken hip, he can still walk his 6-foot, 3-inch frame around the office.

Durham credits Chancellor Maurer's vision for stimulating his interest in research.

"I've always been interested in the Medical Center, and so was my wife," Durham said. After Maurer talked about what he wanted to do with research at UNMC, Durham said, "I fell in love with it."

But the large contributions for research are partly driven by Durham's age.

"Here I am, and I have a lot of money," Durham said. "I would like to do something with it that would do good for people. And I can't think of anything better."
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University of Nebraska Medical Center

Post by loyalomahan »

"The University of Nebraska Medical Center won't break ground on its second research tower until this winter, and already officials envision at least two more research buildings on the western side of its midtown campus by 2011."

http://www.omaha.com/index.php?u_pg=46&u_sid=1472854
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Post by Swift »

I'd like to see them build the new towers on the west side of Saddle Creek. Imagine how awesome it would be to drive down Saddle Creek in that canyon of steel and glass!
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Post by Brad »

Maurer said Saddle Creek has drainage and sewer problems anyway and is due for a project that would fix that problem. "If they're going to uncover that, they might as well move it," he said.
The City of Omaha is studying Destination Midtown's ideas to improve the area's east-west streets, including the Saddle Creek-Dodge Street intersection.
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Post by Harpoon »

Swift wrote:I'd like to see them build the new towers on the west side of Saddle Creek. Imagine how awesome it would be to drive down Saddle Creek in that canyon of steel and glass!
Or to cruise down the "creek" in your kayak after a nice rainfall when the road floods.

Might as well move the road, yes it will be expensive... but so is that awful elevated expressway out west.
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Post by MTO »

Wasn’t there a “vision” that actually had Saddle Creek actually turned back into a creek? That would completely alleviate the flooding problem and take full advantage of it.
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Post by Alt(Bayern)München »

Yes they did talk about that at one point! Wouldn't it be cool a "real" creek (not a concrete ditch) fully landcaped and running between towers to the east & west!
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Post by Harpoon »

pkiphd wrote:Wasn’t there a “vision” that actually had Saddle Creek actually turned back into a creek? That would completely alleviate the flooding problem and take full advantage of it.
Yes, the destination midtown plan HDR worked on touched on that very subject. The idea was to uncover the creek, move the road to the west (as shown in today's paper), and have a nice entrance amenity for the Med Center. This could look similar to Brush Creek in Kansas City that runs along the edge of the Plaza.

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Post by Harpoon »

Here is another photo of Brush Creek at The Plaza. Take notice of the nice tall buildings that surround the amenity... this sure would be better than the car wash that is currently there.

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Post by Brad »

It would be nice if we had a creek like that anywhere in town.
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Re: UNMC: "Move Saddle Creek"

Post by WT »

http://www.omaha.com/index.php?u_pg=608&u_sid=1474330

"The medical center's expansion plans also could fit with what the Destination Midtown people envision for revitalizing the area."

I know that I have asked several times, but does anyone have a plan of this? I would love to see what Destination Midtown recommended for the Saddle Creek area. It would be awesome to have something like Brush Creek (photos above) running through Midtown.
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Post by Brad »

Wonder how they would do an intersection with Dodge and SaddleCreek Hopefully it would be like the indersections of 144,156,168 and dodge streets, I think a light would cause a huge traffic jam.
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Post by eomaha »

I think a SPUI in this part of town might consume far too much land Brad. The Destination Midtown plans calls for creating a Saddle Creek intersection at street level with Dodge.

(click on the thumbnails)

Image

Here are a couple of graphics from the Destination Midtown study...

Image

Looking north up Saddlecreek... re-routed road would be up and over the bank to the left.
Image

Image
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Post by Finn »

It would really be nice to see the creek become an attractive area while serving the gateway purpose. It would also be nice to someday see the creek improvements proposed near the confluence of the Little Papio and Cole Creeks (that one may be much further off without a UNMC to push)!
omahapropertymanager
Home Owners Association
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Location: Midtown Omaha

Post by omahapropertymanager »

I'd be all for them continuing the creek north of Dodge on Saddle Creek too. Maybe they could demolish the buy here pay here car dealership and the strip center right next to my house so that I won't have to watch someone breaking into the strip center, and someone torching a car (both of which have happened in the last month!) I think it would do a lot for the area if a lot of the development along Saddle Creek was bulldozed for green space.
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Brad
City Council
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Post by Brad »

I think a SPUI in this part of town might consume far too much land Brad. The Destination Midtown plans calls for creating a Saddle Creek intersection at street level with Dodge.
Hopefully the traffice problems won't be bad. I loke the creek, we could have our own riverwalk if they do it right. Just run when it starts to rain. Actually opening up the creek should help prevent the flooding problems, a "V" chaped creek can carry more water than a circular pipe. The more the water rises in a creek the more water it takes to keep it rising.
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