Official: Central Park Plaza rennovation

[Big E]

"Steakhouses" = 3 by my count:

Paxton
Sullivan's
Omaha Prime

I imagine an argument could be made for Nick & Tony's as well, although I would lump them in more with the Flatiron, Passport and V Mertz type places.

-Big E

[Big E]

Went in tonight for martinis and wine.  I thought about a $.50 PBR draw, but thought Jeff might catch me and make fun of me, so I had a $300 Belvedere and said a little prayer for him.

Anyway, totally different from the Paxton.  We did not have dinner, but the atmosphere in the bar was more in line with...  say, a cross between M's and the Green Onion.  Service was good if, frankly, they didn't quite know what they were doing yet.  I ordered Hendricks and was told twice they did not have it, even though I could see it on the shelf.  oh well...  I fault management for that one.  The servers were very, very, VERY nice... and their personalities were good, too. (wink wink nudge nudge)  I'd like to suggest the Red-Headed Trinity.  (Hint: not a drink.)

Bar had room for about 35, patio roughly the same again plus 10.  My biggest complaint was the windows being open allowing the smoke in.  Maybe I'll just go in the winter.

Drinks were very reasonably priced.  Wine not so much.  The dinner entree menu (which we did not try, but plan to) was between $19 and $39, plus a la carte.  I have no idea where the OWH got their "$20-$55", unless they were counting the a la carte.  Whatever, this is a group dinner palce and a date drink place - especially if you're over 29.  Having had dinner at the one in Chicago and loving it, I can't wait for the opportunity to go in this one and see how it measures up.

Short answer:  this area is turning into the non-20 something area for downtown, and this will be a major catalyst for the push back to 16th. They are a wonderful, vibrant, welcome addition to downtown.  Great place for the after work, after dinner and after Holland/Orpheum/Qwest crowd.

-Big E

[Brad]

Short answer:  this area is turning into the non-20 something area for downtown, and this will be a major catalyst for the push back to 16th. They are a wonderful, vibrant, welcome addition to downtown.  Great place for the after work, after dinner and after Holland/Orpheum/Qwest crowd.

I really like their choice of location. It is actually closer to the CBD than the old market but in a way they are in the middle of everything tying it all together.

What were they charging for a South Dakota martini?

[DTO Luv]

[quote="Big E"]Went in tonight for martinis and wine.  I thought about a $.50 PBR draw, but thought Jeff might catch me and make fun of me, so I had a $300 Belvedere and said a little prayer for him.

/quote]

Oh yeah. Well we stood across the street from Sullivan's and drunkely yelled at b!tches after the bars closed.

Thank you E for your high brow dinning review. Coming next week: DTO Luv's review of the the new Taco Bell Taquitos.

[Big E]

Not sure what a SoDak martini is, but I'm sure I'll regret asking, so...

-Big E

[Big E]

Not sure what a SoDak martini is, but I'm sure I'll regret asking, so...

DTO: so how come I'm reading that post at just after 11 PM?  ;)

-Big E

[DTO Luv]

Short answer:  this area is turning into the non-20 something area for downtown, and this will be a major catalyst for the push back to 16th. They are a wonderful, vibrant, welcome addition to downtown.  Great place for the after work, after dinner and after Holland/Orpheum/Qwest crowd.

-Big E

I really like this part of Downtown too. Especially since it doesn't have a name. I can just call it Downtown. I don't know that's all the way for non-somethings. Go to the Jimmy John's between 1and 3am and it's a much different scene that the Holland/Orpheum crowd. Not alot of blue hairs getting in fights and holding their friends hair while they throw up with the ghetto bird hovering around while pink suited pimps sell Mary Kay. My drunken crew usually adds to the ambiance. From what I hear me especially. "10! 10! YES!!"

[Brad]

Not sure what a SoDak martini is, but I'm sure I'll regret asking, so...

-Big E

A Coors Light with an olive in it...

[Swift]

Not sure what a SoDak martini is, but I'm sure I'll regret asking, so...

-Big E

A Coors Light with an olive in it...

A Sandhills Martini: a beer with a jalapeno-stuffed olive in it.

[omaproud]

So how do you make an Omaha martini, or how about an Iowa martini?

[Brad]

So how do you make an Omaha martini

FALLSTAF.... Straingt up

[Big E]

Coming next week: DTO Luv's review of the the new Taco Bell Taquitos.

Taquitos?  I want some Taquitos!



-Big E

(sorry, took awhile to find the image)

[OmahaChef]

Yep, it's true.  The towers are both lighted as of tonight.  I was really hoping for this as they looked like two large black boxes at night.

[Brad]

And of course none of the city cams are pointed that way.

[DTO Luv]

I have a lovely view of the |expletive| end of the buildings from home. I can't really tell anything is different. Weren't they lit up before? I seem to remember them being lit up before many of the FNC and UP tenants moved out and then they stopped lighting them.

[Brad]

They were not lit up on the fourth:

[DTO Luv]

I'm talking it's been a good few years that they used to be lit up.

[OmahaChef]

When I worked in the South Tower in 2000-2002, they were not lit up.  It would have had to have been before that.

[SolitaryMan]

I went to Sullivan's last night for drinks.  What a cool place - it's unlike anything Omaha has downtown and I can't really think of something like it elsewhere in the City.  I did not eat any food, but what I saw looked very good.  The lounge was crowded, largely with business traveler looking types and I'd be curious to see what it's like on a weekend evening.  This is a great place to go, though it is a little loud in the lounge, the live music is fun and the whole atmosphere is very unique.  Go check it out because we need this place to make it as it will only help that part of downtown grow as more businesses and restaurants are attracted to that area.

[OmahaChef]

The lights were on for a few days then off.  Apparently they did not like the way the beams of light were placed.  They cam back on now, and light up most of the front.  Gives it kind of an interesting pattern, not unlike the China flag during WWII.  It is kind of a starburst design now.  Definitely preferable to the black box look they had before.

[DTO Luv]

Here' s horrible pic I snapped the other night walking between bars.

[OmahaChef]

Hmmm...doesn't look anything like that from here.  Those disposable cameras are not yet known for therer suburb quality I see.  :)

[DTO Luv]

Well I may have bumped into one of the lights on the way back home.

[OmahaChef]

Pub crawls can be hadzardous to your photo shoots!

[TitosBuritoBarn]

 Those disposable cameras are not yet known for therer suburb quality I see.  :)

Hmmm, so what exactly constitutes "suburb quality"?

[Brad]

It looked really cool the other night, the lights were way more spaced out than they appear in DTO's picture.

However, they don't seem to be on most nights?

[OmahaChef]

It was a bit hit or miss last week, since they were trying to set the beams the way they wanted them.  Since Sunday they have been on every night.  I think they have the lighting set the way they want it now.

[icejammer]

Sullivan's has steak and swagger

Nothing says "impress the client" like Sullivan's Steakhouse.

Something of a shrine to meat, money and machismo, this swank new downtown restaurant seems designed to make a rich guy feel capable and confident and to make his date feel pampered (and, possibly, broke and underdressed). . . .

Sullivan's may not be a total knockout just yet. But for visiting tycoons and downtown diners with some cash to burn, it's definitely a contender.

[Brad]

I try not to be a total OWH basher, as we do use a lot of their content on this forum, but take about running a couple of months late on this one:

Central Park Plaza adds a sunrise effect illuminating its two towers

http://www.omaha.com/index.php?u_page=1 ... d=10176302

Downtown Omaha's nighttime skyline just got a little sunnier.

Central Park Plaza, the V-shaped red-brick building that faces 15th Street between Douglas and Farnam Streets, has new lights that create a sunrise effect on its two 15-story towers.

Lights have illuminated older downtown buildings, such as the Woodmen Tower, and newer buildings like the First National Tower.

But Central Park Plaza, which was built in 1982, has never used lights to feature its own unique architecture, said Brian Morrissey, senior vice president of real estate for Security National Properties, which owns and manages the building.

The good news:

The company spent more than $5 million upgrading tenant spaces.

The building was 22 percent occupied when Security National Properties took ownership in 2004; today it is 88 percent occupied, Morrissey said.

[StreetsOfOmaha]

I was thinking the same thing.

And that first line makes it sound like they JUST turned the new lighting scheme on last night.

[OmahaJaysCU]

The company spent more than $5 million upgrading tenant spaces.

The building was 22 percent occupied when Security National Properties took ownership in 2004; today it is 88 percent occupied, Morrissey said.

So is this even after Kutak Rock moved back in to the Omaha Building?  If so, that is really amazing.

[Ben]

The company spent more than $5 million upgrading tenant spaces.

The building was 22 percent occupied when Security National Properties took ownership in 2004; today it is 88 percent occupied, Morrissey said.

So is this even after Kutak Rock moved back in to the Omaha Building?  If so, that is really amazing.

Given that the lights are a several month old story, I wouldn't be surprised if the occupancy #s are too.  I know several people that work in the building, and they said Kutak was one of the biggest tennants, so I'd have to believe this was pre move-out.

[OmahaChef]

It appears several of the former Kutak Rock floors are undergoing gutting/renovation for new tenant use.  Usually in office buildings a gutting isn't done until someone has leased the space.  The 12th floor of the North Tower had construction lights in it last week, and this week the 13th Floor does also.

[DTO Luv]

A coworker of mine also has some inside intel to the CPP tenants. I think it may be expansion of a local company that already has a major presence Downtown but didn't have the foresight to build big enough the first time around.

[Brad]

A coworker of mine also has some inside intel to the CPP tenants. I think it may be expansion of a local company that already has a major presence Downtown but didn't have the foresight to build big enough the first time around.

Everyone....

UP
ConAgra
First National

[DTO Luv]

I would say the UP guess isn't far off. It may be someone else but my coworker mentioned them as putting new tenants in there in the past.

[thenewguy]

I'm not sure if everyone knows or doesn't know, but First Comp is moving all of their space out of the south tower into the north tower, making the north half almost entirely First Comp.  I have several friends that work in CPP (including my fiance) that mentioned this to me months ago.  There are some law firms that they said were interested in the space, as well as some other tenants that are already in the building that are looking to expand.  I dont remember the names of the businesses, as they had mentioned it months ago.  I asked that they find out (as well as what % of the building was occupied) and they said they'd get back to me asap.  I know that with Sullivan's being in there, it has done wonders for law firms and others wanting to get into the space, because it offers a great showcase for them to take clients out to dinner.  It's hard to book reservations there, due to price and exclusivity.  Keith Urban had apparently rented the entire place when he was here late this past summer (at a minimum of almost $50/plate), and others have done something similar (First Comp had a string of several good months--rented the bar and had free drinks offered to all their employees).  Every time i have been there, the starbuck's in the north tower was pretty hoppin' too, i had to wait in line every time to get my bagel.  I'll let you know what i find out, it appears to be turning into a pretty nice little piece of property.

[Coyote]

Thanks for that info newguy!

[thenewguy]

Quick update:  buddy of mine said that they still have 4 floors in the south tower, could remain permanent.  he also said that there are 4 or so floors that the Army Corp is utilizing, which would leave only 6 floors for everyone else (4 Firstcomp, 4 Army, 1 Sullivan's = 6 left, with the tower being 15 floors).   He said that it is still 75-80% occupied, there wasn't much left empty for very long...so it seemed.  I wish i worked downtown, it would be awesome.

[DTO Luv]

Yeah it is pretty sweet. The lunch selection alone makes it worth while.