Oak View Mall (144 & West Center Rd)

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Linkin5
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Re: Oak View Mall - Redevelopment Plan

Post by Linkin5 »

Garrett wrote:What if they converted one of the wings into an entertainment wing? Bars, restaurants, etc. drinks can be carried from place to place, like a more adult food court so to speak.

That's a good idea.
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Greg S
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Re: Oak View Mall - Redevelopment Plan

Post by Greg S »

I think that works for a few years but it's difficult to keep something like that going.

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Garrett
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Re: Oak View Mall - Redevelopment Plan

Post by Garrett »

Greg S wrote:I think that works for a few years but it's difficult to keep something like that going.

Greg
I mean how does one keep any entertainment district going? Make it entertaining, make it distinctive.
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Re: Oak View Mall - Redevelopment Plan

Post by bigredmed »

Garrett wrote:
Greg S wrote:I think that works for a few years but it's difficult to keep something like that going.

Greg
I mean how does one keep any entertainment district going? Make it entertaining, make it distinctive.
A management group close enough to the ground that it can move quickly is key. If the OM was managed by some big property management place, it would have gone to seed long ago. Benson would have not rebuilt.
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Greg S
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Re: Oak View Mall - Redevelopment Plan

Post by Greg S »

Garrett wrote:
Greg S wrote:I think that works for a few years but it's difficult to keep something like that going.

Greg
I mean how does one keep any entertainment district going? Make it entertaining, make it distinctive.
To me in this space I think it gets stale fairly quickly. Remember the suggestion was to put this in one of the wings in the mall.
It's not like Benson that can grow and change on the fly, host outdoor festivals etc...

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Re: Oak View Mall - Redevelopment Plan

Post by Joe_Sovereign »

Greg S wrote:
Garrett wrote:
Greg S wrote:I think that works for a few years but it's difficult to keep something like that going.

Greg
I mean how does one keep any entertainment district going? Make it entertaining, make it distinctive.
To me in this space I think it gets stale fairly quickly. Remember the suggestion was to put this in one of the wings in the mall.
It's not like Benson that can grow and change on the fly, host outdoor festivals etc...

Greg
When it is 100 degrees or 0 degrees outside an indoor entertainment district would have a distinct advantage.
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Garrett
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Re: Oak View Mall - Redevelopment Plan

Post by Garrett »

Imagine concerts on the ground floor, with people watching from the overlooks etc.
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Greg S
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Re: Oak View Mall - Redevelopment Plan

Post by Greg S »

The weather would be good, but honestly unless it's brutal outside, I can't ever remember the weather stopping me from going to the Old Market or Benson. Would be interesting to see if the shoppers found the entertainment district a turnoff, and what kind of crowds that think generates before 9PM.


We went to something like this in the early 90's near downtown Minneapolis along the river. Large converted warehouse. It was really, really cool. Ran into Roger Craig there, he was playing for the Vikes at the time. It did not last though.
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Re: Oak View Mall - Redevelopment Plan

Post by lonnie »

I spent an hour patiently waiting for my wife shopping at Dillard's at Oakview, the future does not look good at Oakview.

I did not do an exact count, but it seems like only 60% occupied (non-anchors) at this peak shopping time. The management put a little lipstick on this pig by decorating the empty store fronts to some degree.

Most surprising is the food court, I'd guess this is only 40% occupied, the pizza oven place that opened a few months ago is now closed.

Unless they can reboot this place with totally unique stores, most area shoppers are going to the Westroads, NEX Outlets and Amazon.
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Re: Oak View Mall - Redevelopment Plan

Post by BPHusker »

Someone wrote an interesting comment in the comment section of one of the articles:
It was originally slated to be residential, the streets were already poured, but no houses built. Then, it all got torn out, and the mall was built.
Is this true? I had no idea about this, probably because I was young when Oakview opened.
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Re: Oak View Mall - Redevelopment Plan

Post by NovakOmaha »

BPHusker wrote:Someone wrote an interesting comment in the comment section of one of the articles:
It was originally slated to be residential, the streets were already poured, but no houses built. Then, it all got torn out, and the mall was built.
Is this true? I had no idea about this, probably because I was young when Oakview opened.
Nope. It was never going to be residential & there were no streets poured. I was old when it opened. At the time it opened folks were wondering how long Westroads would survive.

Karma....and creative management... survive
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Re: Oak View Mall - Redevelopment Plan

Post by Greg S »

It was built near the end of the Mall heyday. When it first opened, it made a big dent on Westroads. Then Westroads remodeled and became number 1 again. I was fresh out of college then and worked for Younkers (had worked there during breaks while in school as well, rotating between Crossroads and Westroads stores). Oak View did not offer really anything new when it opened and was smaller than Westroads.

We will watch it slowly slip over the coming years.

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Re: Oak View Mall - Redevelopment Plan

Post by nebugeater »

what year did Oak view open?
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Re: Oak View Mall - Redevelopment Plan

Post by skinzfan23 »

nebugeater wrote:what year did Oak view open?
1991
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Re: Oak View Mall - Redevelopment Plan

Post by NovakOmaha »

I just remembered something about Oakview.

When Oakview was announced there was another mall announced at the same time. It was to be where Paypal is. Lots of talk about two huge malls planned for about the same time...could Omaha support so many malls, what stores would they get, would there be new to the area stores, etc. Over the course of a few months Oakview seemed to have the upper hand.
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Re: Oak View Mall - Redevelopment Plan

Post by GRANDPASMUCKER »

lonnie wrote:I spent an hour patiently waiting for my wife shopping at Dillard's at Oakview, the future does not look good at Oakview.

I did not do an exact count, but it seems like only 60% occupied (non-anchors) at this peak shopping time. The management put a little lipstick on this pig by decorating the empty store fronts to some degree.

Most surprising is the food court, I'd guess this is only 40% occupied, the pizza oven place that opened a few months ago is now closed.

Unless they can reboot this place with totally unique stores, most area shoppers are going to the Westroads, NEX Outlets and Amazon.
Sounds illogical to me. Westroads is a house of cards that will come down hard sooner or later just like CrossRoads did. The rough element will be the death of Westroads. Its just a matter of when and the signs are over the wall that that time could be soon. Nex will burn out and the truth will come out that they are all loosing money out there. Don't write off Oakview just yet it might just outlast them all. :;):
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Re: Oak View Mall - Redevelopment Plan

Post by michaelsjewel »

GRANDPASMUCKER wrote:
lonnie wrote:I spent an hour patiently waiting for my wife shopping at Dillard's at Oakview, the future does not look good at Oakview.

I did not do an exact count, but it seems like only 60% occupied (non-anchors) at this peak shopping time. The management put a little lipstick on this pig by decorating the empty store fronts to some degree.

Most surprising is the food court, I'd guess this is only 40% occupied, the pizza oven place that opened a few months ago is now closed.

Unless they can reboot this place with totally unique stores, most area shoppers are going to the Westroads, NEX Outlets and Amazon.
Sounds illogical to me. Westroads is a house of cards that will come down hard sooner or later just like CrossRoads did. The rough element will be the death of Westroads. Its just a matter of when and the signs are over the wall that that time could be soon. Nex will burn out and the truth will come out that they are all loosing money out there. Don't write off Oakview just yet it might just outlast them all. :;):
You think Westroads will fall? Here's why Westroads is doing so well.. think of its population around the mall: Regency neighborhood where people have money. It's actually easier to get to Westroads by freeway from 144th and I-80 than Oakview. Westroads pretty much has its own exit. That mall isn't going anywhere. It's doing so well that everyone wants in and there's no space. That's why the old food court will make room for 2 larger stores. Crossroads could come back with unique retailers that no other mall has.
Oakview is nice and isn't as dead as people make it out to be, but the population around it is nothing financially compared to Westroads. And the outlying strip malls from Oakview look like |expletive|. Those all need to be remodeled to look nice.
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Re: Oak View Mall - Redevelopment Plan

Post by GRANDPASMUCKER »

"Oakview is nice and isn't as dead as people make it out to be, but the population around it is nothing financially compared to Westroads"


I wouldn't bet on that. West Center on both sides from about 168th out to the Platte River is full of people who are loaded with crazy money.
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Re: Oak View Mall - Redevelopment Plan

Post by Asten »

NovakOmaha wrote:
Nope. It was never going to be residential & there were no streets poured. I was old when it opened. At the time it opened folks were wondering how long Westroads would survive.
There were indeed a couple streets in the middle of the field. I lived right across the street and shot off model rockets over there, as well as learned to drive (a bit before my time).
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Re: Oak View Mall - Redevelopment Plan

Post by nativeomahan »

GRANDPASMUCKER wrote:
Sounds illogical to me. Westroads is a house of cards that will come down hard sooner or later just like CrossRoads did. The rough element will be the death of Westroads. Its just a matter of when and the signs are over the wall that that time could be soon. Nex will burn out and the truth will come out that they are all loosing money out there. Don't write off Oakview just yet it might just outlast them all. :;):
Just when I think someone can't possibly out-stupid himself...
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Re: Oak View Mall - Redevelopment Plan

Post by Greg S »

GRANDPASMUCKER wrote:"Oakview is nice and isn't as dead as people make it out to be, but the population around it is nothing financially compared to Westroads"


I wouldn't bet on that. West Center on both sides from about 168th out to the Platte River is full of people who are loaded with crazy money.

Village Pointe is capturing those households not Oak View.

Oak View is fading while Westroads is adding new food options and getting new space where the old food court was.


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Re: Oak View Mall - Redevelopment Plan

Post by RNcyanide »

Yeah aside from Dillard's and Younker's, and maybe the jewelry stores, there really isn't any store at Oakview that would capture anyone's money. I'm waiting for a Halloween City and a headshop to move in, and then we'll know it's fate is sealed.
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Re: Oak View Mall - Redevelopment Plan

Post by GRANDPASMUCKER »

nativeomahan wrote:
GRANDPASMUCKER wrote:
Sounds illogical to me. Westroads is a house of cards that will come down hard sooner or later just like CrossRoads did. The rough element will be the death of Westroads. Its just a matter of when and the signs are over the wall that that time could be soon. Nex will burn out and the truth will come out that they are all loosing money out there. Don't write off Oakview just yet it might just outlast them all. :;):
Just when I think someone can't possibly out-stupid himself...
This coming from a guy calling himself a Nebraska native who then posts in the Nebraska Football thread that he thinks the stadium sell out streak will come to an end and that Nebraskans are fools to still keep paying such high prices. Lets face it man you are out of touch and dont get it. Even if you have lived around here for a long time! Ill put my predictions up against yours any day of the week. The Oakview mall aint going anywhere and Nebraska's sell out streak is not ending anytime soon.
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Re: Oak View Mall - Redevelopment Plan

Post by bigredmed »

GRANDPASMUCKER wrote:
nativeomahan wrote:
GRANDPASMUCKER wrote:
Sounds illogical to me. Westroads is a house of cards that will come down hard sooner or later just like CrossRoads did. The rough element will be the death of Westroads. Its just a matter of when and the signs are over the wall that that time could be soon. Nex will burn out and the truth will come out that they are all loosing money out there. Don't write off Oakview just yet it might just outlast them all. :;):
Just when I think someone can't possibly out-stupid himself...
This coming from a guy calling himself a Nebraska native who then posts in the Nebraska Football thread that he thinks the stadium sell out streak will come to an end and that Nebraskans are fools to still keep paying such high prices. Lets face it man you are out of touch and dont get it. Even if you have lived around here for a long time! Ill put my predictions up against yours any day of the week. The Oakview mall aint going anywhere and Nebraska's sell out streak is not ending anytime soon.
Grandpa, in real life, the sell out streak has already ended. They have donors who "buy" the unsold tickets to make it look like it is still going. Been over for a couple of years now.
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Re: Oak View Mall - Redevelopment Plan

Post by TitosBuritoBarn »

I thought that pawn shop was going to bring down the neighborhood? What's Oak View gonna do when all those undesirables start moving in to be close to the pawn shop?
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Re: Oak View Mall - Redevelopment Plan

Post by GRANDPASMUCKER »

TitosBuritoBarn wrote:I thought that pawn shop was going to bring down the neighborhood? What's Oak View gonna do when all those undesirables start moving in to be close to the pawn shop?
The new Sols is a couple blocks south of 144th & Q and the Oakview Mall is at 144th & Center. They are pretty far apart. Sols put the sign up this week and it looks like they are about to open in a week or so. We did have some serious crime out here this week as the Hy-vee across the street from Sols got robbed this week on 144th & Stoneybrook. They got away with 75,000 cash but were soon rounded up and currently reside at the Corrections Center. Turns out a 21 year old store manager had his friend show up at the cash room with a gun right when it was flush with cash.
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Re: Oak View Mall - Redevelopment Plan

Post by omaha79 »

Oak View is just sad these days. There is nothing that mall or the developments around it can offer that one can't get somewhere else. Walking into that mall, it feels like you've walked into a time warp to 1991. Almost nothing has changed since the facility opened...except for all the empty storefronts these days.

The AMC Oak View 24 theater is an incredibly depressing experience. That theater has turned into a pit as well. It needs to be renovated or closed. The last time I watched a movie there, well, it was the last time I'll be going there. The theater felt dirty and disgusting.

The feeling I get when walking into Oak View is not unlike walking into Crossroads circa 1998. Just a facility stuck in the past, not ready to admit defeat, but no feasible plan on how to stop the bleeding.

At this point, I'm more likely to go to Westroads, Nebraska Crossing, Shadow Lake, or just stay home and look at Amazon rather than going to Oak View.
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Re: Oak View Mall - Redevelopment Plan

Post by Seth »

omaha79 wrote:Oak View is just sad these days. There is nothing that mall or the developments around it can offer that one can't get somewhere else. Walking into that mall, it feels like you've walked into a time warp to 1991. Almost nothing has changed since the facility opened...except for all the empty storefronts these days.

The AMC Oak View 24 theater is an incredibly depressing experience. That theater has turned into a pit as well. It needs to be renovated or closed. The last time I watched a movie there, well, it was the last time I'll be going there. The theater felt dirty and disgusting.
My wife and I recently went to Babys'R'Us, followed by BuyBuyBaby. Babys'R'Us is a dump by comparison. The floors were dirty, displays were faded, disorganized, and and just generally dingy. Even when you first arrive, you see the deteriorated parking lot. It just gives the impression that there's no effort to take care of the place.

We don't do much shopping out there, but that's pretty much how I'd describe the experience there.
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Re: Oak View Mall - Redevelopment Plan

Post by Joe_Sovereign »

I don't buy for a second enclosed malls can't be saved. When it is 20 degrees or 100 degrees outside people would rather shop indoors.

The problem is the whole area would need to be redeveloped. You could keep the enclosed mall, rebuild the roads into a more logical road grid, and build Aksarben Village type mixed use density in the massive surface lots.
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Re: Oak View Mall - Redevelopment Plan

Post by Greg S »

Westroads is more than enough for Omaha for the extreme temperature days. No one is building enclosed malls anymore. The stores that populate these malls are fading too.

When I was a kid, my parents brought me to the mall for shopping, then as I got older I went with friends. Today's kids are not being taken at near the frequency we were in the 70's and 80's so as they get older they won't go on their own either.

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Re: Oak View Mall - Redevelopment Plan

Post by omaha79 »

From the dawn of retail to the early 00's, visiting stores was essentially our Window On The World. It was our way to find out new trends and fashions during a time when we didn't have the internet to find out the newest trends in fashion and technology. Enclosed malls upped the ante by giving us hundreds of stores to experience all under one roof and they added a social aspect with movie theaters, arcades, and food courts. It was the ultimate in convenience for its time.

As cutting edge as this was from the 60's to the 90's, it's antiquated today. We can browse hundreds of stores without leaving our computer chair. We can play better video games on our couch and we can watch near theater quality movies in our basement with streaming or blu-ray.

The outdoor lifestyle centers make more sense, because after we've done our online shopping, we can now park outside the 1 store we want to visit and complete our shopping there vs. the hassle of wading through a mall.

The kids that were once the staple of mall culture have found other things to do. No, there is no coming back for the traditional indoor mall. Most cities may find a way to support one, and I think Westroads is that mall for Omaha given the things already discussed such as proximity to interstates and the work that has been done in renovating the facility to keep it relevant.
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Re: Oak View Mall - Redevelopment Plan

Post by omaha79 »

Seth wrote:
omaha79 wrote:Oak View is just sad these days. There is nothing that mall or the developments around it can offer that one can't get somewhere else. Walking into that mall, it feels like you've walked into a time warp to 1991. Almost nothing has changed since the facility opened...except for all the empty storefronts these days.

The AMC Oak View 24 theater is an incredibly depressing experience. That theater has turned into a pit as well. It needs to be renovated or closed. The last time I watched a movie there, well, it was the last time I'll be going there. The theater felt dirty and disgusting.
My wife and I recently went to Babys'R'Us, followed by BuyBuyBaby. Babys'R'Us is a dump by comparison. The floors were dirty, displays were faded, disorganized, and and just generally dingy. Even when you first arrive, you see the deteriorated parking lot. It just gives the impression that there's no effort to take care of the place.

We don't do much shopping out there, but that's pretty much how I'd describe the experience there.
I've mentioned too how I think AMC Oak View 24 is either in need of a huge renovation or might just be on its last legs. But, yes, other stores are showing a ton of wear and tear as well. The entire complex is in need of a huge renovation, but how do you justify it when you're losing stores at such an alarming rate?

You know things are bad when the only thing you can get to fill a huge retail space like the former Hy-Vee is Elite Cheer. If this facility really stood a chance going forward, you wouldn't be filling it with things like this.

Again, this reminds me of the slow death spiral we saw with Southroads and Crossroads. How long before random churches are renting out space within the mall?
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Re: Oak View Mall - Redevelopment Plan

Post by Greg S »

After the renovations done at Twin Creek and Majestic, I find it hard to justify going to any theatre that does not have reserved seats (not to mention the leather recliners).

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Re: Oak View Mall - Redevelopment Plan

Post by NovakOmaha »

Wow. I remember when Oak View 24 opened. Shortly after the 20 screen one opened on Maple. The oak view one was amazing. We went to a benefit grand opening & it blew everything in Omaha away. Times sure change
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Re: Oak View Mall - Redevelopment Plan

Post by omaha79 »

Greg S wrote:After the renovations done at Twin Creek and Majestic, I find it hard to justify going to any theatre that does not have reserved seats (not to mention the leather recliners).

Greg
More often than not, I find myself going to the theaters with the recliners and in seat dining, but I go to AkSarBen quite a bit too. There is room for both.

The comforts of Twin Creek, Majestic, and Alamo are nice, but the smaller seating capacity at these theater concepts often require you to purchase in advance...sometimes well in advance for huge blockbuster movies like Star Wars or Avengers.

It's nice to have a place like AkSarBen where you can meet a larger group of people and not have to worry about coordinating buying tickets together. Sometimes going to a movie is a spur of the moment decision. And, maybe you don't want the Big Screen Bistro experience (which seems to have a cost associated with it built into the ticket price). Sometimes, I like to go to AkSarBen and get dinner before or after at a restaurant.

It's good that we still have variety. I'd hate to see AkSarBen go to all reserved seating, but I bet it will happen one day.
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Re: Oak View Mall - Redevelopment Plan

Post by Greg S »

I haven't ever done the Bistro. I've just gotten spoiled with now not having to arrive early to a movie to get a good seat.

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Re: Oak View Mall - Redevelopment Plan

Post by omaha79 »

NovakOmaha wrote:Wow. I remember when Oak View 24 opened. Shortly after the 20 screen one opened on Maple. The oak view one was amazing. We went to a benefit grand opening & it blew everything in Omaha away. Times sure change
Yep. Times have changed. 20 Grand and Oak View 24 were the places to see movies for a whole generation of kids. Seriously, no one wanted to go to places like Q Cinema 9, Park 4, and Cinema Center after those places opened. They just seemed so cool and high tech.

The dynamic has changed and both places were allowed to become run down. 20 Grand was renovated, but AMC 24 has been allowed to sit and rot away tucked back behind a dying mall where most people now forget about it in the face of so many better movie going options. The insides feel like a time warp to the mid 90's. They have the same cheesy spaceship design that looks like it was lifted from one of the bad Star Trek The Next Generation sequels. The auditoriums were dirty, the floors sticky, and they haven't upgraded the chairs since it opened.

Even the exterior and parking lot seemed to be in bad shape the last time I was there. Unless they've done something about it, the parking lot was rutted up. The grand entrance area was full of cracked pavement.

You can tell that business is down there too. The secondary concession stands were pretty much out of business when I was there. One was mostly curtained off with a couple of video games in front of them to occupy the space.

As of now, it just feels like a sad end for a once proud theater. I give it 5 years or less unless they spend the money to renovate....but, with Village Point and Alamo both within 10 minutes of Oak View along with the general state of the mall and the general decline of theater going making huge multi plexes of 20+ screens less necessary, what's the point?
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Re: Oak View Mall - Redevelopment Plan

Post by GRANDPASMUCKER »

omaha79 wrote:
NovakOmaha wrote:Wow. I remember when Oak View 24 opened. Shortly after the 20 screen one opened on Maple. The oak view one was amazing. We went to a benefit grand opening & it blew everything in Omaha away. Times sure change
Yep. Times have changed. 20 Grand and Oak View 24 were the places to see movies for a whole generation of kids. Seriously, no one wanted to go to places like Q Cinema 9, Park 4, and Cinema Center after those places opened. They just seemed so cool and high tech.

The dynamic has changed and both places were allowed to become run down. 20 Grand was renovated, but AMC 24 has been allowed to sit and rot away tucked back behind a dying mall where most people now forget about it in the face of so many better movie going options. The insides feel like a time warp to the mid 90's. They have the same cheesy spaceship design that looks like it was lifted from one of the bad Star Trek The Next Generation sequels. The auditoriums were dirty, the floors sticky, and they haven't upgraded the chairs since it opened.

Even the exterior and parking lot seemed to be in bad shape the last time I was there. Unless they've done something about it, the parking lot was rutted up. The grand entrance area was full of cracked pavement.

You can tell that business is down there too. The secondary concession stands were pretty much out of business when I was there. One was mostly curtained off with a couple of video games in front of them to occupy the space.

As of now, it just feels like a sad end for a once proud theater. I give it 5 years or less unless they spend the money to renovate....but, with Village Point and Alamo both within 10 minutes of Oak View along with the general state of the mall and the general decline of theater going making huge multi plexes of 20+ screens less necessary, what's the point?

I wouldnt trade any theatre in this town now for the old Indian Hills if you paid me. They all suck bad compared to Indian Hills.
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Re: Oak View Mall - Redevelopment Plan

Post by PotatoeEatsFish »

I have an idea for Oakview. They could make the main area under the dome a big pool that has sand in it and feels like a beach. They could make the second floor a hotel and the first could stay retail. In the main area they could have waterslides that end in the wings off the central area.
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Stargazer
County Board
Posts: 4106
Joined: Sat Dec 09, 2006 11:06 am
Location: Bennington

Re: Oak View Mall - Redevelopment Plan

Post by Stargazer »

Oakview's problem isn't that it's run down, it's not in that bad shape... it's the location. It was doomed from the day it opened.

All it took was bringing Westroads up to the same level of quality renovation/shops/restaurants, where Oakview was at, before it's far superior location was going to siphon off all of Oakview's business. I question whether a metro, the size of Omaha, can even support more than one enclosed mall of the regional to super regional size (certainly in these online-shopping times).

Yes, should start looking for alternative uses sooner than later.
Shoot for the Moon... if you miss, you'll land among the stars.
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