Midtown Apartments

[Seth]

Hey all, I've been a lurker for a couple months so I figured I ought to actually sign up.

My wife and I will be moving to Omaha in June when I start working at Kiewit.  We're in the process of looking for apartments now so I thought I'd post and see if any of you on the forum had suggestions.  We want a decent-sized one-bedroom that allows our small dog in Midtown within 1-2 miles of 36th and Farnam, as I fully intend on walking/biking to work.  After living without needing to drive on a daily basis for the last 4 years in college, I'm not going back to car commuting!  In fact, Kiewit's urban setting was a big reason I chose them over another attractive firm in the Chicago suburbs (did I mention I dislike suburbia?).

I've been looking at places with Urban Village and of course Midtown Crossing.  I can't find much on Urban Village outside of what they've told me on the phone and what's on their website (uvomaha.com).  Their units look nice enough, although maybe a bit on the high side.

I'd love to live at MTC, but it seems to be a bit outside of our budgeted price.  If it weren't for the $85/month parking, I would feel a lot better about it.  I love the project though, and wherever we live, I'm sure we'll be patronizing the businesses there.

Any suggestions opinions?

[Admin]

Welcome to eOmahaForums Seth! I hope we can help you here.

[TechnicalDisaster]

Welcome to Omaha!  Good luck with your move!

(Sorry, I don't know what apartments allow pets downtown.  Someone on here will know.)

[GetUrban]

You should look into the St. Regis Apartments at 619 S. 37th St. The building is on the National Register of Historical Places, and the apartments have large living and dining rooms, high ceilings, secure entry's, elevator, etc. I've been in the building recently....very cool. It's in the historic Gold Coast Neighborhood.




http://www.historicomaha.com/nrhp.htm

I'm not sure who the rental company is, but it is worth looking into....don't know if they allow pets. Welcome to Eomaha.

[Midtown Gal]

I lived at the Colbert when I was in college.  They were really big and pretty nice - lots of old world charm.  They're on the SE corner of 38th & Farnam.

[Seth]

Thanks for the suggestions guys/gals.  We are definitely going to check out the Colbert building, but St. Regis does not allow pets.  For those who wonder, they are managed by Duda Realty (http://www.dudarealty.com/index.cfm) who also manages some other historic buildings in the Midtown area.  Too bad we have a dog...

Thanks also for the warm welcome.  I'm looking forward to living where at least some of the population is progressive and community-minded.

[StreetsOfOmaha]

Seth, I sent you a private message. So check that if you haven't already

[Melissa]

Seth, welcome to Omaha and to Kiewit.  As far as parking goes, there is a chance that you can park your vehicle in the Kiewit lots and leave it there, though you'd likely want to verify.  PM me for appropriate contact info if you want to explore that possibility.  There are tons of apartments and houses for rent near Kiewit.  I realize The Jackson with Broadmoor mgmt (http://broadmoor.cc/community.asp?ID=28) doesn't indicate that it is dog friendly, but several of their other complexes have recently changed their policy.  It's worth a shot to ask.

[Hoop]

If you haven't tried already, check out The Apartment Guide Magazine.

http://www.apartmentguide.com/apartment ... a/5-miles/

There are lots of nice places available, especially with the abundance of Condo projects flooding the area, some are transitioning to apartments in order to move some units.  All depends on your budget I suppose.  Good luck.

[Seth]

Thanks again for the friendly welcome.  My wife and I made the (grueling) 8-hour drive out there on Saturday, toured apartments for 5 hours, and then made the 8-hour drive back home.  I still think the lack of sleep was still worth saving a night at a hotel.

We looked at quite a range of places from run-down student apartments (the twin Turner Park buildings on Dodge directly across from MTC) to completely rehabbed historic buildings.  We eventually found a place at 31st and Jackson that both my wife and I loved.  It's on old building that's been completely gutted and is nearing the completion of its rehab; I was even able to inspect the structural and mechanical systems due to varying stages of construction.  The guy who owns and runs the place was great and even excited to show me a lot of details in the rehab work once he found out I was an engineer.  It's only 4 blocks from MTC and about 9 blocks from Kiewit, so just about everything important is within walking distance.  We're both excited about moving out in June and we'll be the first tenants in our unit once it's finished.

We looked at the Colbert building, but they only had large 2 and 3 bedroom units available.  It's a fantastic old building and really would have been impressive 80 years ago as it appears to have been built for upper-middle-class families with its huge living and dining rooms and ornate decorative features everywhere.  It really is showing its age, though, and doesn't look like there has been any work beyond painting and hack-job repairs in recent years.  It really would be magnificent if it were restored.

[StreetsOfOmaha]

Sounds like you're going with the Urban Village rehab. They have bought and gutted many historical buildings which had fallen into very bad repair, and retrofitted them with sleek, modern finishes and amenities.

Anyway, my girlfriend used to live right on 31st St. in the Monticello (it sits right next to its twin, the Mount Vernon). I also have friends who live right at 31st and Turner Blvd.

You will love the area, especially for its walkability to Midtown Crossing and great green space, as well as its super easy access to Downtown via bicycle or transit.