WallStreet Tower Omaha

StreetsOfOmaha · Post by **StreetsOfOmaha** » Thu Aug 20, 2009 3:43 pm

I didn't realize that DLR Group did the architecture for this (and Wallstreet Tower Dallas).

I had never seen any confirmation that the project would offer street level retail in the parking structure (south side/Dodge Street).

The DLR website shows a layout of the project that identifies retail entrances and "retail/restaurant at ground level".

http://www.dlrgroup.com/#/3.9.3/

I don't know if anyone else had already confirmed this, but this is excellent to see for sure.

Tornado · Post by **Tornado** » Thu Aug 20, 2009 5:38 pm

I've never seen that but I did know DLR group was involved in the design. I didn't see a date on that project layout and the design is still the old WST design so I wouldn't read too much in to that site. I was kind of hoping to have some kind of confirmation on the new plans and tower design as it is getting toward the end of August already.

annad · Post by **annad** » Thu Aug 20, 2009 8:50 pm

StreetsOfOmaha wrote:I didn't realize that DLR Group did the architecture for this (and Wallstreet Tower Dallas).

I had never seen any confirmation that the project would offer street level retail in the parking structure (south side/Dodge Street).

The DLR website shows a layout of the project that identifies retail entrances and "retail/restaurant at ground level".

http://www.dlrgroup.com/#/3.9.3/

I don't know if anyone else had already confirmed this, but this is excellent to see for sure.

Streets, from what I remember from talking with the guy from Townsend, it sounded like retail was never (and probably really isn't) a sure bet. Â I kind of think the data center thing has taken over the retail space. Â Bummer.

StreetsOfOmaha · Post by **StreetsOfOmaha** » Fri Aug 21, 2009 11:03 am

They would put the data center on the ground level of the parking garage???

I thought the only thing that really changed was the size of the building and some of the uses within the tower. I was under the impression that everything else was remaining the same.

OmahaChef · Post by **OmahaChef** » Mon Aug 24, 2009 12:26 pm

Who does this proposed data center belong to? Â

The WallStreet Tower in Dallas looks hot! Â So does DLR's Helene Curtis Tower. Â How come architecture here always looks the same as everything else that has been built in the past? Â It is a rhetorical question, don't even bother to answer. Â Just venting momentarily.

ShawJ · Post by **ShawJ** » Mon Aug 24, 2009 1:42 pm

I really hope we see footing work this fall like previous posts have said. Even though it hasn't been too long since FNC and UP were finished, I'm getting bored with our skyline. I guess I'm impatient.

thenewguy · Post by **thenewguy** » Mon Aug 24, 2009 8:58 pm

ShawJ wrote:I really hope we see footing work this fall like previous posts have said. Even though it hasn't been too long since FNC and UP were finished, I'm getting bored with our skyline. I guess I'm impatient.

With any luck they'll get rolling on it and the hotel at Swanson next year.

RegisResident · Post by **RegisResident** » Tue Aug 25, 2009 10:02 pm

Unfortunately I heard something not so positive about this project tonight. I guess the developer is still having financing challenges so it doesn't look like anything is going to start anytime soon. From what I heard, the city is planning on filing a code violation against the developer for the hole in the ground. The city wants something done with the hole (i.e. filled in and grass planted) until the developer can get financing secured.

Tornado · Post by **Tornado** » Wed Sep 02, 2009 5:30 pm

Posted: Tue Aug 04, 2009 9:31 pm Â Â Post subject: Â Â

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I went to an All About Omaha happy hour today at the Wall Street Tower show rooms. Â There was a rep from Towsend there (scott? Â steve?) and they announced to our group that they met their sales goals this week, and that they have secured letters of commitment from two financiers this week as well. Â He said we can expect a ground breaking (or building, I suppose, since the dirt hole is definitely broken ground already) announcement within I think 60 days (90? Â Ben?).

I chatted with him later and he said they're very much committed to the project and very excited about Omaha. Â I asked him what other tenants he hoped to bring to the project and he talked about the data center thing for a while. Â I asked him about the Hyatt Place and he said there's actually a Plan B that he hopes happens instead - full service with some meeting space, and a "better" brand, he said - which would probably take up more space. Â Not sure if Hyatt would still come to the market if this falls through, but either way, sounds like it's going to happen.

Ben, what else do you remember?
OOPS!!!!!!!!!!!! What a difference a month makes huh..........................

HskrFanMike · Post by **HskrFanMike** » Thu Sep 03, 2009 12:38 pm

If the Townsend folks gave any indication that this project was dying, any potential customers still interested would drop them like a hot coal. Â Call that update from last month the death throes of a project; a last gasp effort to salvage the project and rekindle interest.

We'll know if they jumped the shark when they announce the partnership with Steve Minard to replace the other tower with a 30 story water slide and ferris wheel.

HskrFanMike · Post by **HskrFanMike** » Thu Sep 10, 2009 12:23 pm

From KMTV-3 last evening:

An Action Three News viewer urged us to investigate what he calls an "eyesore and a safety hazard". Â We called developer Jason Townsend in Overland Park, Kansas numerous times and kept getting his voice mail. Â Townsend did call back and said he hopes to finalize his construction loan in the next sixty days and is excited about the progress being made. Â Our investigation dug deeper. Â Omaha Economic Development Manager Ken Johnson says banks have tightened the purse strings on making loans for projects such as WallStreet Tower. Â He says if Townsend is not able to start construction this fall, the city will order him to clean-up the site.

http://www.kmtv.com/global/story.asp?s=11103926

Still "sixty days" away apparently... Â

Â :roll: Â :roll:

Tornado · Post by **Tornado** » Sun Oct 04, 2009 8:04 pm

Really interesting article in the World-Herald today about the city deadline to have Townsend clean up the block, and where the project stands as of now. Townsend said the project is still moving forward and a lender was in town last week for a few days and was impressed, said he hopes to hear back from the lender in a couple weeks. Also said he is to meet with the mayor in the near future. Townsend said they will do nothing more to the block than clean it up due to the fact it's a construction zone and engineers and architects need access to it. Overall it sounded like he really, really, is trying to get this tower constructed and that the city of Omaha is going to be very patient with him due to the economic conditions. We'll just have to wait and see.

ShawJ · Post by **ShawJ** » Sun Oct 04, 2009 8:29 pm

Sigh...

I feel like Townsend would say this project is still "moving forward" even if it was completely canceled. I'm tired of hearing, "blah blah blah will happen a few weeks/months from now." I told myself I'm not going to get optimistic until I actually see something happen.

OmahaChef · Post by **OmahaChef** » Mon Oct 05, 2009 12:20 am

I am not sure I quite get all the Townsend bashing, but then I remember the eomahaforums of a year ago to be a lot more fun to participate in than it seems today. Â Every thread has the same tone as this one.

I suspect Mr. Townsend is earnestly trying to make this project work, but I really can not imagine anyone having an easy go of getting a lendor to fund a speculative high rise project in this ecomonic climate. Â Especially in a market like Omaha, where almost every condo project downtown still has units not sold, in some cases 2-3 years after the project is "completed". Â Farnum 1600 has units available, The Brandeis has units available. Â Beebe Runyan has a top floor still unsold. Â 1100 Jackson is not sold out. Â There are still unsold units at SOMA. Â The Kimball building has units available. Â jLofts has units available. Â I think there are still a couple of condos at Riverfront Place I still unoccupied. Â 902 Dodge sits almost empty. Â But somehow, Townsend should have been able to easily obtain financing for a tower of condominiums?? Â If there is so much demand, why are existing condo projects not sold out? Â Wouldn't demand be a contributing factor in being able to obtain a lendor?

ShawJ · Post by **ShawJ** » Mon Oct 05, 2009 8:41 am

OmahaChef wrote:I am not sure I quite get all the Townsend bashing, but then I remember the eomahaforums of a year ago to be a lot more fun to participate in than it seems today. Every thread has the same tone as this one.

I suspect Mr. Townsend is earnestly trying to make this project work, but I really can not imagine anyone having an easy go of getting a lendor to fund a speculative high rise project in this ecomonic climate. Especially in a market like Omaha, where almost every condo project downtown still has units not sold, in some cases 2-3 years after the project is "completed". Farnum 1600 has units available, The Brandeis has units available. Beebe Runyan has a top floor still unsold. 1100 Jackson is not sold out. There are still unsold units at SOMA. The Kimball building has units available. jLofts has units available. I think there are still a couple of condos at Riverfront Place I still unoccupied. 902 Dodge sits almost empty. But somehow, Townsend should have been able to easily obtain financing for a tower of condominiums?? If there is so much demand, why are existing condo projects not sold out? Wouldn't demand be a contributing factor in being able to obtain a lendor?

I'm not trying to bash Townsend. I'm sure he's trying his hardest to make this all work, and I appreciate that. I just get irritated with the constant "dates" that never happen. Or the figures about sales that weren't true. I'd rather just not hear anything about the project rather than hear dates or numbers that can't be backed up. Maybe that's common practice with these projects though, and a lot of it is probably due to my own impatience.

stabone99 · Post by **stabone99** » Mon Oct 05, 2009 9:25 am

There were workers down at the site today. Â They were moving some of the concrete barriers. Â I'm assuming they are just doing some clean up work for the site.

HskrFanMike · Post by **HskrFanMike** » Mon Oct 05, 2009 12:19 pm

I think they are merely trying to reopen the sidewalks and maybe bulldoze the weeds. Â Last week when the wind kicked up, some of them broke free and started blowing around inside the fencing. Â If one of them had blown over the fence, nobody wants to see tumbleweeds blowing into the Old Market.

Tornado · Post by **Tornado** » Mon Oct 05, 2009 7:19 pm

The article was in the Sunday World-Herald, and I guess I don't even know if everything makes it to the website or not. One other thing I found interesting was that a member of the Omaha Chamber of Commerce, I believe, said he was very impressed with Townsends persistance and talked about all the unique options of financing that they are pursuing and trying to get accepted to get this thing constructed. Townsend also made a point to say they spent millions on demolition and are very devoted to Omaha and are going to make this happen. The cost of the new project was quoted as 190 million dollars.

Uffda · Post by **Uffda** » Mon Oct 05, 2009 10:11 pm

I have the sunday paper here and it was an article/column by Michael Kelly. I can't find it online but they do have a couple that are about a week old so maybe it will make it up eventually.

Post by **Omaha Cowboy** » Tue Oct 06, 2009 9:14 pm

Tornado wrote:The article was in the Sunday World-Herald, and I guess I don't even know if everything makes it to the website or not. One other thing I found interesting was that a member of the Omaha Chamber of Commerce, I believe, said he was very impressed with Townsends persistance and talked about all the unique options of financing that they are pursuing and trying to get accepted to get this thing constructed.

The member of the Chamber of Commerce quoted in the Sunday W-H article was none other than its Executive President David Brown..

PS-

Excellent post Chef..

..Ciao..LiO....Peace

stabone99 · Post by **stabone99** » Wed Oct 07, 2009 10:09 am

They moved all of the fences back and they were actually inside today moving some dirt around. Â Probably cleaning up the area I'd guess.

michaelsjewel · Post by **michaelsjewel** » Wed Oct 07, 2009 12:03 pm

stabone99 wrote:They moved all of the fences back and they were actually inside today moving some dirt around. Probably cleaning up the area I'd guess.

yep...drove by it this morning from class... they've moved the barriers back to allow parking again and they have loaders and stuff inside the area so suppose they are cleaning up the area - hopefully getting going on this building

MTO · Post by **MTO** » Wed Oct 07, 2009 1:14 pm

I have much empathy for this man. I am sure he has as much passion to build this just as much as one of us city-geeks. I don’t blame him for anything other then trying, there is no way he could have seen this shitty economy coming. Even with all these delays and hurtles he still seams to be putting in a lot of effort. Until one of us can step in and do a better job then him quit your bitching.

ShawJ · Post by **ShawJ** » Wed Oct 07, 2009 1:59 pm

michaelsjewel wrote:
stabone99 wrote:They moved all of the fences back and they were actually inside today moving some dirt around. Probably cleaning up the area I'd guess.
yep...drove by it this morning from class... they've moved the barriers back to allow parking again and they have loaders and stuff inside the area so suppose they are cleaning up the area - hopefully getting going on this building

If they moved barriers to allow parking, I'd guess that's a good indication that work isn't going to be getting started soon.

Post by **Brad** » Wed Oct 07, 2009 3:10 pm

ShawJ wrote:If they moved barriers to allow parking, I'd guess that's a good indication that work isn't going to be getting started soon.

No meters yet either!

the1wags · Post by **the1wags** » Wed Oct 07, 2009 4:12 pm

Yes, sadly there's no way that they contract the fenced off area right before starting construction.

This thing is gonna sit for a few months more at least, if it happens at all.

S33 · Post by **S33** » Sun Oct 11, 2009 6:43 pm

yes!! Wall Street is moving forward! They even mentioned cleaning up the site for a ribbon cutting... lol, yeah that was sarcasm. Heres the story anyway...

http://www.ketv.com/money/21266934/detail.html

'"We're finalizing our due diligence with the construction lender," Townsend said.

He said he hopes to finish that process in the next 60 to 90 days and then the project should start to take shape. He said there was no specific groundbreaking date in mind.'

^where have I heard that before? Ok, we should probably stop busting their balls. I do understand these projects take time, patience, and often include many setbacks (especially these days)

Post by **Brad** » Mon Apr 12, 2010 4:35 pm

Josh texted me and said there is a bulldozer on site.

HskrFanMike · Post by **HskrFanMike** » Mon Apr 12, 2010 9:50 pm

That's probably because the wall keeping Dodge Street from crashing into the hole has started to give way. Â :shock: Â :shock: Â :shock:

Post by **Brad** » Wed Apr 14, 2010 10:02 am

Jason Townsend is speaking at CREW this Friday:

http://www.crewmidwest.com/event-details.asp

OmahaChef · Post by **OmahaChef** » Wed Apr 14, 2010 10:36 am

Sounds right. Â They are packing dirt up against the Dodge Street side.

OmahaJaysCU · Post by **OmahaJaysCU** » Wed Apr 14, 2010 12:58 pm

9:00 a.m. Â

RETHINK. RETOOL. RECOVER.: Redevelopment of Existing Real Estate Projects Examine how existing real estate projects have re-tooled & transformed to keep the project afloat.

Pamela Dingman, CEO - Engineering Design Consultants, LLC - Co-Chair
John Dineen Jr., AIA Omaha - HDR - Co-Chair

Â Â * Ed Fleming, Senior Vice President - Grubb & Ellis|Pacific Realty
Â Â * Jason Townsend, Townsend Co. of Kansas City & the Wall Street Towers Development
Â Â * Larry Foster - Director of Parks, Recreation, and Public Property - City of Council Bluffs, Iowa

So how to beat a dead horse with a project that has been dead for years?

almighty_tuna · Post by **almighty_tuna** » Wed Apr 14, 2010 8:48 pm

Am definitely interested in what he has to say.

Stargazer · Post by **Stargazer** » Wed Apr 14, 2010 9:06 pm

I place myself in the 'I can't wait to hear this one' camp.

ShawJ · Post by **ShawJ** » Thu Apr 15, 2010 10:50 am

Anyone catch the small tidbit in the money section of the paper? Nothing meaningful or anything we haven't already heard, but still shows that this project might only be 98% dead rather than 100% dead.

Post by **Brad** » Thu Apr 15, 2010 10:54 am

Developer: Deal in reach on tower

http://www.omaha.com/article/20100415/M ... h-on-tower

Jeffrey Robb WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITER wrote:The dirt work happening this week at downtown's WallStreet Tower site is not a sign that the long-awaited project is starting.

But the developer said Wednesday that behind-the-scenes work is proceeding.

Jason Townsend, president of developer Townsend Inc., said the project's prospective lender is in the final stages of its “due diligence” in evaluating the project. Townsend said he thinks the high-rise condominium, office and retail development is within 45 days of closing its financing deal, which would lead to construction.

“We believe we're quite literally to the end of the line,” he said.

S33 · Post by **S33** » Thu Apr 15, 2010 11:12 am

Like I said, completion by the first pitch of the CWS.

Stargazer · Post by **Stargazer** » Thu Apr 15, 2010 12:13 pm

I understand the winning construction bid went to Shirk Brothers Construction.

justnick · Post by **justnick** » Thu Apr 15, 2010 12:26 pm

At least 45 is a new number. Variety is the spice of life!

Bosco55David · Post by **Bosco55David** » Thu Apr 15, 2010 1:29 pm

Have to admire their perseverance.