Omaha, Lincoln urged to join forces

Post by **Coyote** » Sat Oct 02, 2004 2:19 am

Omaha, Lincoln urged to join forces

When big developers look at Nebraska, they see cities - even Omaha - that are too small to invest in, a New Orleans consultant said Friday.

"In their view, your state is dying," Robert Siegel told Nebraska business, government and academic leaders.

To fix that, Siegel said, Nebraska should quit selling Omaha and Lincoln separately and start packaging them as one market for business development.

Siegel said his big clients aren't interested in a state whose population is not growing and that lacks an identifiable market with at least a million people.

"Omaha is not large enough," Siegel said. "But if you combine Omaha with Lincoln, you will make it."

His clients want to locate in the country's 50 biggest markets. Together, he said, the combined Omaha-Lincoln market would rank 52nd with a population of more than 1 million.

Siegel's call for the state's two biggest cities to cooperate drew loud applause from about 200 people at an Omaha-Lincoln I-80 Corridor Economic Summit at the Strategic Air and Space Museum near Ashland.

A series of panels and individual speakers discussed creation of a corridor commission to do such things as plan infrastructure and economic development.

State Sen. Pam Brown of Omaha, who organized the meeting, said she hopes to create an ad-hoc group to push the idea of a corridor commission.

It's likely, she said in an interview, that she and Sen. Jim Jensen of Omaha will try again to pass a state law creating such a commission. A law would "put the Legislature's seal of approval on it," Brown said.

Jensen said an earlier effort to pass such a bill failed because of the state's budget problems.

Siegel, who has clients in Nebraska, urged creation of a statewide I-80 commission. It should extend into Iowa, he said, because Council Bluffs is part of the Omaha metro area and the crossroads of coast-to-coast I-80 and Canada-to-Mexico I-29-35.

Nebraska needs to develop a growth strategy and commit the necessary resources, he said. "If it takes money, raise taxes," he said.

"Give me an opportunity to tell my clients Omaha-Lincoln is where they ought to be."

A variety of state leaders were at Friday's meeting. J.B. Milliken, University of Nebraska president who recently moved back to the state from North Carolina, spoke about that state's 50-year-old Research Triangle, a multicounty economic development area that Siegel said changed North Carolina's image.

Chamber of Commerce leaders from Omaha and Lincoln, as well as Richard Baier of the State Department of Economic Development, spoke about their cooperative efforts.

Several legislators attended, including Speaker Curt Bromm. Others attending were Mayors Coleen Seng of Lincoln and Mike Fahey of Omaha; University of Nebraska-Lincoln Chancellor Harvey Perlman; Don Leuenberger, vice chancellor of the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha; Sarpy and Cass County officials; and business leaders including Tony Raimondo, chairman and chief executive of Behlen Manufacturing in Columbus. Gov. Mike Johanns delivered the closing remarks.

"We've got the movers and shakers here," Jensen said.

A number of speakers urged action. "I'm calling you to arms," said Bart Stanco, an executive at Gartner Inc., a Stamford, Conn., consulting firm. "Someone has to lead the charge."

almighty_tuna · Post by **almighty_tuna** » Sat Oct 02, 2004 3:06 am

As with everything else, it looks good on paper. I wonder who will "cross the line" first and make a tangible commitment to a union of this magnitude. Great find, Coyote.

Call me pessimistic, however I don't see Lincoln stepping up to the plate given its reluctance in the past along with its leadership trends. They don't seem ready to commit to such a project. Having an airport between Lincoln and Omaha would be huge to bolster the develpment between cities and the "buying power" of the combined population. Of course we all know what happened with that. Is this something that Omaha will have to lead the charge with? My crystal ball tells me we will waste millions in studies to tell us what we already know. Commuter rail will be a must.

eomaha · Post by **eomaha** » Sat Oct 02, 2004 7:32 am

I'm opposed to a new airport between Omaha and Lincoln. The hub of activity in Omaha will remain downtown... that is where the airport should remain (until it won't support the growth at least). It represents one of Omaha's big pluses with regards to being a great convention/business destination.

Now I'd be all for a commercial airport increasing the attractiveness of a trade/commerce zone setup between the two cities.

DTO Luv · Post by **DTO Luv** » Sat Oct 02, 2004 5:46 pm

See. See. Thas's why I put the Omaha-Lincoln population on my signature.

I think Lincoln will be the one dragging it's feet in this deal. They do not wan to be an actual city like Omaha. I can see why retailers, restaurants, and employers don't look at Omaha (incl. Lincoln) as an option. We already know that many people from Lincoln (and beyond) work in Omaha or come to Omaha to shop or visit. Look at the article. It said our state was dying (Quite the opposite in Omaha though.) But people in NYC aren't going to pick up on what we have if they keep seeing it as Omaha. Lincoln. Instead of Omaha-Lincoln (they should just call it Omaha

).

I'm glad they didn't put an airport between the two. That would be a long drive for the Omahans who use airports more often than people in Lincoln. I think Lincoln could potentially drive some of it's citizens to move to Omaha. If people who live in Lincoln but work in Omaha get sick of the 45 min triop to work then that could be a factor. Another would be getting used to the shopping selection in Omaha and not wanting to make that trip.

It's obvious that large business won't do well in Lincoln. Look at Gallup. Omaha had the people, the Qwest Center, nearby large airport, and attractive property. Lincoln doesn't have any of that on scale with Omaha. Tuition has gone up alot in the last few years so their enrollment dropped. UNO dropped to but gained many freshmen. UNO will start to be the new UNL if it already isn't starting to.

It's only a 60 mile differance between DTO and DTL. Apperently in between them is the 52nd largest U.S. Metropolitan area. I hope that leaders (especially in Lincoln) see that a combined metro would do wonders for the area. I know I bash Lincoln alot but they are in a big position to help or hurt us.

projectman · Post by **projectman** » Sat Oct 02, 2004 7:14 pm

I wonder how the commuting patterns will change between Omaha and Lincoln in the next 6 years? Maybe the government will decide, since the two cities share so many commuters, to combine Lancaster county with the Omaha metro in 2013. They usually adjust the metropolitan area boundries about 3 years after the census numbers have been returned.

Who knows? It's not totally out of the question.

DTO Luv · Post by **DTO Luv** » Sat Oct 02, 2004 7:36 pm

They're already adding another lane in between the two. IF they put a train in, Omaha will have to have a very good local rail transit to service all parts of the city. We might have to wait for 2013 for Lancaster County to be "officially" part of the metro but it'll happen way before that.

StreetsOfOmaha · Post by **StreetsOfOmaha** » Sat Oct 02, 2004 7:46 pm

"Siegel said his big clients aren't interested in a state whose population is not growing and that lacks an identifiable market with at least a million people."

Not growing? What!

"Give me an opportunity to tell my clients Omaha-Lincoln is where they ought to be."

Who's denying him this opportunity? Omaha and Lincoln are what they are, and while referring to them as a package deal would be good for both cities (one more than the other

), it doesn't change the fact that there are about 1.15 million people in the Omaha-Lincoln area already.

I agree that Lincoln is important to the Omaha economy in some ways, but I don't understand how this guy failed to see that Omaha is on the virge of breaking into "the next tier" on its own. It doesn't need to latch on to Lincoln to get noticed.

Anyway, like I said, while I agree that looking at the Omaha METRO REGION, including Lincoln, is a good thing, I still take what this guy has to say with a grain of salt.

Finn · Post by **Finn** » Mon Oct 04, 2004 4:13 pm

I think he has a good point. Many people know of Omaha and many people have heard of Lincoln due to its association with the university. But people in larger metropolitan areas are ignorant of Midwestern geography. Combining the two would do wonders with image and name recognition. It would also give a perception that there is more to Nebraska. Many people on the east coast don't even realize where Omaha is located and assume it is a small town. Omaha-Lincoln could be used similarly to Minneapolis-St. Paul, Raleigh-Durham, etc.

DTO Luv · Post by **DTO Luv** » Mon Oct 04, 2004 5:13 pm

More like Raliegh-Durham than Minneapolis-St. Paul. But why not aim high and shoot for Dallas-Ft. Worth.

StreetsOfOmaha · Post by **StreetsOfOmaha** » Tue Oct 05, 2004 1:22 am

Just as long as Omaha comes first

.