Omaha Steel Castings Redevelopment

Downtown, Midtown, and all parts east of 72nd.

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eomaha
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Omaha Steel Castings Redevelopment

Post by eomaha »

Not the most popular midtown presence... nonetheless I like the manufacturing success stories in Omaha.
Leader from Midlands Business Journal wrote: Rise in demand stokes sales for Omaha Steel Castings

After six years of declining production that put many steel foundries out of business, Omaha Steel Castings Co. — the only steel foundry in the state and one of few in the Midwest — can’t hire people fast enough to manufacture products for Caterpillar Equipment and other solid customers.
“When the recession ended for us,” President and CEO Ron Howlett said, “it ended in a blur.”

The rush of activity came as a result of several factors that converged. After a five-year holding pattern on major construction — commercial buildings and government infrastructure such as bridges and roads — which drastically reduced the capacity of steel foundries around the country, there is now a construction boom creating high demand for heavy equipment.
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Brad
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Post by Brad »

This is HUGE for Midtown Omaha!!!

16 Acres ripe for development!

Omaha Steel picks Wahoo for expansion

http://www.omaha.com/article/20120111/M ... -expansion
Kris Byars WORLD-HERALD NEWS SERVICE wrote:Omaha Steel Castings Co. has announced a plan to move the business to Wahoo, Neb.

The company — in business in Omaha since 1906 — has been looking to expand its operations for about the last three years, said Omaha Steel President and owner Phil Teggart.

The company, near 46th and Farnam Streets, creates steel castings and fabricates mechanical parts, doing about $25 million in sales a year.
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Brad
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Post by Brad »

Here is a Map:
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Big E
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Post by Big E »

I'd be surprised if UNMC isn't already all over this.
Stable genius.
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Post by Coyote »

Big E wrote:I'd be surprised if UNMC isn't already all over this.
No kidding. I'm sure they have already quoted them a price for that land
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Post by Big E »

Coyote wrote:
Big E wrote:I'd be surprised if UNMC isn't already all over this.
No kidding. I'm sure they have already quoted them a price for that land
I'd actually be surprised if it isn't already a done deal contingent on the move.
Stable genius.
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Post by Coyote »

I was thinking the same thing. I also wonder if the price came in before they even thought of moving.
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Post by Omababe »

Brad wrote:Omaha Steel picks Wahoo for expansion
So?

Why wouldn't they want to stay in Omaha?
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Brad
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Post by Brad »

Not sure?  I just know they have 16 acres of property right in the Middle of Midtown!
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Post by Brad »

Here is an Aerial I shot back in 2010:
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Post by ShawJ »

Well, you won't have to plug your nose driving down Farnam anymore.
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Post by bigredmed »

Big E wrote:I'd be surprised if UNMC isn't already all over this.
I think I was at a meeting and that stretch of ground is where they want to move Saddle creek street to when they open up the creek for pondage and flood control (like the Ironwood project) and build more research buildings on the east side of what is now Saddlecreek.
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Post by Big E »

I thought that whole "move Saddle Creek" thing was DOA....?

I never understood it, either.

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Post by bigredmed »

Omababe wrote:
Brad wrote:Omaha Steel picks Wahoo for expansion
So?

Why wouldn't they want to stay in Omaha?
OWH quoted the management as saying something that might be ominous.   They quoted them as saying that they are moving to Wahoo, because their city leaders wanted them there.   They further said that they had looked at properties in Bellevue and North Omaha, only to be welcomed in Wahoo.   This will be good for that town, they are in need of some serious business other than Lake Wahnahoo and the fairgrounds.   If the quote is accurate and the people giving the quote are not just building an image to the people in Wahoo, this could be concerning.   They employ 220 people now and want to add 125 more.   Somehow, someone in the city hall or the chamber of commerce let them slip away.  I can't believe that 350 jobs in North Omaha would not be welcomed.   I can't believe that in Bellevue, 350 jobs would be passed by.  

North Omaha had a tool and die company that moved from 30th street to 108th and I, and now we can't find suitable space to help one of our oldest manufacturing companies to expand into an area that is economically blighted?  

Something smells here.
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Post by NovakOmaha »

That's what struck me as well.  It certainly isn't the Interstate access.  My wife said it must be that they want to be near Dave Letterman's home office.  
Not one piece of land in Douglas County?  In Sarpy County?  
Here's a good question.  Who pays for the cleanup of the land?
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Post by Omaha_Gabe »

http://omahanewsstand.com/articles/2012 ... 856176.txt


The property where Teggart wishes to build will have to be rezoned from agricultural ground to industrial ground. The site would also have to be annexed by the City of Wahoo. A blight study would then have to be done, in order to pave the way for tax increment financing. Additional infrastructure, such as utility lines, would need to be extended to the property.

Only once all these things are complete, would Teggart be ready to start in earnest on building.

Assuming he can obtain all the appropriate permits, Teggart would like to break ground in July, and would expect the process of building the location and shifting his operations from Omaha to Wahoo to take between 18 and 24 months.

“We can’t stop production, so we would actually have to operate both locations for up to a year while we make the switch,” he said.

If all goes well, Teggart hoped to have the new location up and running in Wahoo by July 2014.
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Post by SaveOmaha »

That's good news!
Last edited by SaveOmaha on Sat Jul 23, 2022 1:23 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Post by Coyote »

You know, when I worked at UNMC, my parking lot was just south of Caffeine Dreams, and I never noticed a smell there, as opposed to driving passed L, through the stockyards way back in its day.
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Brad
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Post by Brad »

There is a distinct smell some days.  Not always.  I live about a half mile from the factory and I can smell it at the house some nights.  Its a very metallic or chemical smell.
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Post by StreetsOfOmaha »

Oh yes... the weird chemically smell near Midtown. I was in the North Gold Coast a few days ago and smelled it there, too.
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Post by cdub »

Its not that easy to find a piece of property to move such a business too.  Its one thing for people to tolerate smell and noise that has always been there.  Its another to bring it to a new place.  

I hope they can get the labor pool they need in Wahoo.  Its not an easy job and they go through a lot of people.
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Post by NovakOmaha »

bigredmed wrote:
Omababe wrote:
Brad wrote:Omaha Steel picks Wahoo for expansion
So?

Why wouldn't they want to stay in Omaha?
OWH quoted the management as saying something that might be ominous.   They quoted them as saying that they are moving to Wahoo, because their city leaders wanted them there.   They further said that they had looked at properties in Bellevue and North Omaha, only to be welcomed in Wahoo.   This will be good for that town, they are in need of some serious business other than Lake Wahnahoo and the fairgrounds.   If the quote is accurate and the people giving the quote are not just building an image to the people in Wahoo, this could be concerning.   They employ 220 people now and want to add 125 more.   Somehow, someone in the city hall or the chamber of commerce let them slip away.  I can't believe that 350 jobs in North Omaha would not be welcomed.   I can't believe that in Bellevue, 350 jobs would be passed by.  

North Omaha had a tool and die company that moved from 30th street to 108th and I, and now we can't find suitable space to help one of our oldest manufacturing companies to expand into an area that is economically blighted?  

Something smells here.
The way I read the article is not that they employ 220 and want to add 125, but that maybe about 1/2 of current employees will want to drive to Wahoo, thus the need to hire 125.  I could be wrong.
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Post by UrbanPlanner »

First off, the Saddle Creek road was supposed to skirt the eastern border of this site and HDR’s site designs have the medical center expanding into this site.  I asked HDR in the spring if UNMC still planned to expand into Steel Casings site and was told definitively that Steal Casting was staying.  Not sure if they were lying to me or had no idea.   My assumption based on the article was that Steel Casting has been looking for a site for awhile so it was probably known in some development circles.  

Second, I’m sure this will not be a popular idea with many, but I think some of the Steal Casting buildings should remain.   There is little left of Omaha’s pre WWII industrial past in Omaha.  The UP Diesel Facility is long gone, jobers canyon is gone, and the stock yards facilities is South Omaha are gone.  I’m not saying at all that they should remain industrial.  In fact I strongly support them not staying industrial.  Great cities around this country and throughout Europe have embraced historic industrial buildings for their unique architectural qualities and ties to the past.  In London they converted the Backside Power Station into the Tate Modern, the most visited modern art museum in the world and they are preserving the Battersea Power Station for redevelopment.   Not a building, but considered by many a dangerous nuisance, the High Line Park in New York was a conversion of a old abandoned rail corridor into one of the most popular parks and destinations in Manhattan for both locals and tourists.  Maybe an extreme example but Bethlehem Steel’s huge facility in Bethlehem Pennsylvania was redeveloped into a Hotel and Casino.  The Ferry Building in SF was a quasi industrial building that was converted into a food hall.  

The Department of Housing and Urban Development has a grant program specifically designed to convert formerly industrial and potentially contaminated eyesores into community assets.   The grant program is called Brownfields Economic Development Initiative.  There Is by no means a lot of money in the pool but it’s a start.  http://portal.hud.gov/hudportal/HUD?src ... nning/BEDI
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Brad
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Post by Brad »

Its not a bad idea, there are a couple building in there that definitely look cool.
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Post by Coyote »

106-year-old steel company to build $12 million plant in Wahoo

ALGIS J. LAUKAITIS / Lincoln Journal Star JournalStar.com wrote:"We looked in Omaha first, but after three years, we found out there's not a lot of heavy industrial property in Omaha and the property that was available was outrageous," Teggart said Wednesday. He also believes that the company's plant -- in the heart of the city -- someday would be acquired by the nearby University of Nebraska Medical Center as part of some expansion plan.

"We found a community that really wanted us to come. I really don't know if Omaha really wanted us to stay," Teggart said.
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Post by UrbanPlanner »

A little more info.  I had no idea it was for sale for some time now.   $8 million.  

Omaha Steel's move to free up prime land

http://www.omaha.com/article/20120113/NEWS01/701139887
Erin Golden WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITER wrote:— and leave open a key piece of midtown real estate that's already attracting interest from several groups, including the nearby University of Nebraska Medical Center and developers of medical facilities, student housing and hotels.
Erin Golden WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITER wrote:The medical center has been exploring its options for growth for several years. It commissioned the engineering and architecture firm HDR to look into options for moving Saddle Creek Road to provide room to expand the campus. Cost estimates for the road project ranged from $40 million to $50 million.

City officials have been involved in the discussions and surveys and have the road project on a long-term to-do list — but don't see anything happening in the near future, said city engineer Todd Pfitzer.

Some preliminary environmental surveys, which would be required if the city wanted to apply for federal money, are in the works. But without a clear source of funds, the Saddle Creek project isn't a top priority.
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Post by Coyote »

Also from that article:
Jim Maenner, vice president of CB Richard Ellis, the company handling the sales listing, said he's met with UNMC officials and showed the property to several local and national developers. He said the site has potential as a mixed-use development similar to Midtown Crossing or Aksarben Village.
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Post by Seth »

Now that the entire steel castings property is open, I doubt the Saddle Creek relocation will actually be carried out.  One, 50 million is a lot of money for a road project when Saddle Creek is a pretty decent street through that area (I know the Dodge St. interchange is a bit wacky, but it's not really dangerous and isn't a high-volume intersection).  Two, if anything is built on the steel castings property in the near future, it will either have to accommodate the future street relocation (which would probably result in a substandard site layout), or preclude it.  I'd wager the latter is done.
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Post by Stargazer »

Saddle Creek re-location is more about a storm runoff/drainage problem than it is one of traffic.
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Post by Seth »

Stargazer wrote:Saddle Creek re-location is more about a storm runoff/drainage problem than it is one of traffic.
The hometown of my alma mater undertook a similar large-scale stormwater management project and combined it with a redevelopment effort in a blighted part of town.  It's still under construction, but turning out well.

http://ci.champaign.il.us/departments/p ... n-project/
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Post by GetUrban »

It's kind of funny that the plan for realigning Saddle Creek would do away with the Dodge overpass in that location, while out west they can't seem to get enough overpasses. It is a wacky intersection though....not easy to get from one street to the other.

Anyone else ever notice from the air, that the shape of the newer Med Center parking lots west of Saddle Creek kind of already look like the proposed new arcing alignment for Saddle Creek Road? Maybe it's just that the parking lots occupy an old railway spur right-of-way....Hmmm.

Overall though, I think the realignment would enhance the area, while providing a nice linear park and better flood control at the same time. It would only make the Omaha Steel Casting property that much more attractive for new mixed use development.
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Post by iamjacobm »

Seth wrote:
Stargazer wrote:Saddle Creek re-location is more about a storm runoff/drainage problem than it is one of traffic.
The hometown of my alma mater undertook a similar large-scale stormwater management project and combined it with a redevelopment effort in a blighted part of town.  It's still under construction, but turning out well.

http://ci.champaign.il.us/departments/p ... n-project/
First thing that I thought of was Lincoln's Antelope Valley Project when this Saddle Creek vision first came out.

Seems like a popular idea throughout the country.
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Post by UNMCStudent »

Got an email today .. "UNMC Chancellor Harold M. Maurer, M.D., will make an announcement regarding a major campus development at a forum for all employees on Wednesday at 11 a.m. in the Durham Research Center Auditorium."

Maybe re: this property ??
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Post by StreetsOfOmaha »

UrbanPlanner wrote:First off, the Saddle Creek road was supposed to skirt the eastern border of this site and HDR’s site designs have the medical center expanding into this site.  I asked HDR in the spring if UNMC still planned to expand into Steel Casings site and was told definitively that Steal Casting was staying.  Not sure if they were lying to me or had no idea.   My assumption based on the article was that Steel Casting has been looking for a site for awhile so it was probably known in some development circles.  

Second, I’m sure this will not be a popular idea with many, but I think some of the Steal Casting buildings should remain.   There is little left of Omaha’s pre WWII industrial past in Omaha.  The UP Diesel Facility is long gone, jobers canyon is gone, and the stock yards facilities is South Omaha are gone.  I’m not saying at all that they should remain industrial.  In fact I strongly support them not staying industrial.  Great cities around this country and throughout Europe have embraced historic industrial buildings for their unique architectural qualities and ties to the past.
I completely agree and have always thought this site would present some incredible adaptive reuse opportunities such as housing, offices, live-work spaces, a cultural center, etc.

Knowing our culture, though, and that of UNMC when it comes to expansion, it'll probably all just get bulldozed and thrown onto the garbage heap of American history.
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Post by UrbanPlanner »

How about a European style food hall?  Imagine inventive young chefs, ethnic foods, fresh produce, a french bakery, cheese mongers, sea food and local sausage makers all housed together in one of the large industrial buildings.  

  http://www.boqueria.info/index.php?lang=en
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Post by UrbanPlanner »

How about a European style food hall?  Imagine inventive young chefs, ethnic foods, fresh produce, a french bakery, cheese mongers, sea food and local sausage makers all housed together in one of the large industrial buildings.  

  http://www.boqueria.info/index.php?lang=en
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Post by UrbanPlanner »

How about a European style food hall?  Imagine inventive young chefs, ethnic foods, fresh produce, a french bakery, cheese mongers, sea food and local sausage makers all housed together in one of the large industrial buildings.  

  http://www.boqueria.info/index.php?lang=en
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Post by StreetsOfOmaha »

UrbanPlanner wrote:How about a European style food hall?  Imagine inventive young chefs, ethnic foods, fresh produce, a french bakery, cheese mongers, sea food and local sausage makers all housed together in one of the large industrial buildings.  

  http://www.boqueria.info/index.php?lang=en
A beautiful idea, but it will never happen. And a word of warning; any more use of the term "European-style" and you are liable to get shot.  :;):
"The right to have access to every building in the city by private motorcar in an age when everyone possesses such a vehicle is actually the right to destroy the city."
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Seth
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Post by Seth »

StreetsOfOmaha wrote:And a word of warning; any more use of the term "European-style" and you are liable to get shot.  :;):
Have you been watching Republican primary ads again?
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Post by Linkin5 »

StreetsOfOmaha wrote:
UrbanPlanner wrote:How about a European style food hall?  Imagine inventive young chefs, ethnic foods, fresh produce, a french bakery, cheese mongers, sea food and local sausage makers all housed together in one of the large industrial buildings.  

  http://www.boqueria.info/index.php?lang=en
A beautiful idea, but it will never happen. And a word of warning; any more use of the term "European-style" and you are liable to get shot.  :;):
That place looks really cool.  I think it would work but just needs to be in a different location in town.
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