I don't know how many people have listened to it... but Jeff Beals (as mentioned at the bottom of the article) also hosts a show called Grow Omaha on 1290AM, Saturdays at 8am.
Omaha City Weekly wrote: The next wave of downtown development is gathering momentum. As this surging movement washes over our central business district, it will forever change the face of Omaha. What’s most shocking about this wave is not that it exists, rather how fast it is coming upon us. What is the new wave? Before I answer that, let’s take a look back for a little perspective...
For several years, we Omahans have been able to claim accurately that our downtown has been on a roll. Almost $2 billion worth of investment has been injected into the downtown-riverfront area, transforming it from an embarrassing collection of run-down industrial buildings and unimaginative office building into the city’s gleaming new hub. Gone are the rusting, blistering molasses tanks of the old Port of Omaha. Gone is the riverfront junkyard with its 40-foot towers of crushed automobiles, which dominated the Missouri River’s west bank for so many years. In place of those industrial relics now stand monuments to Omaha’s bold vision, places like Qwest Center Omaha, Gallup University and Rick’s Café Boatyard.
For years, the most remarkable feature of Omaha’s Woodmen Tower-dominated skyline was that it looked like a fisted hand extending its middle finger – certainly not a welcoming signal for tourists and business travelers. With the addition of the 633-foot First National Tower and the 1.2 million-square-foot Union Pacific headquarters, downtown Omaha grew up and gave all of us a healthy shot of civic pride. Downtown now has more hotel rooms, convenient parking garages, and several new pieces of public art. The $90 million performing arts center is set to open this summer along the north side of Gene Leahy Mall.
Make no doubt about it, downtown Omaha is a much different and vastly better place than it was three years ago. The temptation is to sit back with a satisfying sense of accomplishment and passively enjoy our accomplishments. That would be a mistake, because despite the historically unprecedented growth, downtown Omaha is still not done.
The glamorous, high profile projects downtown are anchor projects, simply the start of what comes next. One of the primary benefits of having so many downtown anchors is the spin-off growth that they can spawn. Now is the time to double our efforts in developing downtown Omaha, for if we don’t capitalize on these anchor projects, we will miss a rare opportunity. Fortunately, Omaha has a growing group of visionary investors taking advantage of downtown’s new environment.
The next wave of downtown development is coming in the form of condominium projects – lots of them. Already a substantial apartment market, downtown Omaha is now appealing to those residents who want ownership of a residence in the middle of an urban atmosphere. Approximately 700 condos are planned for downtown Omaha in the next couple years.
So, why is this happening? How does downtown go from virtually no condos to 700 in just a few years? For one thing, Omaha is following a national trend toward urbanization. After decades of depopulation, the urban cores of American cities are now beckoning people back. As metropolitan areas continue to expand over green acres on the suburban frontier, commutes become longer and traffic jams more severe. There’s something appealing about stepping outside your downtown condo and being able to walk to work, dinner and entertainment.
In mega-cities like Chicago, downtown condo living has expanded at an almost incomprehensible pace. Walk around the Windy City’s Loop, and one will see many tower cranes in the air, hovering above future condo buildings. Even Kansas City, Mo, where the downtown area is underwhelming at best, is building 8,000 condos there.
This means that America’s downtowns are becoming much more than glorified office parks. They are neighborhoods where people can work, play and live. If Omaha can build on this national trend, while capitalizing on its recent downtown construction boom, the results could be amazing. Downtown Omaha could turn into a miniature Chicago.
Only when a city establishes a large residential base downtown – a “24-hour population” – does the urban core become a vibrant and lively place. A lively downtown is a prosperous one. When it comes to building up a downtown district, activity begets more activity. When a large number of affluent people live downtown, retailers and entertainment businesses are attracted. As entertainment options increase, suburbanites and conventioneers swoop in with handfuls of money to spend. Therefore, at least in theory, a vibrant downtown, with a number of 24-hour residents, expands indefinitely.
Though it may be surprising to suburbanites, the early interest in Omaha’s downtown condos has been intense. Sales at many of the buildings have been brisk, which indicates strong, pent-up demand. As the population skyrockets downtown in the next two years, yet another wave of development will come to in – retail growth. Omaha will soon have a downtown grocery store. Specialty and boutique retailers will proliferate and eventually national apparel retailers will jump in as well.
The diversity of projects downtown means that Omaha’s new condo owners will be a non-homogenous group. Some projects such as The Hill, near 26th and Douglas streets, will be “affordable” with units going for under $100,000. Developers of the Barker Building at 15th and Farnam streets are planning to charge an average of $150,000 per condo. In other properties, some condos have already sold for more than $1 million. Most of downtown’s condos will sell in the $200,000 to $400,000 range.
Of the current wave of development, most condos will be located in renovated historic buildings. For example, Shamrock Development is spending $30 million to convert the historic Paxton Hotel at 14th and Farnam streets into upscale condos. The project will include a newly built parking garage to the south. Boca Development has started construction on the Beebe Runyan Building at 9th and Douglas streets. This 91-year-old building will contain 60 units and will feature a six-story atrium, which is literally being cut out of the building’s center.
A Lincoln-based developer plans to convert the beautiful Brandeis Building at 16th and Douglas streets into upscale condos with commercial space on the bottom two floors. Once Omaha’s most popular department store, the 10-story Brandeis has been mostly empty since Union Pacific vacated its offices there last summer.
While many condo buyers are attracted to the charm of renovated brick warehouses and historic hotels, other buyers want things modern and new. They too have options. Located along the Missouri River, with stunning skyline views, Riverfront Place will have a high profile downtown when it is completed in 2006. Developers plan to break ground this spring. The $35 million complex will feature two 13-story towers with 27 townhouses between them. While some condos at Riverfront Place might sell for as little as $250,000, top-floor penthouses could approach $1.5 million.
Just south of the Old Market, Bluestone Development has started construction on The Rows at SOMA, a $25 million project consisting of more than 80 row houses. The developer claims this is the first new neighborhood built in downtown Omaha since the 19th century. Each townhouse will be three stories plus a roof-top deck. Units are selling from $200,000 to $600,000.
Many observers of this condo development boom are surprised how fast the big-dollar units are selling. One can’t help but wonder: who are these condo buyers and where are they coming from? Because the condo phenomenon is still so new in downtown Omaha, buyer data is somewhat sketchy. Nevertheless, developers estimate that 60 percent of buyers are “empty nesters” who want to sell the big suburban house after the last kid goes off to college. They’re looking for a more convenient and enjoyable lifestyle downtown. Other buyers are young professionals, couples with no children or “snowbirds” looking for an Omaha residence for the warm-weather months. In a few cases, buyers plan to keep their existing suburban house and have a new downtown condo, essentially splitting time between two Omaha residences. Now, that’s extravagance!
While this impressive wave of condo growth will not keep up the fast pace indefinitely, I see no reason downtown Omaha will not continually expand as a commercial center and a neighborhood. Downtown is designed to handle very large numbers of people in an efficient manner. Given that, the current wave of condo growth still leaves room for much more growth down the road. If you’re amazed by the downtown neighborhood now, you won’t even recognize it in five to 10 years.
Jeff Beals, vice president of operations for Coldwell Banker Commercial World Group, hosts a weekly radio talk-show called “Grow Omaha,” which focuses on economic development in the Omaha area. It airs Saturdays at 8 a.m. on KKAR (1290 AM). Jeff Beals hosts the show with Trenton Magid.
LMAO!!!!