Embassy Suites loses 3 floors

[TitosBuritoBarn]

Des Moines, KC, to name two. They have office complexes, they just are made of brick or other attractive materials. Visit W. Des Moines to see what I mean.

You've got to be kidding me.... When was the last time you drove along the eastern loop of 435 in KC? Its industrial |expletive| almost all the way from where it curves southwards to well past the I-70 interchange. And dude, I go to college at Iowa State, I drive through Des Moines about every two weeks. Drive down 235 on the east side of town as well as 80/35 in that same area. It has our interstate system written all over it. In fact, 80/35 is industrial for a lot of the trek through the city, the only difference is that it is newer through West Des Moines, Urbandale, and Clive. Even in Ankeny are there some sort of ugly industrial businesses on the east side of the freeway.

[nativeomahan]

I drove 435 3 weeks ago. There's a diference between the ugly industrial area on 435 near I-70 and what is taking shape along I-80 in Sarpy county and along Harrison St....what exists in KC is old old old. What is happening now in Omaha is now now now. KC wouldn't allow such ugly construction standards in NEW construction. I doubt that WDM or DM would either. Or even Lincoln. While LaVista has adopted comprehensive building standard upgrades in recent years, no one else in the metro has. And it is a real big pity.

[TitosBuritoBarn]

The KC areas you speak of are 40, 50 + years old in most cases. I'm speaking of new developments, like the trashy buildings along I-80 near Harrison and into Sarpy Co.

What trashy buildings near Harrison? Performance Auto Mall and the Pay Pall building don't come off as trashy to me. Soon there will be a Embassy Suites there too. You can also view a golf course and a wealthy sub-division on the north side of the insterstate. They're working on it, give it time. I predict that soon enough, the 370 interchange will be surrounded with desireable developments as high-income housing developments around Tiburon continue to grow. The Suburban Inn and that gas station there should be demolished soon enough.

[StreetsOfOmaha]

Just because something's new, doesn't mean it looks good, or even that it's necessarily exempt from being considered "trashy".

[eomaha]

Well, of course we're never going to satisfy <cough> everyone. All but the most impossible to please will have noticed significant steps forward over the years in architecture of everything from strip malls to car dealerships to warehouses in Omaha. As much as anything... this is a function of the size of your market. Take a look at a Ford dealer in Fremont... take a look at a Lexus dealer in Overland Park. We fit somewhere in between. As our market size grows... we find those businesses within it flourishing that much more, continuing to invest more in 'digs' their customers will be drawn to.

[omahastylee459]

i know the guy who just bought the regency hotel (the purple one) off the interstate, and he is putting in MAJOR money to renovate it, i think i heard twice as much as what he bought it for, so that might turn out nicely, and as for the trailor park, yeah it is somewhat of an eyesore, but those are peoples HOMES. It would be quite a large controversy to destroy that park, especially since it has been there for quite a while. The trailor park you can be certain will be gone soon is the one on 168th right off of dodge, i give it a year and they are all gone. Everything around SAPP bros needs a major facelift. Even though it is a trucker area, that doesnt mean it cant be appealing. Oh and while we are at it, maybe take down the hundreds of orange cones/barricades/barrels that are EVERYWHERE. Orange is definitely not a good color for Omaha....

[nativeomahan]

Well, of course we're never going to satisfy <cough> everyone. All but the most impossible to please will have noticed significant steps forward over the years in architecture of everything from strip malls to car dealerships to warehouses in Omaha. As much as anything... this is a function of the size of your market. Take a look at a Ford dealer in Fremont... take a look at a Lexus dealer in Overland Park. We fit somewhere in between. As our market size grows... we find those businesses within it flourishing that much more, continuing to invest more in 'digs' their customers will be drawn to.

I wish I could agree with the first part of your comments, but frankly I see no improvements of significance in 20 years. Yes, there are somewhat upscale developments like Village Point, but for everyone of those you see second or third rate new construction in Omaha. The new strip mall (itself a hint of mediocrity) at 72nd and Pacific has a concrete exterior. Oohh! Aahh! So does the strip malls housing Comp USA and Wild Oats mid town. And look at the nearly new gas station in the heart of Old Dundee. UG-LY!. You wouldn't see that in Overland Park, or even in LaVista, where even the gas stations now must be 100% brick or stone exterior - even the back sides.

Businesses will build to the standards they are held up to. Wal-Mart is a perfect example. So is Home Depot The stores in Omaha/Bellevue built in the past years are for the most part ugly. The Home Depot in tiny little Nag's Head, NC has a classy nautical theme. Others are fully bricked, front and back, because the locals cared enough to tell them, hey, if you want to build here, great, but show respect for your new neighbors and don't junk the place up.

[CountOfMC]

Getting back on topic here, I assume they're still shooting for a July groundbreaking? Seems like they had everything graded months ago, and now all I see are foot long weeds. I guess I didn't realize this was typical unless they plan on re-grading... don't they know how much Roundup costs these days

[Coyote]

I have been wondering about this for the past couple days. I don't know when it happened, but all the grading equipment all of a sudden was moved - I think recently - I just noticed they were gone yesterday. I wonder if losing the three floors if they still wanted the same amount of rooms how long it would take the architect to redraw the plans.