Official: North Downtown Discussion

[adam186]

Wow, take a look at what is proposed for North Downtown. The entertainment district looks like it will be in the sprawliing parking lot of the Qwest Center . There is also the proposed ballpark that is going to be the anchor.

Link:
http://www.omaha.com/index.php?u_pg=1636&u_sid=1392271

[Brad]

That looks great from what I could see without loging in. I will have to remember my password or wait until 4pm from my hard copy to arrive. There is a lot of potential up there. First the land is very flat so it will be very pedestrian friendly. Also there is a lot of vacant buildings up that way so land should not be too expensive. Now do you think we can get Lo's cannal from Carter lake to DTO to run through this new area?

[Swift]

This is awesome! a MUSEUM DISTRICT!!! About damn time!

[omahahawk]

Man I hope some tbe local corporations and philanthropists get onboard and get proactive.

[GoWest]

Also there is a lot of vacant buildings up that way so land should not be too expensive.

According to the article it sounds like speculators have already jumped in on this and have driven the price of property in this area up. Hopefully this won't turn off some developers.

This looks like just what the doctor ordered for this area.

[Hawkeye]

It all sounds very nice. One thing Ol' Hawkeye would STRONGLY urge, is if they DO build the baseball park, they will want the homeplate "corner" of the facility to be on the northeast corner of the lot, not the northwest as they have it in the artist's rendering.



If they build it like it is now, the patrons will have a vew of...the 480 bridge or the Hilton or part of the Qwest. Build it with homeplate on the northeast corner of the lot, and patrons will be able to look out at the skyline. Big difference.

[Brad]

Hawkeye said:

it with homeplate on the northeast corner of the lot, and patrons will be able to look out at the skyline. Big difference.

In sports you have to think about the sun. Sun in the eyes make a big difference.

[OmahaDevelopmentMan]

Wonderful!

I hope this stadium works out. The rest can fall into place if that is built. Basically, with no stadium, the area is left without an anchor. I somewhat like how they have the area set aside for a cooprate hq, it could attract a new F500, but I'd rather they build a tall building, but oh well, as long as they're there right. The museaum district would be freakin sweet! With an art district near by, the Qwest could attract some art conventions or stuff like that. Maybe they would put a College baseball hall of fame in the are . It seems like they want a lot of residential, which would be great! If this works out, downtown will transform forever!

Anyone notice in the map version of the plan had a spot for a grocery store/supermarket?

[Finn]

This looks great!!!!!

I like the roundabout on Nicholas, should make for great architectural orientation toward the circle. I also like the mixed-use concentration along 12th Street with garages behind the buildings. Some other nice touches: a theatre, a grocery store, integral garage structures, live/work residential units (increasingly popular across the country) adjacent to the Hot Shops art center, bringing office use across Cuming (north of Qwest Center) to help bridge the area to the riverfront and filling in surface lots around Qwest.

I like how they made the plan able to stand alone without a "land use anchor" but flexible enough to fit very different scenarios. That museum idea sure sounds pretty cool (maybe that is the DC in me).

[POTUS]

I am not wetting my pants with anticipation. It's easy to draw lines across a map and call something a musuem district. It's easy to section off 4 blocks for a proposed downtown stadium. The picture linked in Haweye's post above could be drawn by any second year architecture student. Boring. If they zone this land for "entertainment" and leave it to the developers, we might end up with some museums, a stadium, theaters, some stores and more, but with no contextuality for the area- soon to be popularized as North Downtown.

The city needs to remain proactive on the idea. And they need to lean heavily on mix use development. The only way this plan would get a thumbs up from me is if they enforce 1000 housing units and a light rail line in the area.

Dream big, start small, sure, but this plan is too ambitious and not fully thought out.

[Big E]

I skimmed through the PDF from the Chamber site (if you can skim 119 pages, that is). Did I completely miss any reference to a streetcar or light rail proposal? I noticed something about expanded bus routes, but nothing else.

I'm also disappointed with the lack of any mention of a residential high rise as a possible anchor, but that was probably pie-in-the-sky thinking anyway.

Anyone else get a kick out of the statement on p 61... <<<<People will generally walk 10 to 15 minutes to get to their destination.>>>> HA! I've seen Omahans (well, Elkhornians) change their dinner plans based on which restaurant at Village Point has parking available in front of the door.

All in all, I'm impressed with the plan. If half of it happens, it's a good thing. I'm more concerned with the 11th street corridor eventually extending south to my eventual front door, though. ;)

-Big E

[Big E]

There it is, bottom of page 104:

<<<Study the feasibility of linking the Study Area and Downtown Omaha with a streetcar system." Estimate $200,000 +/-

It's feasible. Do it.

Send me my check.

-Big E

[Swift]

There is a chart type thing towards the end listing all the road changes and transportation changes that mentions light rail.

[Swift]

"Parking will be provided on-street and to the rear of buildings, either in parking structures or surface parking lots that are hidden form view. The area’s existing street grid will be enhanced with streetscape amenities such as street furniture, pedestrian lighting, and street trees. New development within the neighborhood will be required to be pedestrian-oriented in order to encourage walking and transit ridership and facilitate active, street-level activity. A mixture of uses within the area will be encouraged both horizontally and vertically. Active uses such as restaurants and retail will be required on the first level of all buildings, while office and residential uses will be encouraged on the upper floors."

[omahastylee459]

whew, i actually read the whole 119 pages (its my day off) and it looks great! the renderings looked quite impressive and i am really excited that they finally understand that people dont want to look at parking lots. What an exciting time for omaha, hope it all works out as planned or better.

anyone else notice they mentioned the pedestrian bridge? i also like how they are renovating the sidewalks and streets underneath 480 to be more pedestrian friendly.

[adam186]

Are there more renderings in the report? Sounds like a lot of thought and effort writing a 119 page report. I like the retail and restaurant on the bottom of every building. Sounds like a great plan .

[Swift]

There are dozens of rendrings in the report. It's actually a fairly quick read, considering it's 119 pages.

[omaja]

Oh no! "North Downtown".

[adam186]

I just looked at the report and recommend everyone to look at it too. Very cool renderings and some intresting ideas and facts.

[adam186]

Oh no! "North Downtown".

That's just one developer calling it that. Hopefully Omahans do it call it that as well.

[Alt(Bayern)München]

What is the link to the actual report...not the World Herald story?

[omahastylee459]

you can find it at the chamber site, http://www.omahachamber.com and its on the front page

[Alt(Bayern)München]

Thank you..

[Swift]

Oh no! "North Downtown".

Yeah I know. I'm in the process of sending out copies of the map and a summary of the discusion that we had in this thread: http://www.eomaha.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1586

I'm sending copies to the Mayor, HDR, Omaha by Design so far. Who else do you guys think I should send copies to?

[eomaha]

[omahastylee459]

i really like the last rendering on webster street. It looks like a nice tree lined avenue with a good mix of street level ammenities and some height

[omahahawk]

It looks fantastic. Who knows how many of us will actually still live here by the time its anything close to this. I know even if I might not be here at that point, I'm still just as enthusiastic about it.

[OmahaDevelopmentMan]

Just got done looking over the vision. Great! I like how they planned different senarios out and what could be done with the land in certain cases. I wonder when we will start to see developers step in and make official plans. This will pry be 2020 before its done, but we will hopefully have over 1 million people then too. If that amusement park goes through and this vision does too, Omaha will be one kick a$$ city to visit!

[CountOfMC]

It'll be pretty cool if the 72nd & Dodge plans are done by this time too... Omaha will be throwin 'bows left and right. All good stuff, let's hope it gets implemented.

[Coyote]

What? No talk about Slowdown going DT? Coming back to reality?
Opening in 2006?

[eomaha]

More: http://www.omaha.com/index.php?u_np=0&u ... nd=4080508

Announcements could come in 30 to 60 days about a project or two that would continue the transformation of an area north of downtown into an inviting urban neighborhood, say a landowner and brokers working in the area."

Heistand said he has people "fighting over" one parcel and two others under options. The projects the buyers are pursuing are "very much consistent with the plan" released Thursday, he said, because he and others have been kept in the loop.

Jason Kulbel of Saddle Creek Records said his company is looking for a site for a bar, a concert hall and business offices. Bluestone's Christian Christensen said he is looking at developing 25 to 40 apartments on top of the Saddle Creek project.

[TitosBuritoBarn]

This is good news. I've always looked at this area as a very blighted part of town with a lot of potential for someone to come redevelop. I'm glad the developers are seeing this too.

[Omaha Cowboy]

A great, needed and progessive plan..

Lets hope this ALL soon becomes a reality for north downtown..

..

..Ciao..LiO....Peace

[projectman]

I also hope this will tie in to the redevelopment efforts of North Omaha. I am impressed with the renderings and sounds like we are off to a good start. This has sparked quite a bit of interest. I am particularly excited about the city working with the Saddle Creek folks and getting their venue up and running. I'm sure this whole development will be a nice marketing tool for Creighton recruiting new students from around the country or the world.

Very exciting.

[StreetsOfOmaha]

What an awesome plan. Granted, it's all stuff I knew already from working with Doug Bisson last year. In fact, all the "before" pictures showing the area in its current state were taken by me last summer, and then they would have used those to render on top of.

Anyway, I do think it's a fantastic plan. But, if there's one thing I've learned so far from Destination Midtown, it's that these renderings are nothing but pretty pictures. At least for now.

And, let's all make it a point not to call it North Downtown.

I really like Bob's idea of calling it the Upper Market, or something to that effect.

[Raraavis]

An anchor such as a museum, a baseball stadium, or a Casino would be nice but it is not necessary. You already have the Qwest, Creighton and Gallup as anchors in the area. The Old Market has developed with no anchors, unless you consider the Spaghetti Works, or Homers to be anchors. If the city does its part the momentum from the downtown Condo Boom, Qwest Center, the Creighton projects, Tip Top Building, and Slowdown, should be enough to make this vision a reality.

If the city wants this to happen they need to complete the projects already in the system such as the Pedestrian Bridge, Gene Leahy Mall redevelopment and the Pinnacle Foods site. The more attractive the rest of Downtown Omaha is the easier this project will be.


I find the 1920's cars on the streets in the renderings interesting.

[adam186]

First of all, we don't have Casinos in Nebraska and secondly, it's called Qwest Center. I don't think the Gallup Campus is anchor at all, it's only an office building. The ballpark would make up for the lack of people in the area during the summer months.

Why not have an anchor, it makes the area so much more appealing and interesting. Think BIG.

I find the 1920's cars on the streets in the renderings interesting.

I found that interesting too. Also, look how glassy the streets look. (I know they are only renderings though)

[Finn]

Good points. There is already some of the necessary core development in the area to continue momentum. Maybe some of these plans will start and the anchor parcel maintained in tact for a later push. The Slowdown announcement and Creightin expansion projects this summer will hopefully begin more of a residential push for the area.

I noticed the old cars as well - what, don't they update their boilerplate graphics?

[omahahawk]

If the city wants this to happen they need to complete the projects already in the system such as the Pedestrian Bridge, Gene Leahy Mall redevelopment and the Pinnacle Foods site. The more attractive the rest of Downtown Omaha is the easier this project will be.

I agree totally with that statement but Omaha can't afford to drop 200K on a study like this and just rest on their laurels thinking it will entirely take care of itself. A new baseball stadium for CU/Royals would go along way. The CU soccer games I think are already drawing a bigger presence that what they did at Tranquility and I have to think baseball would be the same. More people = more reason for new business = better development.

[StreetsOfOmaha]

As the documnent says, an anchor for the district is not "needed", but if there isn't one, development will be much slower.

I'd prefer either the MOMA anchor or the large residential anchor, perhaps even a large combination of both, over the ball park idea.

I feel like the Royals are fine at Rosenblatt. Boohoo if they can't fill that stadium. They should just figure out a way to close sections off and "cover up" seating to make it seem more intimate.

And I feel like Creighton should DEFINITELY build a new stadium, similar in scale and quality to their new soccer stadium, on their own property.

I've thought for a long time that Omaha really needs a big modern art museum, so that would be awesome. The city and/or private investors could hire a really famous modernist architect to design the project, and it would be the next icon for the city, like the Holland Center, or Joslyn Art Museum.

I feel like a ball park in this area would be a terrible waste of real estate when you consider the density of development that could occur on the land used for the actual field.

Plus, like I said, I think Creighton could easily secure a private investor and build a brand new stadium on their existing land.