The Next Blackstone? - North Saddlecreek Rd?

Post by **Brad** » Tue Jan 06, 2015 5:52 am

The Blackstone District's transformation has been absolutely amazing! In no time at all, its literally one of the hottest spots in town. I keep thinking of what could be the next Blackstone District.

One spot I have always thought has a ton of potentials is North Saddlecreek. Basically the Homey Inn / Sgt Peffers / Janousek Florist area. This would be from Metcaff Park to NW Radial Highway. I know Saddlecreek Records wanted to build here back in the day, and the neighbors shot it down, however I think times are different now.

Starting at Metcalf Park, you have a cool old gas station which could make a cool restaurant, something you would see on Tripple D. Next you have the OmaLink Bulding and the landscaping shop. The landscaping shop could probably stay, OmaLink could make for another great restaurant or shop. Next you have the Ollie The Trolly Barns which could be leveled for mixed use development. Shops on the ground floor, residences above. Across the street, you have global foods and something else which could be remodeled or redeveloped, if redeveloped, more mixed use, ground level retail, residential on top. Next you have the homie and Sgt Peffers which would stay. Then the car wash, which needs to go. Then Janousek Florist which needs to stay. Then you have the laundry matt, which is a nice old building and could be something.

After that, I would remove bascally redevelop everything east to NW Radial except the cool old gas station on 48th which could be another cool restaurant. QT could stay, but I would like to see Wolfsons and the abandoned funeral home redeveloped.

Thought?

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Coyote · Post by **Coyote** » Tue Jan 06, 2015 6:07 am

I could have sworn there was a bowling alley in there just to the south...
There would have to be a lot better dining options to attract people, Salween is right there, but Sgt. Peppers doesn't really do it... It's big drawback is that it is in the middle of nowhere, besides Saddle Creek, what other major avenue brings people to this area?

Post by **Brad** » Tue Jan 06, 2015 6:09 am

Coyote wrote:I could have sworn there was a bowling alley in there just to the south...
There would have to be a lot better dining options to attract people, Salween is right there, but Sgt. Peppers doesn't really do it... It's big drawback is that it is in the middle of nowhere, besides Saddle Creek, what other major avenue brings people to this area?

Kelly's Hilltop Bowling Alley closed about a year ago. Being converted to a church. Really too bad...

Its a great cut through to NW Omaha via Blondo Street. When I lived near 90th and Fort, this was one of the main ways I took downtown. Also, there is a ton of residential in this area that could support it.

Post by **Brad** » Tue Jan 06, 2015 6:10 am

And WAYYY back in the day, The Rose Bowl was where Saween Thai is now.

By the way, we eat at Saween a lot, great food!

Coyote · Post by **Coyote** » Tue Jan 06, 2015 6:26 am

No, I was thinking of Kelly's Hilltop, I didn't know they closed, the Rose Bowl closed in the late 80's or early 90's I believe, (who remembers Strike it Lucky?), I'd have to drive through there again sometime, my sister-in-law used to live a block north of the area... I haven't been to the Homey Inn in years!

Post by **Brad** » Tue Jan 06, 2015 6:28 am

We went bowling to Kelly's Hilltop a few months before they closed. It was definitely a time warp walking through the front door.

Globochem · Post by **Globochem** » Tue Jan 06, 2015 9:11 am

Ten years ago the hipsters were ready to move in with the "Slowdown" development and the neighborhood balked, the usual "what are those damn kids up to" mentality that crippled this city for generations. I doubt the area recovers for decades for that decision. You reap what you sow.

Globochem · Post by **Globochem** » Tue Jan 06, 2015 9:25 am

Other areas for your consideration:
South 10th Street - Nancy Mamel is spearheading quite a bit or urban renewal here
West Downtown - A variety of developers appear to be talking advantage of good building stock and rock bottom pricing. Also, the city is VERY excited to clean this area up. If the city moves forward with the Harney Street connector, this could be the lynchpin for directed corridor growth.
VInton Street Turnabout - No prospective developer, just perhaps one of my favorite mini urban landscapes in town. Amazing potential, but without any guidance or interest right now.
North Downtown - Blah. MECA will strangle any prospective development with its precious sea of parking. No chance this ever takes off. "Market North" may be a weird disconnected oasis, however.

lowplainsdrifter · Post by **lowplainsdrifter** » Tue Jan 06, 2015 3:42 pm

I think Leavenworth between 29th and 42nd (or so) will be the next area to really take off. There is quite a bit of quality old building stock along Leavenworth, many lots that could be redeveloped and a number of apartment projects that have been proposed or are already under way in the area. It is also a primary route for commuters to and from downtown - this can cut both ways because the speed of traffic impacts walkability - but, it also means the area is visited by a large number of people on a daily basis.

iamjacobm · Post by **iamjacobm** » Tue Jan 06, 2015 4:35 pm

lowplainsdrifter wrote:I think Leavenworth between 29th and 42nd (or so) will be the next area to really take off. There is quite a bit of quality old building stock along Leavenworth, many lots that could be redeveloped and a number of apartment projects that have been proposed or are already under way in the area. It is also a primary route for commuters to and from downtown - this can cut both ways because the speed of traffic impacts walkability - but, it also means the area is visited by a large number of people on a daily basis.

Kind of funny considering that stretch used to be one of the best bar hopping districts in the city maybe a decade to 15 years ago.

SaveOmaha · Post by **SaveOmaha** » Tue Jan 06, 2015 6:23 pm

I personally love south 13th Street between downtown and the interstate. A huge amount of intact building stock ripe for rehab!

GetUrban · Post by **GetUrban** » Tue Jan 06, 2015 7:10 pm

I'd like to see the North Saddle Creek area redeveloped/infilled too. I used to drive that street every day to & from work. It gets a lot of traffic from people heading toward Blondo to go east-west or to the Country Club Neighborhood. Back in the 70's & 80's, there was a bar called The One-eyed Jack that had kind of a rough reputation. They always had a lot of hard rock bands playing. They also had a drive-through carry-out liquor store that did a brisk business. It's where A-United Doors is now, just east of the Homey. It would help a lot if the Wolfson lots went away.

I'd like to see all of Saddle Creek from there to Leavenworth get redeveloped. There is a lot of uncertainty on what and when the med center is going to do in the area, so I think that is keeping anyone from investing too much in the area. I was sad to see they're going to tear down the old Omaha Steel Casting building for a parking lot.

TitosBuritoBarn · Post by **TitosBuritoBarn** » Tue Jan 06, 2015 9:38 pm

I think it will be awhile before this area starts gaining momentum with a transformation. The Benson and Midtown/Blackstone areas are still very trendy as far as transformation goes. Dundee as well. At this point there is only so much rejuvenation to go around and I think you'll see those areas become more established before people start branching out to look for other neighborhoods to breathe a new life into. I think in the next two years you may start to see some pioneers, but it won't really hit for another 5 to 7.

Busguy2010 · Post by **Busguy2010** » Wed Jan 07, 2015 5:17 am

Military between Hamilton and Grant would be a good one to see get a face lift.

Post by **Brad** » Wed Jan 07, 2015 3:40 pm

Busguy2010 wrote:Military between Hamilton and Grant would be a good one to see get a face lift.

Been a few years since I have been down that street, but I do remember a nice main street feel to it.

Dundeemaha · Post by **Dundeemaha** » Thu Jan 08, 2015 2:58 pm

I think the main barrier for this area is the lack of existing buildings. Benson and Blackstone both had a core set of buildings in place, no matter what shape they were in that allowed a more seamless transformation.

Also, to me it really feels like there is more momentum behind continued growth in the corridor from the Old Market out to Saddle Creek. With Park Ave probably being the next area then along Leavenworth west to the Med Center. Especially if the Med Center does do something with the west side of Saddle Creek from Farnam to Leavenworth.

GetUrban · Post by **GetUrban** » Thu Jan 08, 2015 6:41 pm

It's true that the North Saddle Creek stretch lacks a denser "main-street" or "downtown" like core of buildings. But the density could be increased with new buildings as infill, following a "main street" type model for development. First, you would need property owners looking to redevelop their property. That is hard to find when there are already many existing business occupying property where the lower costs attracted them in the first place.

Someone looking to re-develop property in these forgotten areas would be better off getting in before the area becomes the "next big thing" and property values increase greatly. I don't think redevelopment of new areas necessarily has to wait until other nearby areas (such as Benson or Blackstone) are completely filled up, but it's riskier to be the first in, if the area doesn't take off right away. The North Saddle Creek area is probably close enough to piggy-back off the success of Benson.

I agree the Military - Hamilton/Grant stretch and Leavenworth east of Saddle Creek have a lot of good existing stock ripe for redevelopment.

Garrett · Post by **Garrett** » Fri Jan 09, 2015 12:28 am

Really, I think the only things that will spark this sort of large scale redevelopment would be the development of the light rail line that was sort of proposed a few years back, ripples from the development of the Steel Castings property by the Med Center, or direct intervention by the Med Center or another large scale developer. As the land exists now, I doubt we would see piece-meal or small scale investments that have occurred in other districts, because the urban fabric doesn't really exist here like it does in Dundee, Benson, or Blackstone.

Linkin5 · Post by **Linkin5** » Fri Jan 09, 2015 2:59 am

I don't think it will take a major change in transportation to spur another development like this, who would have thought five years ago Blackstone would be what it is now? There are several places around town with good building stock that could do it.

Coyote · Post by **Coyote** » Fri Jan 09, 2015 6:05 am

Here is an interesting article which I think makes a solid point about new restaurants in old neighborhoods:

The Fantastic Food, Drink, and Culture of Older, Smaller Buildings

In Baltimore and Philadelphia, our analysis suggests that it may, in fact, be easier to find great food and drink if you’re on a block with a mix of small old and new buildings than a block with mostly large, new structures. We looked at recent lists of the top 50 bars and restaurants in Philadelphia and Baltimore, as identified and ranked by Philadelphia Magazine and The Baltimore Sun, and we explored city data on the age of the establishments’ buildings and the characteristics of their surrounding blocks. In Baltimore, 83 percent of the top restaurants and bars are located in buildings constructed before 1920, whereas only half of the city’s commercial buildings were constructed before that time. About 86 percent of these gastronomical destinations are located on streets and blocks where the majority of buildings were constructed before 1945, though only 56 percent of the 200-meter-by-200-meter sections that make up Baltimore have majority pre-war buildings.

GetUrban · Post by **GetUrban** » Fri Jan 09, 2015 3:23 pm

Linkin5 wrote:I don't think it will take a major change in transportation to spur another development like this, who would have thought five years ago Blackstone would be what it is now? There are several places around town with good building stock that could do it.

I agree. Blackstone development has been more incremental. You can say that it wouldn't have happened without the huge development of Midtown Crossing happening first. That was likely the spark. Good mass transit would help even more, of course.

As far as urban fabric goes...it doesn't necessarily need to be pre-existing. It can be created from scratch. (MTC for example) It can also be created incrementally one small piece or storefront at a time, especially with encouragement from zoning, cohesive master planning, and from people like you guys and the general public who can demand it with higher expectations for good urban design. There are many architects who are chomping at the bit do good urban design for property owners/developers, even on a very small scale, incrementally. I doesn't always have to be some 100 million development to reshape an entire area, although that helps, as long as they don't destroy historically significant urban fabric.

Seth · Post by **Seth** » Fri Jan 09, 2015 3:35 pm

GetUrban wrote:
I agree. Blackstone development has been more incremental. You can say that it wouldn't have happened without the huge development of Midtown Crossing happening first. That was likely the spark. Good mass transit would help even more, of course.

I think it can be easy to forget how much of a catalyst MTC has been for Midtown. It's impossible to measure, but I'd argue that we would not have the strong momentum of redevelopment and investment in the Midtown area we do now if not for MTC. I think the actual economic impact has been less important than the symbolic statement that Midtown was again going to be a safe, desirable place to live. For all the value in architecture, housing stock, etc, the fact is that perception is what truly makes or breaks a neighborhood. MTC was a bold move in establishing a new perception for this part of the city, and it's given both developers and citizens confidence to make investments in the area.

Post by **Brad** » Fri Jan 23, 2015 3:09 pm

We talk a little about this subject on Tomorrow's episode of Grow Omaha. Do to a scheduling Conflict, Jeff and I pre-recorded the show Wednesday.

frankt · Post by **frankt** » Fri Jan 23, 2015 5:19 pm

What about the Gifford Park (33rd and California) business corridor? Similarities to Blackstone are many.

Seth · Post by **Seth** » Tue Jan 27, 2015 6:02 pm

frankt wrote:What about the Gifford Park (33rd and California) business corridor? Similarities to Blackstone are many.

That's definitely an area with potential, and I think it's slowly gentrifying, but it still has more of a challenge shedding the sketchy vibe than the Blackstone area. Aside from a few properties that rented to the questionable crowd and several crime-magnet businesses (e.g. Cheaters/Straight Shooters), there wasn't much riff-raff to clear out of the Blackstone area. Gifford Park, especially the eastern edge, still has a fair amount of sketchiness. Unless a bigger developer with some influence with the city comes in and attracts some enforcement for the slumlords to clean the place up, I think it's going to be a slower transition. I don't doubt it will happen, but I don't see it happening as quickly as Blackstone. That's not considering other benefits the Blackstone area had (close to UNMC, more insulated from North O).

iamjacobm · Post by **iamjacobm** » Tue Jan 27, 2015 6:06 pm

I actually worry for the Gifford Park area. With CUMC on the way out that is a huge presence to leave the immediate area. It will be interesting to see how the housing prospects there react because a lot of Med Students rent in the area.

Varsity · Post by **Varsity** » Tue Jan 27, 2015 6:36 pm

As a former Creighton student, I lived on 31st and Cass for a year, and have had many friends live in Gifford park all throughout college. I live there now, though more toward Midtown Crossing. My observation is that the transformation of this neighborhood is dependent on the type of landlords and owners there.

The area is the go to for Creighton students looking for houses vs apartments. It's an easy walk or bike ride to Creighton, The shuttle goes through Cass, Davenport, and Cali all the way down to about 40th. It's also patrolled (though not enough, by CU Public Safety). Cali Taco, Cali Bar, and the convenience store are often visited by CU students, and most of the Greek houses are in the neighborhood. To me it seems like about 15-20%% of the houses are students, but the rest (mostly in the eastern part) are often people that give off a sketchy vibe (fairly or not). I know students will gobble these rentals up quickly off of Craigslist, it's just a matter of more individuals looking to invest and rent a property to the college or professional demographic needing to scoop up these houses when they can. They sell for pretty cheap, from what I've seen online, and wouldn't be a bad investment. I know gentrification isn't a good thing, but the only knock I have on this neighborhood is that even as a guy, it was sketchy and legitimately unsafe to walk too far after dark, sometimes even in a group. People would sometimes ask for money, say inappropriate things, stare you down, ask for beer or cigarettes...even approach your porch if you were outside and wouldn't always leave without some effort. A few students have even gotten mugged here over the years. There is power in numbers though, There were occasions when students would be outside at several different houses in the area at the same time, and nobody would approach you or had any trouble walking from house to house or to 33rd and Cali after dark. It will be an interesting area to watch. I'm hopeful, I love the location and overall have enjoyed living there, and the neighborhood association there is great and working hard to improve the area.

iamjacobm · Post by **iamjacobm** » Wed Feb 04, 2015 3:14 pm

I need to rewatch the CC Meeting, but it sounds like they made a move to change the zoning in special overlay districts to form-based. As I understand it that means it makes the uses of the building far more important than things like SF standards and parking standards. Should make it easier for new development to better mix with the neighborhoods.

Coyote · Post by **Coyote** » Tue May 16, 2017 1:20 am

This building to the west of the Homey Inn is being turned into a restaurant.

image.jpeg

GetUrban · Post by **GetUrban** » Tue May 16, 2017 5:42 pm

Coyote wrote:This building to the west of the Homey Inn is being turned into a restaurant.

image.jpeg

That will be great for the neighborhood. Might be a good spot for outdoor seating with a view of Metcalf Park and the peanut-shaped traffic circle. It can be very entertaining to see how some people navigate through that traffic circle, ...also annoying.

jelizh · Post by **jelizh** » Thu Jun 01, 2017 1:55 pm

Saddle Creek Breakfast Club

https://www.facebook.com/pg/SCBCOmaha/a ... e_internal

Coyote · Post by **Coyote** » Fri Jun 02, 2017 1:12 am

Good find!

Coyote · Post by **Coyote** » Mon Jul 24, 2017 9:15 pm

Coming this fall, Saddle Creek Breakfast Club hopes to capitalize on farm-to-table trend while bolstering neighborhood

Christopher Burbach - World-Herald staff writer wrote: The building’s small size is just right for what Thomsen wants to do, said the chef, whose former gigs include working as executive chef at Taxi’s in west Omaha and sous chef at The Market House in the Old Market.

aaaron · Post by **aaaron** » Thu Oct 05, 2017 1:36 am

Saddle Creek Breakfast Club is now open. 23 reviews on Facebook so far, all five stars.

Coyote · Post by **Coyote** » Thu Oct 05, 2017 1:41 am

With Chef Chase at the helm I wouldn't have expected anything less. This will be a destination for sure.

Padre · Post by **Padre** » Thu Oct 05, 2017 2:57 am

I could actually walk there from home! The menu looks interesting, have to give it a try.

Coyote · Post by **Coyote** » Tue Mar 06, 2018 1:49 am

Chef Chase Thomsen gives a dilapidated building a facelift & seasonal breakfast menu at Saddle Creek Breakfast Club.

Padre · Post by **Padre** » Fri Feb 07, 2020 3:46 am

SCBC Saddle Creek Breakfast Club has announced a temporary closure while Chef/Owner Chase Thomsen addresses the physical and mental health issues that face so many in the food service industry.

https://thereader.com/dining

They have set up a go fund me page to try to pay employees while they are closed.

https://www.gofundme.com/f/support-sadd ... kfast-club

S.O.Boy · Post by **S.O.Boy** » Mon Apr 06, 2020 4:53 am

Wolfson Used Cars is gone. There are couches outside the building. No for sale or lease signs. Is there a deal in place?

Post by **Brad** » Sun May 03, 2020 3:41 pm

I noticed wolfson’s gone too. Between that and the abandoned building behind it, that’s a full (oddly shaped) city block ready for development! Could do a landmark project here.