Capitol District (NWC 10th & Capitol)

ShawJ · Post by **ShawJ** » Sat Jan 10, 2015 11:43 pm

Coyote wrote:There is a shiny new sign on the corner...:

That's been there since the ground breaking.

Linkin5 · Post by **Linkin5** » Sun Jan 11, 2015 1:40 pm

Maybe eventually we can use all these signs to build something.

Garrett · Post by **Garrett** » Sun Jan 11, 2015 1:59 pm

Maybe the groundbreaking was actually just a groundbreaking on the sign?

MadMartin8 · Post by **MadMartin8** » Sun Jan 11, 2015 2:30 pm

Someone should take a paint brush and paint quotation marks around the word soon.

Coming "Soon"

or cross it off altogether and put

"Coming Maybe Someday".

skinzfan23 · Post by **skinzfan23** » Sun Jan 11, 2015 3:52 pm

I might be wrong, but I think that sign has been there since the groundbreaking. It is not new.

RNcyanide · Post by **RNcyanide** » Sun Jan 11, 2015 3:57 pm

It's been there a while. I remember it being there since summer.

MTO · Post by **MTO** » Mon Jan 12, 2015 8:48 am

They installed during last years CWS.

GetUrban · Post by **GetUrban** » Mon Jan 12, 2015 10:47 am

To be fair, they might have meant "coming soon" in this geologic epoch.

According to the NOAA website, the ground in Omaha is frozen down to 9" now. Starting construction on frozen ground can be an issue at some point, but given the scale of this project and the deep foundations likely required, it shouldn't be a big deal, I would think.

Bob from Omaha · Post by **Bob from Omaha** » Mon Jan 12, 2015 2:00 pm

I went to the web site and emailed and asked for the timeline. Never hurts to ask.

Coyote · Post by **Coyote** » Mon Jan 12, 2015 2:27 pm

I'm sure the EB-15 has something to do with the timeline...

realestate_zach · Post by **realestate_zach** » Mon Jan 12, 2015 3:20 pm

Hey everyone, new to the forum but not new to real estate development in Omaha.

Coyote wrote:I'm sure the EB-15 has something to do with the timeline...

The EB-5 financing definitely has something to do with the timeline. This is a time intensive form of financing and is not something that has been used in Omaha for deals of this sort.

When a developer goes to a bank to get financing for a project that bank normally requires anywhere from 20-25% developer equity in the project, equating to a 75-80% loan to value. It is not uncommon for a bank to require up to 50% developer equity on a hotel project. Hotels, unlike other real estate, are valued based on their operations as a business as opposed to simple rent-expenses=income formula. This means that there are more variables that go into a hotel's income and they represent a higher risk loan for a bank. As is the case in banking, higher risk means more $$ from the developer. In this case the developer is utilizing a rather new form of equity, and it is not uncommon for a pioneer to encounter a longer than expected timeline.

I think it should be noted that the folks at Shamrock want this project to get off the ground more than anyone, but they want to do it right. With a project as complex as the Capitol District there are a lot of moving parts that have to come together in a particular order, and sometimes one thinks that things are in order only to have something change last minute. That is the nature of deals this complex. I understand the frustration of people in Omaha wanting to see this happen and the apprehension that it may not (especially in the wake of the Wall Street Tower debacle), however I for one believe this project will move forward in due time.

iamjacobm · Post by **iamjacobm** » Mon Jan 12, 2015 3:23 pm

Great first post! Welcome to the forum!

MadMartin8 · Post by **MadMartin8** » Mon Jan 12, 2015 5:05 pm

realestate_zach wrote:Hey everyone, new to the forum but not new to real estate development in Omaha.

Coyote wrote:I'm sure the EB-15 has something to do with the timeline...
The EB-5 financing definitely has something to do with the timeline. This is a time intensive form of financing and is not something that has been used in Omaha for deals of this sort.

When a developer goes to a bank to get financing for a project that bank normally requires anywhere from 20-25% developer equity in the project, equating to a 75-80% loan to value. It is not uncommon for a bank to require up to 50% developer equity on a hotel project. Hotels, unlike other real estate, are valued based on their operations as a business as opposed to simple rent-expenses=income formula. This means that there are more variables that go into a hotel's income and they represent a higher risk loan for a bank. As is the case in banking, higher risk means more $$ from the developer. In this case the developer is utilizing a rather new form of equity, and it is not uncommon for a pioneer to encounter a longer than expected timeline.

I think it should be noted that the folks at Shamrock want this project to get off the ground more than anyone, but they want to do it right. With a project as complex as the Capitol District there are a lot of moving parts that have to come together in a particular order, and sometimes one thinks that things are in order only to have something change last minute. That is the nature of deals this complex. I understand the frustration of people in Omaha wanting to see this happen and the apprehension that it may not (especially in the wake of the Wall Street Tower debacle), however I for one believe this project will move forward in due time.

I seriously hope and pray you are correct, and that "due time" isn't a long ways away.

Bob from Omaha · Post by **Bob from Omaha** » Mon Jan 12, 2015 5:14 pm

50% developer equity? Since when? Not doubting you but man that sounds steep.

realestate_zach · Post by **realestate_zach** » Mon Jan 12, 2015 5:26 pm

Bob from Omaha wrote:50% developer equity? Since when? Not doubting you but man that sounds steep.

Up to 50% for Hotel projects, not every situation will demand 50% equity, there are a lot of variables that affect the equity requirements. The projects I've seen probably fall closer to 30-40% equity, but 50% is not unheard of. You're right that it is a steep hill to climb for a developer.

realestate_zach · Post by **realestate_zach** » Mon Jan 12, 2015 5:29 pm

MadMartin8 wrote:
realestate_zach wrote:Hey everyone, new to the forum but not new to real estate development in Omaha.

Coyote wrote:I'm sure the EB-15 has something to do with the timeline...
The EB-5 financing definitely has something to do with the timeline. This is a time intensive form of financing and is not something that has been used in Omaha for deals of this sort.

When a developer goes to a bank to get financing for a project that bank normally requires anywhere from 20-25% developer equity in the project, equating to a 75-80% loan to value. It is not uncommon for a bank to require up to 50% developer equity on a hotel project. Hotels, unlike other real estate, are valued based on their operations as a business as opposed to simple rent-expenses=income formula. This means that there are more variables that go into a hotel's income and they represent a higher risk loan for a bank. As is the case in banking, higher risk means more $$ from the developer. In this case the developer is utilizing a rather new form of equity, and it is not uncommon for a pioneer to encounter a longer than expected timeline.

I think it should be noted that the folks at Shamrock want this project to get off the ground more than anyone, but they want to do it right. With a project as complex as the Capitol District there are a lot of moving parts that have to come together in a particular order, and sometimes one thinks that things are in order only to have something change last minute. That is the nature of deals this complex. I understand the frustration of people in Omaha wanting to see this happen and the apprehension that it may not (especially in the wake of the Wall Street Tower debacle), however I for one believe this project will move forward in due time.
I seriously hope and pray you are correct, and that "due time" isn't a long ways away.

I hope so too. I know that the project is moving forward, and I am optimistic that we will see work starting here this year.

MTO · Post by **MTO** » Mon Jan 12, 2015 6:38 pm

This "year" huh? wow....

jessep28 · Post by **jessep28** » Mon Jan 12, 2015 7:43 pm

MTO wrote:This "year" huh? wow....

nativeomahan · Post by **nativeomahan** » Mon Jan 12, 2015 10:07 pm

Garrett wrote:Maybe the groundbreaking was actually just a groundbreaking on the sign?

Hahahahaha

Coyote · Post by **Coyote** » Tue Jan 13, 2015 12:21 am

Thanks for your posts, and welcome to eOmahaForums, Zach!

RNcyanide · Post by **RNcyanide** » Thu Jan 15, 2015 11:32 am

I Googled this project just for fun to see if I could find any new posts or articles, and I keep getting hits for articles titled "Construction Begins ... " all the way back in June. Such a let down.

Bobcat · Post by **Bobcat** » Fri Jan 16, 2015 12:05 pm

realestate_zach wrote:Hey everyone, new to the forum but not new to real estate development in Omaha.

Coyote wrote:I'm sure the EB-15 has something to do with the timeline...
The EB-5 financing definitely has something to do with the timeline. This is a time intensive form of financing and is not something that has been used in Omaha for deals of this sort.

When a developer goes to a bank to get financing for a project that bank normally requires anywhere from 20-25% developer equity in the project, equating to a 75-80% loan to value. It is not uncommon for a bank to require up to 50% developer equity on a hotel project. Hotels, unlike other real estate, are valued based on their operations as a business as opposed to simple rent-expenses=income formula. This means that there are more variables that go into a hotel's income and they represent a higher risk loan for a bank. As is the case in banking, higher risk means more $$ from the developer. In this case the developer is utilizing a rather new form of equity, and it is not uncommon for a pioneer to encounter a longer than expected timeline.

I think it should be noted that the folks at Shamrock want this project to get off the ground more than anyone, but they want to do it right. With a project as complex as the Capitol District there are a lot of moving parts that have to come together in a particular order, and sometimes one thinks that things are in order only to have something change last minute. That is the nature of deals this complex. I understand the frustration of people in Omaha wanting to see this happen and the apprehension that it may not (especially in the wake of the Wall Street Tower debacle), however I for one believe this project will move forward in due time.

The choice of an undercapitalized developer can be added to the long list of impediments and underwhelming progress of the MECA controlled property surrounding the convention center.

iamjacobm · Post by **iamjacobm** » Thu Jan 29, 2015 5:57 pm

Building permit will be issues with a payment of $324.

*Insert can they afford it joke here*

MTO · Post by **MTO** » Thu Jan 29, 2015 11:24 pm

That's a lot of money just for a long-con.

iamjacobm · Post by **iamjacobm** » Fri Feb 06, 2015 4:18 pm

MTO wrote:That's a lot of money just for a long-con.

Haha well the permit is issued. They are financially invested now

.

iamjacobm · Post by **iamjacobm** » Mon Feb 09, 2015 12:18 pm

So the building permit was for a value under $14.5 million. That is kind of strange considerig the size of the hotel...

RNcyanide · Post by **RNcyanide** » Mon Feb 09, 2015 12:22 pm

iamjacobm wrote:So the building permit was for a value under $14.5 million. That is kind of strange considerig the size of the hotel...

Maybe they just said screw it and decided to put a Super 8 in the middle of the parking lot.

GetUrban · Post by **GetUrban** » Mon Feb 09, 2015 12:51 pm

RNcyanide wrote:
iamjacobm wrote:So the building permit was for a value under $14.5 million. That is kind of strange considerig the size of the hotel...
Maybe they just said screw it and decided to put a Super 8 in the middle of the parking lot.

It's not uncommon for a permit to be issued for a smaller portion of the overall work such as footings, super-structure, utilities, etc. It's also very common for the value listed under the permit to be way below the actual value, since the permit fee is based on the value. How they get away with such a low value is a mystery but it happens all of the time.

...encouraging to see the permit has been issued though!

iamjacobm · Post by **iamjacobm** » Mon Feb 16, 2015 12:06 pm

Mr. Lund reported that talks continue with Mike Moylan of Shamrock Development. The final funding documents are being completed with his new representative broker, and he is hopeful that he can make a positive announcement soon.

RNcyanide · Post by **RNcyanide** » Mon Feb 16, 2015 12:29 pm

iamjacobm wrote:
Mr. Lund reported that talks continue with Mike Moylan of Shamrock Development. The final funding documents are being completed with his new representative broker, and he is hopeful that he can make a positive announcement soon.

60-90 days...

MTO · Post by **MTO** » Mon Feb 16, 2015 1:26 pm

Yeah I think last year the same thing was infered during the groundbreaking ceremony. Townsand 2.0. But why break ground if you didn't have the money to build in the first place! I'd say give them one more year and reissue the site for proposals. Those other two submissions were worthy of a green light.

Linkin5 · Post by **Linkin5** » Mon Feb 16, 2015 1:31 pm

Hopefully Shamrock can pay Omaha chamber of commerce back for those shovels used in the fake groundbreaking.

skinzfan23 · Post by **skinzfan23** » Fri Feb 20, 2015 1:13 pm

skinzfan23 wrote:Des Moines is still having a problem trying to secure financing for their convention hotel and the WFA was opened in 2005. They have gone 10 years already and still working out the details. Des Moines was proposing a 450 room hotel, but now it seems like its going to scaled back to less, possibly 330 rooms. Just goes to show, like Brad has stated many times before, projects of this scale take time and a lot of hard work to have everything fall into place.

Downtown convention hotel could be scaled back

This is the newest rendering of Des Moines' convention hotel. I think the Shamrock Marriott looks much, much better and is 14 stories tall compared to 10 for Des Moines. For the Des Moines' hotel, if everything gets approved, the earliest they would start construction would be spring 2016.

Convention hotel to cost $101 million

MadMartin8 · Post by **MadMartin8** » Fri Feb 20, 2015 1:18 pm

It kind of looks like something out of the 1980s or 70s for some reason...

Well, not that there is anything wrong with being from the 1980s

skinzfan23 · Post by **skinzfan23** » Fri Feb 20, 2015 1:29 pm

MadMartin8 wrote:It kind of looks like something out of the 1980s or 70s for some reason...

I agree...I just thought I would post it because it shows that these types of projects are hard to get going in mid-sized cities. Even though Omaha's is behind schedule, it is still further along than Des Moines' and looks much nicer and more comprehensive and we already have a 600 room attached hotel, complicating matters a little.

MTO · Post by **MTO** » Fri Feb 20, 2015 2:15 pm

Although that isn't a super-block project like Shamrock's I'll lose my šhit if that breaks ground before ours.

RNcyanide · Post by **RNcyanide** » Fri Feb 20, 2015 2:15 pm

I kind of like it, however I do get the dated vibe from it. This looks like something that might be more appropriate in an area similar to AkSarBen or Old Mill rather than the CBD.

MTO · Post by **MTO** » Fri Feb 20, 2015 3:10 pm

iamjacobm · Post by **iamjacobm** » Fri Feb 20, 2015 3:41 pm

That DSM one will have more public assistance and it is still taking time.

Post by **BRoss** » Fri Feb 20, 2015 5:38 pm

MTO wrote:

lol, I got a good laugh from that.
Full clip: http://southpark.cc.com/clips/151164/des-moines" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

(I know DSM isn't really like that)