Heartwood Preserve (144th Dodge/Pacific)

[nebraska]

Coveted farm and Boys Town property, long surrounded by development, are site of Omaha’s next big mixed-use project

Now that tract of undeveloped land — owned partly by Boys Town and totaling nearly 500 acres — is being sold

For perspective, the land being sold is about seven times the size of the 70-acre Aksarben Village, near 67th and Center Streets.

edit 6/5/2017 - added this link showing the proposal, PDF: https://cityclerk.cityofomaha.org/image ... ng/371.pdf

[Athomsfere]

Sounds exactly like this is HDR driving it.

[skinzfan23]

Sounds exactly like this is HDR driving it.

Based on the info from the story, I would say that is 100% correct. I still wish they would pursue some of the other sites mentioned including the Crossroads.

[iamjacobm]

Noddle Cos. has been tapped by the unidentified firm to be the lead developer of the land, Chief Executive Jay Noddle told The World-Herald. He said the buyer wants to remain unidentified for now but plans to move hundreds of employees into office space to be built there. Its workforce now is scattered among several local buildings.

Seems pretty clear.

[BRoss]

Wow, that is finally going to be developed? I have always wanted to see that farmland right in the middle of west Omaha developed. Excited to see what happens here. Doubt it will happen but I'd love for the building HDR was going to build downtown to end up here.

[iamjacobm]

On another note this land is like getting a hold of a previously untouched gold mine real estate wise. As the person mentioned in the article, this is probably one of the most attractive plots of land in the region considering the location, demographics, access, ease of building, blank slate ect.

This will become a massive addition to the metro over the next 15 years. Imagine the FNB Office park combined with A/V combined with One Pacific Place, except they are all built with a master plan on the same plot. I expect Noddle to do something more interesting than Sterling Ridge.

[guest2016]

Sounds exactly like this is HDR driving it.

Based on the info from the story, I would say that is 100% correct. I still wish they would pursue some of the other sites mentioned including the Crossroads.

The developers don't want that. 150,000sq ft of office space is not even close to what they have now,and about half of what they were desiring downtown. The developers want a mall there with retail, a movie theater and apartments. If they developers of the land don't want them, why would HDR force their way into it?

[CapitalGuy]

Did I read the article correctly that HDR would be a potential tenant in addition to another large employer that is purchasing the site and seeking consolidation of employees? If so, who is the other large employer? I have been racking my brain and the only one I can think of is Kiewit.

[lmdramos]

First Data? Wasn't there a rumour posted in one of the other threads stating the wanted to sell the north alsarben village building?

[nebraska]

I never knew the property went all the way to Dodge. This is great because they can include 150th street exit on Dodge and increase the traffic. More density please!

[guest2016]

Did I read the article correctly that HDR would be a potential tenant in addition to another large employer that is purchasing the site and seeking consolidation of employees? If so, who is the other large employer? I have been racking my brain and the only one I can think of is Kiewit.

No. Those are one and the same. The first just was probably a more open-ended question, "Who is buying the land and what are they doing with it?" The second being, "Is HDR moving there?" That being said, it's probably likely that there's a shell company buying the land and will then re-lease it on a long-term deal to any company moving in. That's the deal with a vast majority of large developments.

[guest2016]

First Data? Wasn't there a rumour posted in one of the other threads stating the wanted to sell the north alsarben village building?

They just sold the south one (I believe) to University of Nebraska for $30 million - and consolidated their people into the other building. Seems unlikely they would build anew when they have fairly modern buildings - unless they're moving their headquarters here (which has been speculated).

[Garrett]

I could see it being First Data, based on what we know of their movements in the UNO area. Do they still have a force downtown as well?

[iamjacobm]

I know First Data has a higher % of employees use the bus system than your average Omaha office, would feel bad for them if they moved out west.

[BRoss]

It would be nice if they extended 150th down to 144th and then took out the 150th interchange.

[CapitalGuy]

No, it is pretty clear that the owner of the two parcels is not HDR and that HDR would be an occupant in addition to the firm who purchased the properties. Keep in mind the DeMarco farm was purchased long before HDR announced that it was moving downtown. I think HDR could go in the larger development along with the firm developing the property. I feel like the purchaser or the developer has to be a bank or insurance company as they would be the only firms with the capital to swing this sort of a deal.

[MTO]

It would be nice if they extended 150th down to 144th and then took out the 150th interchange.

And delete 137th interchange.

[BRoss]

It would be nice if they extended 150th down to 144th and then took out the 150th interchange.

And delete 137th interchange.

That would be nice too. I'd also like to see Norton Dr on 144th moved south of the post office.

[Taco]

Wow, there's a lot to digest here.

1. How many mega projects can this city sustain? Tetrad, Crossroads, River's Edge and this can't all get of the ground as currently planned...we're just barely finishing up Aksarben. Unfortunately, I think Crossroads is the one that loses out here, which is a shame because it's such a prime location.

2. How will the design end up? "Mixed-use" immediately makes me think of new urbanism and Noddle did a pretty good job upholding these standards with Aksarben. However, this location is a lot further west and doesn't have infrastructure built up around it that will encourage such a design. The property is so large that I could easily see this being "infill sprawl" in a way - similar to Sterling Ridge.

3. However, the massive area gives me hope for a decently sized park - hopefully there's more park than parking lots.

4. Has there been anyone in Omaha more influential this millennium than Jay Noddle?

[GetUrban]

This is exactly why it is so hard to increase density in Omaha. Nevertheless, I guess you can consider this "infill" since the city has grown so much further west already. I'm glad to see Noddle is involved. It would be great if it was developed to the same density as Aksarben village. That should help take the pressure off the need for development to keep expanding west of 192nd and so on, for quite a while.

[RockHarbor]

I am so excited!! I just saw this. I don't know about you, but I never liked Millard North just sitting on a simple square in the midst of cornfields -- a simple parcel sold by BT years ago. In fact, I never liked driving on Pacific, and coming to all those cornfields out there, some backing up to older 70's subdivisions, and knowing the city started up again after I passed through them.

Here, I just stated about an hour ago, concerns with HDR building on a simple parcel of land sold by BT (kind of like Millard North). I didn't like the idea of their sharp, new HQs (nice building, landscaping, and all) surrounded by corn and loud farm machinery. But, all this land turning into a high-tech, beautifully-landscaped business park: How awesome (imo)!

As long as Jobber's Canyon isn't being torn down, I say: "progress, Progress, PROGRESS!!"

[Trips]

Am I missing anything here?

Parking - Check
Major Office - Check
Extra Parking - Check
Arena - Check (HDR turnback tax should pay for it)
Outlet Mall - Check
More Parking - Check
Entertainment District with Condo's - Check
Hotel and Convention Center - Check

Picture is to size based on Westgate in Glendale AZ with the Cardinals stadium replaced with HDR.

[TitosBuritoBarn]

Not enough parking. Take out one of the outlet mall buildings and replace it with parking. In fact, pave the property across the street too.

I almost say we take out the other outlet mall building as well. Omaha commuters, and a few people on this Board, apparently, like to feel like they are the only ones that commute, so we need to have as few traffic generators as possible.

[OverlookedFarm]

OK.

I live in the area. In fact, I walk through Overlook Farm every night on my jaunts (Hello BTPD! I see you!). It's one of the highest hills in the area.

First up, I moved to the area simply to have the farm there, open space in the city, perfect. However, I was sure that it was likely to go to development. Silver lining is that it WILL be top notch. I worked at the First National business park for years, and wow, what a beautiful use of land.

I think in about 2010, they put in a catchment work to keep sediment out of the Boys Town lake. That is still there as I've seen the John Deere harvester get bogged down in the swamp.

There has been strong rumor for 2 years that this was going to be sold. However, the DeMarco property was the plot twist. St. Wenceslaus was in sort of a gentlemans agreement to buy part of that property to expand and build a new church. I guess that went out the window.


On October 15th, 2014, Peitzmeier demo'd the main dairy barn that was along 144th along with the farm office. This barn was damaged by a fire sometime in the late 90s (not sure exactly). It sat empty since then and all the animals were moved to the south farm by Leawood. I guess Boys Town wanted to demo it quietly so preservationists wouldn't come in and try to save it. It was a bit sad because all of the kid's 4-H medals books and ribbons were strewn in the debris. The other buildings on the farm property are in mixed condition. The Granary is great, so is the "Bunnies" barn. The cannery is shoddy, along with the office. There is the garden office as well. The metal equipment shed is is good shape. The "transient' housing units are from what I'm told, a disaster. Only two are occupied I think. The Harvestore silo looks like they left it. The greenhouse is caved in. A colony of brown bats live in the barn, they come out at night.

Lots of other wildlife has been spotted there. Hawks, owls, fox, turkey, whitetail and I think someone saw a cougar. (well, it was west omaha)

These are the buildings that were built during the filming of "Boys Town". If you dig, there are some nice photos out there of the early farm.

The truck garden is still in use. Half of is is for employees and family of Boys town for private plots, the rest is for the Boys town, they sell the produce there on Tuesday and Friday afternoons. Lettuce onions and turnips are in the ground. The tennant farmers ran a harrow through last years corn a couple weeks ago, so I bet they farm it this year.

On about October 30th last year, Lamp Rynearson was out doing a site survey. They located the stakes and sunk spikes around the property. There appeared to be a hydrology survey done right at Giannelli Ct and 144th a few days ago.

Anyways. Sad to see it go. Sad to see Boys Town not have the farm there to teach kids a trade, upkeep the property, hopefully they can integrate some historical items into the new development. Maybe Boys Town can take the sale money, clean up some of their other properties, like the track, football stadium, mechanical maint dept and the rose garden.

I'm sure it will be nice. That whole area town is a bright spot in Omaha. Just don't want hipsters drinking moscow mules in my back yard.

[jessep28]

I'm hoping for a strip mall complex with a Dollar General anchor to make the urbanists mad.

[guest2016]

There has been strong rumor for 2 years that this was going to be sold. However, the DeMarco property was the plot twist. St. Wenceslaus was in sort of a gentlemans agreement to buy part of that property to expand and build a new church. I guess that went out the window.

St Wenceslaus is building a new church. It's $27 million, $10 million was donated by Wayne and Eileen Ryan. They are having a ground breaking ceremony on May 5. That's on part of the DeMarco land.

[Coyote]

There has been strong rumor for 2 years that this was going to be sold. However, the DeMarco property was the plot twist. St. Wenceslaus was in sort of a gentlemans agreement to buy part of that property to expand and build a new church. I guess that went out the window.

St Wenceslaus is building a new church. It's $27 million, $10 million was donated by Wayne and Eileen Ryan. They are having a ground breaking ceremony on May 5. That's on part of the DeMarco land.

The new St Wenceslaus would be on the land SOUTH of Pacific? Correct ?

[iamjacobm]

There has been strong rumor for 2 years that this was going to be sold. However, the DeMarco property was the plot twist. St. Wenceslaus was in sort of a gentlemans agreement to buy part of that property to expand and build a new church. I guess that went out the window.

St Wenceslaus is building a new church. It's $27 million, $10 million was donated by Wayne and Eileen Ryan. They are having a ground breaking ceremony on May 5. That's on part of the DeMarco land.

The new St Wenceslaus would be on the land SOUTH of Pacific? Correct ?

Yes, it will be an addition to their current building not a move.

[yellowcolumbia]

There has been strong rumor for 2 years that this was going to be sold. However, the DeMarco property was the plot twist. St. Wenceslaus was in sort of a gentlemans agreement to buy part of that property to expand and build a new church. I guess that went out the window.

St Wenceslaus is building a new church. It's $27 million, $10 million was donated by Wayne and Eileen Ryan. They are having a ground breaking ceremony on May 5. That's on part of the DeMarco land.

The new St Wenceslaus would be on the land SOUTH of Pacific? Correct ?

That is correct, south of pacific, next to the existing compound.
I'm pretty sure that a May groundbreaking would have to do with the school addition that is coming first. The new church is further off.

[RockHarbor]

There has been strong rumor for 2 years that this was going to be sold. However, the DeMarco property was the plot twist. St. Wenceslaus was in sort of a gentlemans agreement to buy part of that property to expand and build a new church. I guess that went out the window.

St Wenceslaus is building a new church. It's $27 million, $10 million was donated by Wayne and Eileen Ryan. They are having a ground breaking ceremony on May 5. That's on part of the DeMarco land.

The new St Wenceslaus would be on the land SOUTH of Pacific? Correct ?

That is correct, south of pacific, next to the existing compound.
I'm pretty sure that a May groundbreaking would have to do with the school addition that is coming first. The new church is further off.

I'm just asking one of you: Is the land that church going to build on just a parcel of land Boys Town sold them (just to the east of the church)? Or, is all that land in that section south of Pacific sold and being developed? On this thread, only the land NORTH of Pacific (and west of 144th) is shown to be sold for this future development.

If so, that would be cool... Pacific Hollow has always been one of my favorite neighborhoods (still is), yet it has always had awkward entrances and exits, imo, due to butting up against that rural Boys Town land, Harvey Oaks to the south, and that church right there.

[guest2016]

I'm just asking one of you: Is the land that church going to build on just a parcel of land Boys Town sold them (just to the east of the church)? Or, is all that land in that section south of Pacific sold and being developed? On this thread, only the land NORTH of Pacific (and west of 144th) is shown to be sold for this future development.

If so, that would be cool... Pacific Hollow has always been one of my favorite neighborhoods (still is), yet it has always had awkward entrances and exits, imo, due to butting up against that rural Boys Town land, Harvey Oaks to the south, and that church right there.

Boys Town didn't sell St. Wenceslaus that land, the DeMarco family is selling it - and yes, it's being sold (per OWH). The DeMarco family owns the farm on the south side of Pacific.

OWH:
"Arvin DeMarco, an owner of the DeMarco farmland, said his family has had other offers over the years to sell the land, which they’ve had more than 50 years. 'We agreed we were not going to sell unless they would be good stewards,' he said. 'What they propose and talked about — this is the real deal, a real first-class deal.'"

Arvin lives on the property with his sister, Gina, who is a St. Wenceslaus employee and has been since 1985 (http://stwenceslaus.org/resource - second down). Their development is on DeMarco land directly next to their current church. I don't believe they were even interested in buying the entire property - and don't think that's how this is to be portrayed. What I believe is happening is St. Wencelaus acquired a small portion of the land and the rest will be developed into something else.

It's unlikely that the new development will fix any entrances to Pacific Hollow unless you want to navigate a maze of a different development to get into it. Another major problem with the entrances is that 156th turns into Bob Boozer because of the rail line.

[RockHarbor]

OWH:
"Arvin DeMarco, an owner of the DeMarco farmland, said his family has had other offers over the years to sell the land, which they’ve had more than 50 years. 'We agreed we were not going to sell unless they would be good stewards,' he said. 'What they propose and talked about — this is the real deal, a real first-class deal.'"

Arvin lives on the property with his sister, Gina, who is a St. Wenceslaus employee and has been since 1985 (http://stwenceslaus.org/resource - second down). Their development is on DeMarco land directly next to their current church. I don't believe they were even interested in buying the entire property - and don't think that's how this is to be portrayed. What I believe is happening is St. Wencelaus acquired a small portion of the land and the rest will be developed into something else.

It's unlikely that the new development will fix any entrances to Pacific Hollow unless you want to navigate a maze of a different development to get into it. Another major problem with the entrances is that 156th turns into Bob Boozer because of the rail line.

Thanks for the explanation. I didn't realize that the farmland south of Pacific there was owned by that family. I always thought it was Boys Town land. I wonder if they would have held onto that land all these years if Boys Town didn't have all those matching, undeveloped cornfields around nearby? Just curious... Anyways, it is really neat that land is also being developed, too. I think it also looks nicer having the boundaries of Boys Town confined to that big square, between Dodge & Pacific, 132nd & 144th -- rather than cornfields & farms here or there beyond those square boundaries.

Yeah, you're probably right: Pacific Hollow will probably always just have that one main entrance on Pacific, while all the exits face an older neighborhood, the church, and that townhouse development west of it. Oh well... Still love that neighborhood. (I think because, like Applewood Heights, the accents and steeper gables & roof lines were more dramatic in that era, than what we see on many new homes in this era.)

[BRoss]

So will Omaha then annex the land from Boys Town? I'm not sure what they did with the north property.

[GetUrban]

So will Omaha then annex the land from Boys Town? I'm not sure what they did with the north property.

I'm sure they will once it is advantageous tax-wise for the city. Probably only after it is substantially developed with buildings, unless the city agrees to pay for infrastructure.

[Ben]

So will Omaha then annex the land from Boys Town? I'm not sure what they did with the north property.

I'm sure they will once it is advantageous tax-wise for the city. Probably only after it is substantially developed with buildings, unless the city agrees to pay for infrastructure.

So that would mean there's no way to offer TIF, as its not technically Omaha property now? Wow, I can't remember the last major Omaha development that went ahead with no incentives from the city....

Plus, none of this land is "shovel ready" - its all pure farmland, with no water/sewer/electrical service. That's a relatively large expense that the developer will have to foot. Nevermind the timeline that this will take to accomplish. If this truly is HDR, as everyone's assuming, they'll really need to kick it into overdrive, as they were barely able to hit their required timelines downtown, and that was with all of the infrastructure relatively easily connectable.

[GetUrban]

I just thought of something....what if the buyer of the property is NFM/Berkshire, and they're planning something like Grandscape in The Colony Texas....near Dallas. That would be pretty ambitious. Hmmmm....

http://grandscape.com/

HDR would just be another tenant.

[RockHarbor]

^Something like that Grandscape would be cool there, but I'm thinking: Would it compete with Village Point too much? I think it is neat how NE Furniture Mart is down there now in Dallas now. (Side note: I've thought about moving to Texas. It is so hot, but I like all the big cities down there. The trees are shorter, but I do like all the gnarly oaks. In fact, they are planting more bur oak in Omaha, I noticed -- which I feel they need to. It can't be all just maples around here.)

With this new open land on Dodge now, I just wish Omaha could form a notable suburban skyline with wide, straight roads, which reminds me of Overland Park, KS (suburban Kansas City).

https://www.marketingxchange.com/sites/ ... ndpark.jpg

We just don't ever obtain quite that look here, I see other places, but neither does Des Moines. So, I have to face the fact: It is simply because we are not a big enough city to demand those big of buildings. Or, maybe our terrain is hillier, so it doesn't look quite the same. But, we could try.

[lonnie]

I just thought of something....what if the buyer of the property is NFM/Berkshire, and they're planning something like Grandscape in The Colony Texas....near Dallas. That would be pretty ambitious. Hmmmm....

HDR would just be another tenant.

@GetUrban, great thought.

Didn't the Grow Omaha guys a couple weeks ago hint that this land was to be purchased by a Berkshire company ?

[Athomsfere]

While we are at it: Wasn't there some weird talk about building a newer, bigggggger better NFM?

Or was that someone's pipe dream?

[GetUrban]

I just thought of something....what if the buyer of the property is NFM/Berkshire, and they're planning something like Grandscape in The Colony Texas....near Dallas. That would be pretty ambitious. Hmmmm....

HDR would just be another tenant.

@GetUrban, great thought.

Didn't the Grow Omaha guys a couple weeks ago hint that this land was to be purchased by a Berkshire company ?

I don't know about Grow Omaha...I have never listened to it. It was just speculation based on hearsay and thinking about who the possible players are.

Grandscape and a new giant NFM store seems pretty far fetched for a city the size of Omaha. The DFW area is at least 6-7 times larger than our metro area population-wise. Something that scale would suck the life out of many other areas of town if it came on the scene too quickly. There's no doubt that land will be developed. Just a question of exactly what and how. Maybe a large part of it wil become residential along with smaller amounts of office, retail, greenspace mixed in.