Oak View Mall (144 & West Center Rd)

[JDJase]

Permit says Rush Market

Rush Market seems to target struggling retail developments with plenty of available space. I don't know if you can actually call this a "win" for the struggling Oak View complex. These places do not draw a ton of day to day traffic, nor do they move the needle to stem the tide of a mall that's backsliding into irrelevance.

THe other locations are not open every day either. Went in once on Center St. That was all I needed to see.

I was trying to be as nice about it as possible, but I put these Rush Markets about a step above getting excited about your retail development getting a Halloween Express.

That is almost word-for-word my exact first thought when I read Rush Market. Step above Halloween Express.

[RockHarbor]

Ugh, I just hate the idea of Oak View's metamorphosis into a big "Halloween Express." Depressing.

I'm not sure a new remodel ever would have helped. I think a team needs to sit down and really brainstorm why Westroads works, why Jordan Creek Mall in West Des Moines work, and why Oak View doesn't entirely work. Then, put together a "game plan" from there. This solution "rush market" is too common.

[Omaha Cowboy]

I think a team needs to sit down and really brainstorm why Westroads works, why Jordan Creek Mall in West Des Moines work, and why Oak View doesn't entirely work. Then, put together a "game plan" from there. This solution "rush market" is too common.

I agree with you’re content here. And I’ve expressed the same view several times in this thread..

Make no mistake, the Oakview Mousetrap has been through a tough 15 years.. Through no fault of its own, they’ve just lost 2 anchor stores..

The thing to remember specifically with the Younker’s anchor store parcel, is its a large, 2 floor area. “Rush Market” will likely be only one piece out of several other developments who may occupy the 1st and 2nd floor space..

Before people start to minimize the potential of a Rush Market entering Oakview, let’s reserve final judgement until we see who, completely, will fill the entire Younker’s parcel...

Ciao..LiO...Peace

[RockHarbor]

I think a team needs to sit down and really brainstorm why Westroads works, why Jordan Creek Mall in West Des Moines work, and why Oak View doesn't entirely work. Then, put together a "game plan" from there. This solution "rush market" is too common.

I agree with you’re content here. And I’ve expressed the same view several times in this thread..

Make no mistake, the Oakview Mousetrap has been through a tough 15 years.. Through no fault of its own, they’ve just lost 2 anchor stores..

The thing to remember specifically with the Younker’s anchor store parcel, is its a large, 2 floor area. “Rush Market” will likely be only one piece out of several other developments who may occupy the 1st and 2nd floor space..

Before people start to minimize the potential of a Rush Market entering Oakview, let’s reserve final judgement until we see who, completely, will fill the entire Younker’s parcel...

Ciao..LiO...Peace

I know there's a time & place for a rush market out there. In fact, I think they are kinda fun. However, the fancier, rich materials used for the shopping environment created in Oak View are much to nice to waste on simply a rush market environment, imo. We are not talking a former Bakers grocery store w/ standard big square tiles on the floor -- like at Deerfield Place. It would be depressing & disheartening, I think, to see a rush market w/ Oak View's marble, glass box bridges, accented ceilings, and extensive skylights. Admist the noisy market of booths where designer perfume/cologne counters used to stretch, where you were greeted by stylish lovely sales ladies with big hair, willing to spray your wrist and ask your opinion, sending you away with a blush on your face, and now all you hear over the market noise is "I'll give it to you for five dollars... Five dollars! Deal?", you can bet people would be probably thinking: "What a fall this place has taken."

So, what is Oakview supposed to do? I dont know what it is supposed to do.

Valley West Mall (name?) in West Des Moines thrives fine within fair distance from Jordan Creek Mall, so I dont want to hear "its all Village Point's fault."

Maybe they could create "Oakview.com" and have a convenient line up of all their interior stores websites, each with online shopping options. So you could visit all of Oak View online. I dont know...

What about Nebraska Furniture Mart? What about a large Borsheims West? What about another Metro Community College -- one with a huge skylight over the student cafeteria? I dont know.

Although many people arent into design, I still think many people can feel/sense "good design" that works, and "bad design" that doesnt quite work -- whether they realize it or not. People dont like the "mouse trap" loop. People must think the mall's two main hallways are strangely stumpy & short. I think Oak View has some poor design choices that keep it off the "favorite place list" in Omaha. They dont remodel. People sense they dont really care. The color aqua is like "institutional" in there by now.

Not sure... A study would be nice. What works? What doesnt work? What needs to be fixed? What needs to be left alone? Even then, the right move might be hard to find.

I wish the best for Oak View Mall.

[jessep28]

The Deerfield one cracked me up when I stopped in once. I used to work at that Baker's about 20 years ago, and since flea market operators don't spend a dime revamping the space, it was a trip down memory lane.

[Cermak]

I’m starting to think Oak View won’t get demolished but instead will become a hodgepodge of tacky retail establishments and generally become a eyesore for the neighbors and businesses nearby. It’s hard to believe that for a while this was once Omaha’s best mall. It seems it’s location and changing shopping trends doomed it. As westroads superior location and desire to keep improving itself won out over the long haul. I’m wondering now if it should have been built in the Northwest part of the city , but SW Omaha was the more established part of the western suburbs back then. Maybe it would of fared better on west Maple. This mall had a short shelf life. People just never really warmed up to it and it started to decline about 15-20 years after it opened, which was very quick. Most dying malls had a shelf life of at least 30 years.

[omaha79]

I’m starting to think Oak View won’t get demolished but instead will become a hodgepodge of tacky retail establishments and generally become a eyesore for the neighbors and businesses nearby. It’s hard to believe that for a while this was once Omaha’s best mall. It seems it’s location and changing shopping trends doomed it. As westroads superior location and desire to keep improving itself won out over the long haul. I’m wondering now if it should have been built in the Northwest part of the city , but SW Omaha was the more established part of the western suburbs back then. Maybe it would of fared better on west Maple. This mall had a short shelf life. People just never really warmed up to it and it started to decline about 15-20 years after it opened, which was very quick. Most dying malls had a shelf life of at least 30 years.

That's what generally happens when a retail development goes by the wayside. It's not an immediate death cycle as some have interpreted my use of the phrase. Rather, the cycle takes decades. Vacancy rates go up. Then, you lose an anchor. A second one typically follows. National retailers get replaced by mom and pop shops selling t-shirts, novelties, swords, and cheap "gold" jewelry. Bays get shuttered and are never used again. Their facades get faced to look like a display or just boarded up entirely. The food court ends up empty. This is more death by a thousand cuts than a quick demise.

The issue isn't whether or not Oak View has been responsible for the losses of Younkers, Sears, Hy-Vee, Best Buy, Toys R Us, Linens and Things, Etc., Etc. , Etc. It's more how they've responded to it...and, I've generally seen little to no response. Westroads reconfigued their food court to be higher end. They've renovated. They tried to put in a movie theater (with mixed results). They reconfigured the old food court to accomodate the Container Store. Oak View hasn't done much. They haven't even attempted a major renovation in the almost 30 years the mall has been open.

That speaks to either lack of foresight or faith in the development to me.

[ScrattyB]

The issue isn't whether or not Oak View has been responsible for the losses of Younkers, Sears, Hy-Vee, Best Buy, Toys R Us, Linens and Things, Etc., Etc. , Etc. It's more how they've responded to it...and, I've generally seen little to no response.

Totally agreed. I don't think it's going to "die" anytime soon, but it's almost shocking how there's no perceived response to all the businesses closing/relocating.

Step 1, fix the terrible roads in the whole development.

(also Westroads could use some road improvements)

[RockHarbor]

I agree. I would have loved it more on a spacious lot, and thus a bigger mall, out along West Maple in all new Northwest Omaba, rather than crammed in by railroad tracks, with old parts of Millard & that water tower in the backdrop. Something is just "off" and unappealing about it all to me -- and I have always felt that way. And, other people feel it, too. And, that's what is wrong with it -- I think.

Everybody seems to sense the owners dont care as much as you would think they would. What is their plan? What is up their sleeve, to have that attitude? Do they feel the situation is ultimately hopeless, so they are not going to spend any money? Or, what?

And, if they dont care, then I dont care either. Who will care, if the property owners dont?

[omaha79]

I agree. I would have loved it more on a spacious lot, and thus a bigger mall, out along West Maple in all new Northwest Omaba, rather than crammed in by railroad tracks, with old parts of Millard & that water tower in the backdrop. Something is just "off" and unappealing about it all to me -- and I have always felt that way. And, other people feel it, too. And, that's what is wrong with it -- I think.

Everybody seems to sense the owners dont care as much as you would think they would. What is their plan? What is up their sleeve, to have that attitude? Do they feel the situation is ultimately hopeless, so they are not going to spend any money? Or, what?

And, if they dont care, then I dont care either. Who will care, if the property owners dont?

That's what tends to happen. I've watched it with The Center, Southroads, and Crossroads in my time. A sense of hopelessness and inevitability sets in. The Hy-Vee location has been vacant a good 10 years. What has been done to repurpose that location? Outside of a banner that got hung there saying a cheerleading group was taking it over, not much. What renovations were done? None. What has been done to bring in new, exciting, and vibrant retailers? Nothing.

Sometimes a renovation doesn't really change the course either. Both Southroads and Crossroads undertook large scale renovations in the early 1990's and it only temporarily stemmed the tide of backsliding for these developments. At some point, developers realize public whims change and the momentum is with a newer development in another neighborhood and they just move on. Every large scale retail center that gets built is generally at the expense of something else in the long run. At some poine, it just is what it is.

[RockHarbor]

I agree. I would have loved it more on a spacious lot, and thus a bigger mall, out along West Maple in all new Northwest Omaba, rather than crammed in by railroad tracks, with old parts of Millard & that water tower in the backdrop. Something is just "off" and unappealing about it all to me -- and I have always felt that way. And, other people feel it, too. And, that's what is wrong with it -- I think.

Everybody seems to sense the owners dont care as much as you would think they would. What is their plan? What is up their sleeve, to have that attitude? Do they feel the situation is ultimately hopeless, so they are not going to spend any money? Or, what?

And, if they dont care, then I dont care either. Who will care, if the property owners dont?

That's what tends to happen. I've watched it with The Center, Southroads, and Crossroads in my time. A sense of hopelessness and inevitability sets in. The Hy-Vee location has been vacant a good 10 years. What has been done to repurpose that location? Outside of a banner that got hung there saying a cheerleading group was taking it over, not much. What renovations were done? None. What has been done to bring in new, exciting, and vibrant retailers? Nothing.

Sometimes a renovation doesn't really change the course either. Both Southroads and Crossroads undertook large scale renovations in the early 1990's and it only temporarily stemmed the tide of backsliding for these developments. At some point, developers realize public whims change and the momentum is with a newer development in another neighborhood and they just move on. Every large scale retail center that gets built is generally at the expense of something else in the long run. At some poine, it just is what it is.

Exactly. You said it. I almost dont blame the owners for not putting a penny into remodeling the place, as it will just feel like a "temporary band-aid" probably. When that inevitable feeling sets in, you cant just ignore it, or pretend it isnt there. I guess you have to just intentionally embrace it, and have a positive attitude about the change that is occuring, and look for great solutions for the issue/problem with a positive outlook. What else are the owners supposed to do? And, honestly, nobody can fully blame the mall or the owners -- the blame is also on the shoppers that decided to go elsewhere. And, they never had to allow an online world to shop either -- but they did. Course, this type thing happened to certain poor malls before the internet retail world existed. The mall was kept up tidy through the years, and was nice-enough looking, and had nice-enough stores, I guess -- and that's the most Omahans can really ask for (besides maybe an occasional freshening up from a remodel).

The feeling of an "odd fit" of the mall always bothered me, personally, but I'm not sure how much that bothered other people. It is just the retail climate that has changed mainly, Im thinking. (I honestly think Oak View was likely a "snap decision" possibly inspired by the new 1990-ish West Ridge Mall in Topeka, and I dont think Omaha really needed Oak View in 1992. I wonder if that large lot was always reserved for a mall, or of it was just a large lot available when they were hunting for a mall lot?)

If the owners are "fighting the good fight" to keep Oak View afloat in Omaha's retail scene, then I dont want to be part of the "growing momentum" of bringing it down by disheartening & unsupportive conversation here. Yet, people sense it, and have issues with Oak View, and maybe it has been healthy talking about it, and defining what could be wrong there. Anyways, I hope the best for Oak View. If it does close someday, there are many exciting opportunities to use that structure for.

[omaha79]

It all comes down to what your expectations are. If you are ok with national chain stores getting replaced by places called "Silver and Gold" or "Urban Vibes", and "half of half price store", then Oak View can chug along for a long time. But, once they reach that point, I consider a development dead already. There is typically no resuscitating them if they are allowed to slip that far.

In some ways, smaller concept is the future of retail. Mom and pop stores with lower overhead and more niche focus. Even the most recent article on Shadow Lake talked about how they will need to focus on another type of retail and more service retail overall to make that development work. Boutiques, places that are service based, etc. That's what you need to entice people to your development if it's struggling, but it has to be a focused type of push vs. just slashing rent and letting dollar stores and t-shirt shops in that lower the rent of the entire area and make it less attractive to many.

It will take a lot of creative thinking to make a huge hulking mall like Oak View work. This new "service retail" concept is more conducive to a struggling lifestyle center like Shadow Lake than a giant indoor mall. It's in a part of the city that won't tolerate it becoming Crossroads for 20 years. That's the best thing it has going for it, but people need to be proactive about this now or one day the neighbors will wake up and it will be too late. They'll already have Crossroads sitting in their back yard.

[RockHarbor]

^^^ I totally agree. I always felt the One Pacific Place development was a "perfect fit" for Omaha -- a smaller strip of special boutique stores, next to beautiful office buildings and a lake, in the Regency area. And, it is still going strong after all these years. It fits, they are boutique stores, and it isn't some main stream "pop culture" or "popcorn & soda" mall, or anything.

I do fear that if Oak View gives in to these lower class retail "quick fixes" that the damage may be irreversible. It's almost like a movie star not cast in movies for awhile, so they give into starring in cheesy B & C movies and doing shampoo commercials. Their career never seems to be the same again. (Yet, I don't think that is as damaging to their careers as it used to be, because I even see celebrities like Jennifer Aniston doing commericals for household products, and she seems to be doing just fine, I think.)

Hopefully, places like Shadow Lake and Oak View are smart, shrewd & fiercely competitive to "stay in the game." Anyways, I think I'm done talking about Oak View for awhile. I go in spurts...

[Csmac]

I think some people are doubting Oak View a little too much. Crossroads would have been developed by now if the owner would have come to an agreement with the city. I do ultimately hope the best for Oakview I really doubt it’s going to become a big eyesore however filling in the two anchors of Younkers and Sears will be needed. I agree that maybe Oakview wasn’t needed in 1992(when I was born) however, Heartwood Preserve is definitely not needed at this time. The retail industry is horrible at this time and another shopping outlet is not needed. I wonder if Village Pointe even might lose business due to it.

[lisanstan]

One problem for Oak View is location. Westroads, Regency, Village Pointe, One Pacific Place, L Street Marketplace, Jordan Creek are all easily accessible by a highway that moves traffic.

Crossroads is too close to Westroads and only accessible via Dodge and 72nd at its most congested. Southroads, once 75 was completed, is off the beaten path and it takes an effort to get there. Shadow Lake surprises me because it's on 370 and meets a need in a retail desert. Not sure why it has struggled.

[bigredmed1]

One problem for Oak View is location. Westroads, Regency, Village Pointe, One Pacific Place, L Street Marketplace, Jordan Creek are all easily accessible by a highway that moves traffic.

Crossroads is too close to Westroads and only accessible via Dodge and 72nd at its most congested. Southroads, once 75 was completed, is off the beaten path and it takes an effort to get there. Shadow Lake surprises me because it's on 370 and meets a need in a retail desert. Not sure why it has struggled.

I have been to Shadowlake a couple of times and find it to have annoying parking shortages. If I want to go to the chocolate shop for a gift, I want to go, get the gift, and go on with my task list. Try finding parking close to C Chocolaterie Stan.

Crossroads predated Westroads and was sliding before Westroads was built. South roads was built for a large number of Offutt officer corps families who at one time were ordered to live in Bellevue. Once they could live in Millard, the economy that would have kept it going dissolved. The interstate did in the rest.

Oakview was going to cut into Westroads, but that didn’t happen. I really think Oakview was done in by architecture (the Y shape and the belt of stores around it that made for more traffic) and stores that went for price point instead of quality.

[ScrattyB]

The Hy-Vee location has been vacant a good 10 years. What has been done to repurpose that location?

It's a church, Citylight Church West. Probably been a church for a year now. Also Elite Cheer is in there.

Heartwood Preserve is definitely not needed at this time. The retail industry is horrible at this time and another shopping outlet is not needed.

I'm not even sure there will be much retail at West Farm anyways. Sure their master plan from 3 years ago talks about it, but let's see what actually gets built after these car dealerships. I think the end result will be so far from the original plan due to "market conditions". They've already changed the name of the development!

[omaha79]

One problem for Oak View is location. Westroads, Regency, Village Pointe, One Pacific Place, L Street Marketplace, Jordan Creek are all easily accessible by a highway that moves traffic.

Crossroads is too close to Westroads and only accessible via Dodge and 72nd at its most congested. Southroads, once 75 was completed, is off the beaten path and it takes an effort to get there. Shadow Lake surprises me because it's on 370 and meets a need in a retail desert. Not sure why it has struggled.

Shadow Lake has struggled for a number of reasons. Some of them are out of their control and some are their own doing. The mall debuted in roughly 2006 and had some momentum. Soon, it was in the same recession pinch as every other development and it never really came out of it it. By the time the recession was done, Shadow Lake was already old news and people in Sarpy had moved on to Southport and the Outlet Malls in Gretna.

But, the biggest issue was always the cost of rent and the size of the stores because of it. I saw Shadow Lake's stores as mini me versions of their big brothers at Westroads and Oak View. I live close to Shadow Lake and got tired of shopping there. I'd go to places like Dicks, Best Buy, and JC Penny's and inevitably not find what I was looking for. More often than not, I'd be told, "that item is available at both our Westroads and Oak View locations. We can reserve it there if you want to go pick it up." That was beyond annoying. What is the point in wasting your time walking into a store near your home if you are going to be sent across town anyway? They couldn't keep as much inventory on hand because the stores are so much smaller.

I was told that this was because of the cost of rent at Shadow Lake was so high.

[omaha79]

The Hy-Vee location has been vacant a good 10 years. What has been done to repurpose that location?

It's a church, Citylight Church West. Probably been a church for a year now. Also Elite Cheer is in there.

Heartwood Preserve is definitely not needed at this time. The retail industry is horrible at this time and another shopping outlet is not needed.

I'm not even sure there will be much retail at West Farm anyways. Sure their master plan from 3 years ago talks about it, but let's see what actually gets built after these car dealerships. I think the end result will be so far from the original plan due to "market conditions". They've already changed the name of the development!

Ok. I never go to Oak View anymore. I'll just say that adding churches and cheer groups is also not a good sign for a retail development.

[ScrattyB]

Yeah, I would not call it ideal, but better than nothing at all.

[omaha79]

Yeah, I would not call it ideal, but better than nothing at all.

True. At least the space is being used, but when I think of churches at a mall, I think of Southroads and Mall of the Bluffs. Not the best examples of thriving developments.

[ScrattyB]

I can also confirm there are still at least two dozen old tires that somebody dumped behind the old HyVee and Linens and Things. It was on the news weeks ago about the illegal dumping, but it looks like nobody picked it up or somebody continues to dump rubbish there.
There's also plenty of space for a commuter rail station behind Kohls.

[Coyote]

The toys r us building is on the market...

[thatomahakid12]

Looks like Oakview area is losing yet ANOTHER STORE just saw an article about Dress Barn is going out of business and closing all of its stores
http://www.msn.com/en-us/money/companie ... li=BBnb7Kz

[Csmac]

In the Grow Omaha podcast Jim Sadler said the former dicks and baby’s r us strip mall got bought out by the owners of Mall of the bluffs as well as the guitar store strip mall which is where the DressBarn is located. I do wonder about the PetsSmart as I thought they were/are staying afloat in this retail environment.

[ScrattyB]

In the Grow Omaha podcast Jim Sadler said the former dicks and baby’s r us strip mall got bought out by the owners of Mall of the bluffs as well as the guitar store strip mall which is where the DressBarn is located. I do wonder about the PetsSmart as I thought they were/are staying afloat in this retail environment.

So new school and a post office coming soon?

[Omaha Cowboy]

Looks like Oakview area is losing yet ANOTHER STORE just saw an article about Dress Barn is going out of business and closing all of its stores
http://www.msn.com/en-us/money/companie ... li=BBnb7Kz

Once again, a case of “guilt by location” as Dress Barn is set to close ALL of its 650 stores nationwide. If they had a location at Westroads, for example, it’d close too..

Not Oakview’s fault.. But more accurately, a sign of our current retail climate...

Ciao..LiO...Peace

[omaha79]

Looks like Oakview area is losing yet ANOTHER STORE just saw an article about Dress Barn is going out of business and closing all of its stores
http://www.msn.com/en-us/money/companie ... li=BBnb7Kz

Once again, a case of “guilt by location” as Dress Barn is set to close ALL of its 650 stores nationwide. If they had a location at Westroads, for example, it’d close too..

Not Oakview’s fault.. But more accurately, a sign of our current retail climate...

Ciao..LiO...Peace

So, if we buy into that logic, doesn't Oak View at some point need to get a win somewhere? They keep piling up losses that "aren't their fault" and supposedly we need to buy that everything is just fine with the development. But, the only adds they seem to be piling up are struggling retail staples like churches and rush markets.

The losses may not be their fault, but the developments total unattractiveness to new tenants speaks volumes.

[ScrattyB]

I'd be curious to know why the bowling alley failed. Was it just lack of revenue? It seemed like there have been a lot of shenanigans with a couple of the alleys in the past few years.

[Omaha Cowboy]

Looks like Oakview area is losing yet ANOTHER STORE just saw an article about Dress Barn is going out of business and closing all of its stores
http://www.msn.com/en-us/money/companie ... li=BBnb7Kz

Once again, a case of “guilt by location” as Dress Barn is set to close ALL of its 650 stores nationwide. If they had a location at Westroads, for example, it’d close too..

Not Oakview’s fault.. But more accurately, a sign of our current retail climate...

Ciao..LiO...Peace

So, if we buy into that logic, doesn't Oak View at some point need to get a win somewhere? They keep piling up losses that "aren't their fault" and supposedly we need to buy that everything is just fine with the development. But, the only adds they seem to be piling up are struggling retail staples like churches and rush markets.

The losses may not be their fault, but the developments total unattractiveness to new tenants speaks volumes.

Buy into what exactly? Apples and oranges. Dress Barn closing all of its 650 retail outlets really has zero to do with Oakview and the Mousetrap. It it is a sign of our times from a retail perspective. I’m sorry this announcement doesn’t fit your dying mall narrative.. But it really doesn’t..

Now you are correct- Oakview does need to start adding some retail “victories”. Who is to say it won’t happen? The Younkers parcel is a large, 2 level development and we have not heard any official announcement yet for what will go in there..

We’ll need to wait and see what the future holds...

Ciao..LiO...Peace

[omaha79]

Looks like Oakview area is losing yet ANOTHER STORE just saw an article about Dress Barn is going out of business and closing all of its stores
http://www.msn.com/en-us/money/companie ... li=BBnb7Kz

Once again, a case of “guilt by location” as Dress Barn is set to close ALL of its 650 stores nationwide. If they had a location at Westroads, for example, it’d close too..

Not Oakview’s fault.. But more accurately, a sign of our current retail climate...

Ciao..LiO...Peace

So, if we buy into that logic, doesn't Oak View at some point need to get a win somewhere? They keep piling up losses that "aren't their fault" and supposedly we need to buy that everything is just fine with the development. But, the only adds they seem to be piling up are struggling retail staples like churches and rush markets.

The losses may not be their fault, but the developments total unattractiveness to new tenants speaks volumes.

Buy into what exactly? Apples and oranges. Dress Barn closing all of its 650 retail outlets really has zero to do with Oakview and the Mousetrap. It it is a sign of our times from a retail perspective. I’m sorry this announcement doesn’t fit your dying mall narrative.. But it really doesn’t..

Now you are correct- Oakview does need to start adding some retail “victories”. Who is to say it won’t happen? The Younkers parcel is a large, 2 level development and we have not heard any official announcement yet for what will go in there..

We’ll need to wait and see what the future holds...

Ciao..LiO...Peace

I'm not going to hold my breath as to when these wins will start piling up to offset the huge pile of losses for Oak View.

[Greg S]

I agree that most of the big recent losses were not specifically related to Oak View, but they are the problem going forward for the mall. As Oak View bleeds the available replacements is shrinking at the same time.

I just don't see a need anymore for 2 enclosed malls in Omaha. I think Valley West in West Des Moines will suffer the same fate. In KC I think you will only see 2, one on each side of the border, Independence Center in Missouri, Oak Park in Kansas,

In Omaha I believe it will come down to either Oak View or Westroads and I think Westroads is in a much better position to succeed.

I just don't think Oak View has a future as primarily an enclosed mall. The shell may survive but I think if it does it will be dramatically different.

Greg

[Cermak]

More than any other place in Omaha that mall signifies the retail crisis in Omaha and just how much the retail business has changed in the last 10 years. We just don’t need it anymore. Westroads won.

[ScrattyB]

We may not need it, but it can certainly be morphed into something. Nobody wants to spend any money though.

[ScrattyB]

I'd be curious to know why the bowling alley failed. Was it just lack of revenue? It seemed like there have been a lot of shenanigans with a couple of the alleys in the past few years.

I was hoping somebody would chime in, but this article in the World Herald says it closed because it couldn't pay the rent, which should indicate the revenue just wasn't there.
https://www.omaha.com/living/sempeck-s- ... e0ccd.html

So is that it then? Omaha can no longer support an arcade or bowling alleys? Would the idea have worked better in a different location?

Oakview had restaurants, bowling alley/arcade and a movie theatre...but not in walking distance of each other (let's be serious here). I still think an entertainment district could work, but I guess it would need to be like Benson where one owner owns half the venues. That way revenue of the complex would even out the underperforming arcade or bowling alley.

Examples:
https://www.google.com/maps/place/Unive ... 12.2625593

https://www.google.com/maps/search/flat ... 360145,17z

Nobody wants to take the gamble and spend their money though.

[Omaha Cowboy]

We may not need it, but it can certainly be morphed into something. Nobody wants to spend any money though.

Well here’s the thing, I don’t buy into the “Omaha only needs one enclosed mall” opinion. I can understand why some feel that way. I don’t.. Westroads didn’t “win” anything either, lol..

The problem I have, is the gloom and doom nearly past tense opinion I read here over and over again. Never have I acknowledged that the Oakview Mousetrap, as it stands today, is in “good shape” or “doing well”. What I have always contended though, is that the Oakview Mall area still has potential as desirable shopping/mixed use destination. And the reality is, it still is.. now if we were talking Crossroads, that’d be another story..

So, a low profile retailer like Dress Barn closes ALL of their 650 stores nationwide..and because one of those locations happen to be in the Oakview Mousetrap, the “gloom and doom crowd” over react X10 in stoking the dying mall narrative.. But then a curveball is thrown- and AMC commits millions of $$ remodeling the AMC Oakview theatre and retaining its IMAX in 2018 and the same crowd barely, if ever, acknowledges this as a victory for the area (it is a victory by the way).. An Omaha retail expert like Jim Sadler of General Growth has appeared multiple times recently on the Grow Omaha Radio Show and has reinforced the so called Dying mall narrative (as it relates to Oakview) as being “Greatly Exaggerated” (his words not mine)..and this is also not acknowledged at all. Hmmmm..

In any case, my opinion is Oakview has potential to gain some ground and get some retail victories here. There is significant new ownership of parcels surrounding the Mousetrap and we have yet to officially hear what will end up in the large, vacated Younkers anchor..

I also believe some things are cyclical. In our retail climate today, people love the convenience of shopping on line.. But once some of the novelty wears off (remember, shopping on line is only really about 20ish years old. In the grand scheme of things, that’s very young).. I think a respectable number of people will eventually gravitate back to the in person mall shopping experience. I can’t possibly guarantee this, but it’s just a sense I get. At the end of the day, nothing replaces the experience of actually shopping in person (for me anyway)..

Lastly, Metro Omaha is growing. Today we’re basically at a 1 million population base. The Omaha metro is nearly 300,000 people larger than the year Oakview opened in 1991. From a sheer numbers standpoint, the Oakview Mousetrap can be sustained as a shopping/mixed use destination for years to come..

I know I’m pretty much the Lone Ranger on our forum pushing back against a crowd of dying mall “gloom and doomers”, lol.. But as long as the Oakview Mousetrap stands.. I’ll be rooting for it to succeed and achieve victories..

But that’s me...

Ciao..LiO...Peace

[ChadJK]

There's probably a glut of retail space between 120th and 146th on West Center Road.

[bigredmed1]

There's probably a glut of retail space between 120th and 146th on West Center Road.

Lots and lots of lots.

[Csmac]

Omaha Cowboy last week I privately messaged Oakview FB page and asked about Younkers and the fact the small arcade at Oakview is closed right now for remodel and expansion of new games and they told me that a BIG announcement is coming soon and to stay tuned!

[Omaha Cowboy]

Omaha Cowboy last week I privately messaged Oakview FB page and asked about Younkers and the fact the small arcade at Oakview is closed right now for remodel and expansion of new games and they told me that a BIG announcement is coming soon and to stay tuned!

Well, this is some positive news that all of us, including a portion of the dying mall crowd who’ve stated they want to see the Oakview Mousetrap make a positive turn around, can all get behind..

Let’s see what the future holds ...

Ciao..LiO...Peace