Heartwood Preserve (144th Dodge/Pacific)

[ScrattyB]

Why would anyone agree to name a parkway “Applied Parkway”? It sounds so...dumb.

Care to provide your suggestions?

Applied Underwriter Way
West Underwriter Way (The WUW)

[Busguy2010]

Heartwood Boulevard maybe

[ScrattyB]

Mustang Alley

[nativeomahan]

Maybe Heartwood Parkway. Or save all the future confusion and just call it Heartworm Boulevard.

[Cermak]

I hope this development surprises me and looks better than the renderings. So far I just can’t get excited about it. After Midtown crossing, Ak Village, Sterling Ridge and even Village Point do we really need another lifestyle center in Omaha? Nothing about it looks earth shattering or unique just a bunch of low and midrise buildings built in a sterile suburban environment. Plus all the renderings show trees all over the place. It will take a minimum of 10 years to get any sort of decent foliage in the area. Because right now it’s treeless barren land. Maybe it will look better than I’m expecting. like Sterling Ridge has.

[ScrattyB]

The guy on TV last night (maybe from Applied Underwriters?) claimed it will be like an Old Market in West O.

[ita]

I assume the recent comments were prompted by the OWH article on the official dedication of this project. Here are some snippets:

More than 500 local Applied employees, currently in three different buildings, are expected to move into their new office campus in early 2022.
...
The project, stretching from Dodge south past Pacific Street and from 144th Street to 153rd Street, will have about 80 acres of green space, eight miles of bike paths and open trails, and more than 10,000 newly planted trees, company officials said.
...
The Applied campus is to cover about 50 acres south of Pacific Street. The first phase will be about 260,000 square feet and house more than 500 employees. But there will be room at the site for another wing and hundreds more employees, said Bart Emanuel, director of development and construction at Applied, a workers’ compensation insurer.
...
Applied’s facility will have 1,048 underground parking stalls and feature wide-open work spaces, Emanuel said.

It will be wrapped by electrochrome shading glass and feature an 80-foot atrium that lets in natural light.

Emanuel said Applied expects to announce more Heartwood tenants soon.

Here are some new renderings. It looks like AU's HQ will be the low rise, giant footprint monster previous renderings indicated it would be.

[TitosBuritoBarn]

I hope this development surprises me and looks better than the renderings. So far I just can’t get excited about it. After Midtown crossing, Ak Village, Sterling Ridge and even Village Point do we really need another lifestyle center in Omaha? Nothing about it looks earth shattering or unique just a bunch of low and midrise buildings built in a sterile suburban environment. Plus all the renderings show trees all over the place. It will take a minimum of 10 years to get any sort of decent foliage in the area. Because right now it’s treeless barren land. Maybe it will look better than I’m expecting. like Sterling Ridge has.

I'm hoping these actually just become the norm - that they effectively replace the big-box shopping center and cul-de-sac-abundant developments that have been more common and we just start thinking of them as standard suburban development.

I don't necessarily mean that each future development of this style mirrors its intensity of office space or entertainment space, but if things start to resemble this everywhere rather than, say, the commercial centers surrounding the 132nd and Center intersection, we'll have a city that's more cohesive in the long-run.

[TitosBuritoBarn]

This looks kind of lame compared to the current BMW dealership. Though, IMO, the coolest showroom BMW had been located in is where MINI is right now.

[ita]

This looks kind of lame compared to the current BMW dealership. Though, IMO, the coolest showroom BMW had been located in is where MINI is right now.

This is one of the few instances that the rendering is worse than what is actually built. As built, the buildings are much taller with a lot of glass and modern lines. I will try to get a pic later today on my way home.

[Coyote]

[youtube]
[/youtube]

[Doctor Fate]

Has anyone heard what retail might be going in here?

Grow Omaha said that heard that several of the retailers who were interested in coming to the Crossroads in the the previous scrapped proposal are still interested in Omaha and could open in Heartwood. They specifically mentioned Crate & Barrel and Nordstrom Rack.

[ScrattyB]

Just as an FYI, there is absolutely no new development currently taking place here. The existing structures are being worked on, and that's it. I guess they are waiting for spring time?

[ita]

Just as an FYI, there is absolutely no new development currently taking place here. The existing structures are being worked on, and that's it. I guess they are waiting for spring time?

The church addition is still being worked on and the UA HQ area is being heavily graded and ground work is being done in the South Farm portion. Additionally, on the North Farm portion, there has been a lot of grading done just south of the new 150th to Dodge exit, catty corner to the auto dealership. No signs as to what is going on there.

[ScrattyB]

the UA HQ area is being heavily graded and ground work is being done in the South Farm portion. Additionally, on the North Farm portion, there has been a lot of grading done just south of the new 150th to Dodge exit, catty corner to the auto dealership. No signs as to what is going on there.

Grading in the past couple of weeks?

[ita]

the UA HQ area is being heavily graded and ground work is being done in the South Farm portion. Additionally, on the North Farm portion, there has been a lot of grading done just south of the new 150th to Dodge exit, catty corner to the auto dealership. No signs as to what is going on there.

Grading in the past couple of weeks?

Yes, I have been taking that route since that exit opened when driving to work. Just in the last week the area north of the white tent that was propped up for the groundbreaking ceremony a couple weeks ago has been graded significantly and it looks like its for buildings, but nothing has been released about what going on there.

[ita]

"Berkshire Hathaway could sell"
“After the transaction occurs"

So which one is it? Could sell, or already in the process of selling?

Warren Buffett confirmed on CNBC on Monday that Berkshire Hathaway is selling its Applied Underwriters workers compensation unit.

OWH had a quick update that although it was confirmed by AU that the sale was completed earlier this month, California is making a stink about it. The department of insurance is threatening to retract AU's license to do business in the state because they didn't inform the DOI that AU had moved one of its subsidiaries domiciles to New Mexico.

In more relevant news about this project, the auto dealership is nearing completion. It is an attractive dealership, as much as one can be. My favorite in town is the Lexus one off Dodge. Though the new BMW/Jag/Mini one isn't as nice, it is comparable. My only gripe is that the showroom should have been oriented toward Dodge like Lexus.

[ScrattyB]

It looks like they are starting to drive some pilings into the ground just east of the car dealership(s). Either that, or they just parked the driver machine there.

EDIT : It's an auger. 20 ft tall maybe

[stormchaser]

If anyone is curious, this is a new landing page I designed for the new BMW, Land Rover, Jaguar & Mini dealership going up in the area. It includes some additional renderings and a "progress update" drone video...

https://www.bmwofomaha.com/move/

[ita]

I noticed they put up signs for the Valmont HQ. It is located at the southwest corner of Applied Parkway and Davenport, catty corner of the dealerships. There has been grading in that area for a month or two now, but they finally put signs up.

[Doctor Fate]

https://www.omaha.com/money/a-really-bi ... dda7d.html

CBRE Group has taken over as primary broker for Heartwood Preserve.

[OverlookedFarm]

Valmont parking lot complete a few weeks ago. Trees being removed from western edge easement that were planted in the last 80s

Davenport is now open east to west.

I got a feeling the demarco property probably wont be around much longer.

[clock84]

I live right by here and have been following this forum for a while. I think they should reconsider the name because all I see is Heartworm.

They also have not shown any promise of bringing in a big name anchor store. We have enough boutiques everywhere else in town. They need to put in a Lego store or an IKea. Something that nothing else in Omaha has. I doubt this will happen though.

[Cermak]

I live right by here and have been following this forum for a while. I think they should reconsider the name because all I see is Heartworm.

They also have not shown any promise of bringing in a big name anchor store. We have enough boutiques everywhere else in town. They need to put in a Lego store or an IKea. Something that nothing else in Omaha has. I doubt this will happen though.

Agree, I also thought of Heartworm the first time I heard it. I’ve never been real excited about this development and wondered if we even need it. I would like to see more infill development in Omaha and less sprawl. To me this looks like sprawl. I could see it hurting retail at Regency shopping center, One Pacific Place and also slowing downtown development. It’s unlikely IKEA would build in Omaha unless they did a smaller store. IKEA just expects Omaha people to drive down to KC, which I’m fine with because going to IKEA once a year is enough for me.

[ita]

I live right by here and have been following this forum for a while. I think they should reconsider the name because all I see is Heartworm.

They also have not shown any promise of bringing in a big name anchor store. We have enough boutiques everywhere else in town. They need to put in a Lego store or an IKea. Something that nothing else in Omaha has. I doubt this will happen though.

Agree, I also thought of Heartworm the first time I heard it. I’ve never been real excited about this development and wondered if we even need it. I would like to see more infill development in Omaha and less sprawl. To me this looks like sprawl. I could see it hurting retail at Regency shopping center, One Pacific Place and also slowing downtown development. It’s unlikely IKEA would build in Omaha unless they did a smaller store. IKEA just expects Omaha people to drive down to KC, which I’m fine with because going to IKEA once a year is enough for me.

No comment on the name issue, but considering your concern about hurting those other areas, I think you have a valid point, particularly Regency Court. Although, Noddle has more recently stated that the retail component will be pared back a bit from originally planned, if they go to the more luxury end of retail, Heartwood would be very good competition for Regency Court. In terms of slowing down downtown development, you have a point AU's office was downtown and now they are building in Heartwood. However, the other big office tenants so far were already located in West O, Carson and Valmont, and Omaha does not really have a history of established suburban businesses moving downtown. Most suburban one I can think of recently was HDR, and that failed for other reasons. I think businesses who are interested in being in the CBD or want to be in urban Omaha will not be pulled away because of this development because like you said, despite what partners and proponents of this development want us to think, they are not going to be able to emulate what's special about downtown and the urban core in this development. The first several projects thus far have shown that.

[clock84]

I live right by here and have been following this forum for a while. I think they should reconsider the name because all I see is Heartworm.

They also have not shown any promise of bringing in a big name anchor store. We have enough boutiques everywhere else in town. They need to put in a Lego store or an IKea. Something that nothing else in Omaha has. I doubt this will happen though.

Agree, I also thought of Heartworm the first time I heard it. I’ve never been real excited about this development and wondered if we even need it. I would like to see more infill development in Omaha and less sprawl. To me this looks like sprawl. I could see it hurting retail at Regency shopping center, One Pacific Place and also slowing downtown development. It’s unlikely IKEA would build in Omaha unless they did a smaller store. IKEA just expects Omaha people to drive down to KC, which I’m fine with because going to IKEA once a year is enough for me.

No comment on the name issue, but considering your concern about hurting those other areas, I think you have a valid point, particularly Regency Court. Although, Noddle has more recently stated that the retail component will be pared back a bit from originally planned, if they go to the more luxury end of retail, Heartwood would be very good competition for Regency Court. In terms of slowing down downtown development, you have a point AU's office was downtown and now they are building in Heartwood. However, the other big office tenants so far were already located in West O, Carson and Valmont, and Omaha does not really have a history of established suburban businesses moving downtown. Most suburban one I can think of recently was HDR, and that failed for other reasons. I think businesses who are interested in being in the CBD or want to be in urban Omaha will not be pulled away because of this development because like you said, despite what partners and proponents of this development want us to think, they are not going to be able to emulate what's special about downtown and the urban core in this development. The first several projects thus far have shown that.

"Noddle has more recently stated that the retail component will be pared back a bit from originally planned"

I was hoping this wasn't the case, but I suspect this will be what's going to happen and instead of a mixed use area, it'll be more of a business park.

I seem to recall in the original plans, they had thought about including an outdoor amphitheater for concerts too, but I haven't seen anything about that in at least the past year.

[nativeomahan]

1. I hate the name.
2. This project covers more land than Midtown Crossing and Aksarben Village combined. Those projects have never been completely filled up in 10 years of existence. This project will either take 30 years to fill out with impressive looking properties, or 20 years to fill out with crappy looking properties, or some combination of the two. Where a project of this size would likely be built out to completion in 3-5 years in a large metro such as DFW or ATL I think the developers bit off way more than they can chew in Omaha.

[Slowmaha]

*snark* Just hit my funny bone that it’ll take SpaceEx only a few more years to colonize Mars than Noddle to finish Heartwood preserve.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.invers ... g-a-colony

[ita]

1. I hate the name.
2. This project covers more land than Midtown Crossing and Aksarben Village combined. Those projects have never been completely filled up in 10 years of existence. This project will either take 30 years to fill out with impressive looking properties, or 20 years to fill out with crappy looking properties, or some combination of the two. Where a project of this size would likely be built out to completion in 3-5 years in a large metro such as DFW or ATL I think the developers bit off way more than they can chew in Omaha.

This project can't really be compared to Midtown Crossing or Aksarben Village because at the end of the day, Heartwood is still a suburban development, no matter how much some people involved are selling it as one bringing urban life to West O. I think in 10-15 years most of it will be built out, though not completely filled.

We know that something like a 20% of it will be trails, greenspace, parks and water features, AU is accounting for 50 acres (which is almost as big as AV, and its already well underway), and a large portion will be suburban-like housing split between McMansion lots by the AU HQ and possible missing middle housing adjacent to the high school. Then there are conventional apartment buildings on the north side of the high school that will go up and fill up like any other large suburban apartment project. Those residential portions will be built out within 10 years, I am guessing (Millard is still a desirable district to be in and 68144 has been one of the hottest real estate markets in the nation in the last couple years, so Noddle has every incentive to get those portions of the project up as soon as possible).

I am most wary about the mixed use 'town center' and the other office pad sites. I hope the mixed use buildings will be reminiscent of Aksarben's primary retail area, but with more national retailers. I am cautiously optimistic, but I think with a decent amount of office users already in place, the mixed use buildings component is not too far off.

Will it be everything I dreamed of for the site? Probably not because my expectations are too high. However, I don't think it is too far fetched to see a lot done within the next decade based on what they have been able to accomplish in the last few years, barring a local economic downtwon.

[ita]

https://www.omaha.com/sponsored/four-br ... d444e.html

Someone stated that the paper copy of today's newspaper had an ad for ONYX, which identified itself as the automotive dealership opening in Heartwood Preserve. Here is the online sponsored ad from H&H to promote their new ONYX concept. They are essentially branding their one location, but separate dealerships thing in Heartwood. They open today as the development's first tenant.

[ita]

Since CBRE took over the job of securing tenants for this project, they have a new listing with some renderings of the potential project and HQ's that I haven't seen before. Follow this link:

https://www.loopnet.com/Listing/S-144th ... /17611129/

[ScrattyB]

From that link:



Still mostly the same as my post in May 2019 on page 10.

Also, the townhouses across Dodge from the car dealers have gone up in price dramatically.

[ProgKingHughesker]

Ugh, I hate those street names through the main development. Have the main street named "Heartwood Drive" or something and otherwise stick to the grid names.

[Cermak]

The Carson Wealth building looks to be the most impressive looking structure being built here right now. I would not be completely surprised if some of the national retail chains currently at Regency Court move here at some point, just a hunch. Applied Underwriters lawn looks to big.

[Slowmaha]

Looks like Jackson Real Estate Group is starting to sell plots, the estate lots first. STARTING at $225k just for the dirt.

I’m told to watch out buying too early due to the funny tax risks associated with SIDs.

[redwest8]

Looks like Jackson Real Estate Group is starting to sell plots, the estate lots first. STARTING at $225k just for the dirt.

I’m told to watch out buying too early due to the funny tax risks associated with SIDs.

Could you share where you see that? I have been interested in these plots for a long time, and it will be interesting how fast they move in the beginning.

[Slowmaha]

I happened to in into an agent when I was looking at another property. Got on her email list. Looks like they’re selling the estate lots first then later the other smaller lots. Here’s their contact info.

Jackson Group
(402) 306-7864
[email protected]

[Coyote]

Custom-built houses worth $800,000 or more apiece headed for Heartwood Preserve

[Coyote]

I happened to in into an agent when I was looking at another property. Got on her email list. Looks like they’re selling the estate lots first then later the other smaller lots. Here’s their contact info.

Jackson Group
(402) 306-7864
[email protected]

Looks like Mamie just signed on to the forum.

[Slowmaha]

Not this guy...