37 West Farnam - 9 Story Building in Blackstone (SWC 37th & Farnam)

[Taco]

Looks like the big parking lot to the west of the blackstone hotel is getting rezoned, with potential plans for mixed use and parking structure. https://planning.cityofomaha.org/images ... ber/18.pdf

[Doctor Fate]

Looks like the big parking lot to the west of the blackstone hotel is getting rezoned, with potential plans for mixed use and parking structure. https://planning.cityofomaha.org/images ... ber/18.pdf

The rendering is a pretty good size.

[Doctor Fate]

Looks like the big parking lot to the west of the blackstone hotel is getting rezoned, with potential plans for mixed use and parking structure. https://planning.cityofomaha.org/images ... ber/18.pdf

The building in the rendering is a pretty good size.

[ita]

Looks like the big parking lot to the west of the blackstone hotel is getting rezoned, with potential plans for mixed use and parking structure. https://planning.cityofomaha.org/images ... ber/18.pdf

The rendering is a pretty good size.

Yeah, sweet. Another lot bites the dust, I hope. Hidden garage, it looks like. it will be a good addition to blackstone, though it would be nice to some affordable housing units built there. That is a big building for that spot; 7-8 stories?

[bldgengineer2015]

Should be 5 levels of apartments on top of a 5 level parking garage. One level of parking is below grade.

[Garrett]

The proposal notes a mix of office, commercial, residential and civic purposes. I assume civic would be the garage?

[jelizh]

400 spot garage run by the City. I believe this was in the capital improvement plan at some point.

[Cermak]

Pretty impressive, will completely change the look of the immediate area. Hopefully it won’t overpower it’s neighbors as the building looks to be substantially larger than any other existing Blackstone structure.

[Louie]

It looks to be similar in height to the Cottonwood Hotel, but with a much bigger footprint.

[Busguy2010]

I'm really not a fan of it. The scale seems too big for where it is. If the rendering is true, this thing will dwarf (even though its the same height) the Blackstone Hotel. You could almost fit three Blackstones on that lot, for one big fat building, of generic design at that. Look at the block to the west of here, 3 different parcels. To the west of that, at least 7 different buildings or uses. To the west of that, at least 9 buildings or uses. One big fat building taking up that whole block doesn't fit Blackstone in my opinion.

[Cermak]

That’s what I thought, the building looks really big and boxy even though it appears similar in height to the Cottonwood. I would rather see this have its footprint cut in half so it’s not so overwhelming. They need to be careful when adding new buildings to the Blackstone. A few bad buildings could ruin the character of the neighborhood.

[Busguy2010]

Right? That's a big block. At least make it two separate buildings, ideally three or four. I'm disappointed if it doesn't change, which I assume at this point it won't.

[Taco]

I have notes on a proposed pocket park/alley beautification for the alley directly to the north of Blackstone social heading north until dodge street. I believe this was in the city planning notes but don't have any concrete dates, though it was at least a couple of years ago. Does anyone else remember something about this or why it fell through?

[ita]

Here is the application for TIF on the monster building that will be developed on the parking lot next to the Cottonwood Hotel.

https://planning.cityofomaha.org/images ... May/07.pdf

Some keys statistics:
- 9 Stories
- 161 apartment units
- 400 stall parking garage built by the city
- 20,000 sq./ft. of commercial space on ground floor

(Basic) Renderings:

[skinzfan23]

Looks like a great plan overall, but with are the big black areas on the building? Is that glass? Video boards? Cardboard?

[mgoett]

So what about the mansion on that block? Are they just going to tear that down. That has alot more going for it than the rathskeller in my opinion!!

[Padre]

So what about the mansion on that block? Are they just going to tear that down. That has alot more going for it than the rathskeller in my opinion!!

Mansion? All I saw was a rather plain looking building which look like apartments.

[Linkin5]

So what about the mansion on that block? Are they just going to tear that down. That has alot more going for it than the rathskeller in my opinion!!

Mansion? All I saw was a rather plain looking building which look like apartments.

Yeah I’m all for preservation but that building has been split up and converted into apartments, and isn’t really anything special. Well worth knocking that down for this building.

[mgoett]

I say leave the mansion as apartments for income diversity. Once again omaha is pulling a conagra. may as well knock down all the other mansions lol

[Cermak]

That old mansion that sits right next to the road has always caught my eye. It will be a shame to see it go. It’s just one of those buildings that’s irreplaceable. I wonder what kind of condition it’s in ?

As far as this new building, I like the height it will add to Blackstone. But I am concerned how well it will fit with the surrounding neighborhood. Time will tell I guess.

[Dundeemaha]

I always assumed this had been built as apartments, anyone have an old photo from before it was converted?

[Cermak]

I guess it looks more like an apartment than a house, it’s a somewhat unique building for Omaha. Looks like something you might see in San Diego or Hollywood. Would like to see this saved somehow. As it contributes to the Blackstone neighborhood ambience.

[Taco]

Please walk around this neighborhood and actually look at this building. It has no architectural significance and has been bastardized far past its original purpose. I am a strong proponent of preservation but really fail to see what keeping this building gains. We don't preserve buildings simply because they are old or look unique or have a stucco roof, we preserve them for their history, architectural value, or context in a neighborhood. None of those are present here.

The building that will replace it increases housing stock (raising supply by 161 does far more to reduce overall costs than preserving 6), creates parking which our neighborhood so desperately needs, and continues building a neighborhood that will support expanded mass transit. Approving this project is a no-brainer.

[Garrett]

This is incredible density providing good amounts of housing and parking. It’s a slam dunk, easily.

[Busguy2010]

Such a big, ugly building, though. Yeah I know, its no use fighting the forces at work in this neighborhood, but it does not fit the neighborhood. It fits the blueprint of what the neighborhood is to be. Bye bye Blackstone.

[GetUrban]

No doubt the new development will be better than the modified abomination of the original mansion. The renderings would look better if the drawing sheet could be rotated 90 degrees counter-clockwise and the black blobs on the elevations could show more detail. I assume the building won’t really have such large expanses of black surfaces, but I could be wrong.

[Busguy2010]

Even if it doesn't turn out exactly how it looks now, it would still just be a giant box.

I think I said it earlier in this thread or a related one, that this building is almost 3x the area of the Blackstone Hotel and will dwarf it.

[Busguy2010]

Took a screenshot and rotated it. Much easier to view

My hope is that they left the white part white because it is not yet decided what material it is to be, and the black part is black just to show it will be a contrasting color. If the White part turns out to be brown brick, that will make all the difference... Though it will still be a blocky monster.

[Bomaha]

Can we have a couple of these buildings built in the Midtown Crossing East Development (Or whatever it is known as)? Please and thank you.

[bldgengineer2015]

Tom McCleay presented some new renderings at the planning board meeting last week.

Here is a screenshot of one of them.

[Athomsfere]

Can we have a couple of these buildings built in the Midtown Crossing East Development (Or whatever it is known as)? Please and thank you.

That would be a quite a nice event!

[TitosBuritoBarn]

I like this. This will be good.

[LetsBeReal22]

Why no condos?

[Omaha Cowboy]

I like this. This will be good.

Agreed. The rendering looks very good...

Ciao..LiO...Peace

[skinzfan23]

The updated rendering looks much nicer.

[Taco]

Interacts with Farnam well. This area is becoming so much more walkable. Hoping they add another crosswalk and find a way to make the sidewalks between 39th-40th wider.

[Linkin5]

That new rendering is awesome, what a good looking building.

[ita]

At least the color palette melds with the neighborhood OK. It doesn't look much bigger than the Cottonwood, so I am not mad about the massing. Exterior facade materials can really elevate the building though. I am looking forward to this one.

Side note, what is up with that bus. Is the just that squat-est bus ever used in a rendering, or is it just me? Also, where is the streetcar!? Haha.

[Garrett]

Yeah, I really like the facade of this. Seems to blend well

[Cermak]

These renderings make it look better. This should have a huge impact on the Blackstone neighborhood in height and density.