Omaha Cowboy wrote: Tue Jan 19, 2021 10:09 pm
We are now moving into the last 1/3rd of January with still no word from Lanoha regarding this latest proposal..
We’ll check back one month from now. If there is still no update from Jason Lanoha, we will be moving this thread into the “Projects Never Built” forum on March 1st...
Ciao..LiO...Peace
Well, THAT should prompt them to make an announcement!
For the record NEBUGEATER does not equal BUGEATER !!!!!!!
Omaha Cowboy wrote: Tue Jan 19, 2021 10:09 pm
We are now moving into the last 1/3rd of January with still no word from Lanoha regarding this latest proposal..
We’ll check back one month from now. If there is still no update from Jason Lanoha, we will be moving this thread into the “Projects Never Built” forum on March 1st...
Ciao..LiO...Peace
Well, THAT should prompt them to make an announcement!
Omaha Cowboy wrote: Tue Jan 19, 2021 10:09 pm
We are now moving into the last 1/3rd of January with still no word from Lanoha regarding this latest proposal..
We’ll check back one month from now. If there is still no update from Jason Lanoha, we will be moving this thread into the “Projects Never Built” forum on March 1st...
Ciao..LiO...Peace
Well, THAT should prompt them to make an announcement!
Something. Anything..
We can only hope, lol...
Ciao..LiO...Peace
This week's Midland Business Journal issue will have a real estate section. Maybe an update comes up there? Haha. It would be amazing if an update comes through one of the major news outlets in the next few weeks.
Omaha Cowboy wrote: Tue Jan 19, 2021 10:09 pm
We are now moving into the last 1/3rd of January with still no word from Lanoha regarding this latest proposal..
We’ll check back one month from now. If there is still no update from Jason Lanoha, we will be moving this thread into the “Projects Never Built” forum on March 1st...
Ciao..LiO...Peace
Well, THAT should prompt them to make an announcement!
Something. Anything..
We can only hope, lol...
Ciao..LiO...Peace
This week's Midland Business Journal issue will have a real estate section. Maybe an update comes up there? Haha. It would be amazing if an update comes through one of the major news outlets in the next few weeks.
Lol. That would be helpful. Any sort of feedback which indicates this project is or isn’t on the table would be great. It’s been nearly 2 years with no update...
If this is a dead deal, it would be cool if Skyhouse built a condo high rise there or somewhere overlooking the new downtown park. Skyhouse has towers all over the country. Why not Omaha?
If indeed this latest proposal is dead in the water (it’s seemingly barely on life support)..and we continue to get ZERO feedback from Jason Lanoha for basically 2 years.. Then-
As I’ve stated several times in this thread, it’s time for the city to apply some weight and ask Lanoha to move on..
It’s become time to bring in a new development team. Lanoha has had nearly a decade to make a go with this prominent parcel and has failed to deliver..
It’s been GO TIME since Townsend was awarded this property 16 years ago and failed. Lanoha has had 10 years at the helm and nothing to show for it. This has become an embarrassment for the city.. It’s time for a new, motivated development team with some fresh ideas. Considering there is a $280 million dollar Riverfront redevelopment plan currently in process and on schedule for completion by mid 2024, there must be a way to get this important parcel locked in with a significant high rise development. The city has stated repeatedly they expect nothing less. The time to get cracking on this was yesterday. And it’s frankly insulting to not hear a peep from Lanoha since they shuffled out this latest proposal in February of 2019. The city is culpable too as they appear asleep at this switch on this as well..
Bad form all around in my humble opinion..and I don’t want to hear excuses. 16 years of failure to deliver is long enough...
Does Omaha have the right type of demographics to fill up a new residential highrise ? Maybe not. We know residential highrise developer’s love cities like Austin or Denver. But would a 30 story apartment building even work in Omaha ? Who wants to spend millions and take a chance and find out ?. So far nobody. Maybe it’s time to find another use for the property besides a highrise and concentrate on developing the W.D. Clark library site instead.
The reason this prime location has remained undeveloped since the city knocked down the old UP building 16 years ago, is the city has an unwavering expectation that this property gets developed with a significant highrise/skyscraper building.. One which will visually add to the skyline. I don’t disagree..
The latest proposal from Lanoha pretty much nixed most all of the residential aspect of the 30 story twin towers into a mixed use office tower with added business/amenity spaces and minimal, if any, residential component..
I still believe whatever gets developed on this parcel be a highrise structure. Regardless of what is housed in it..and it would be short-sighted to short change this prime location spot with a lesser compromise..and then simply focus on another downtown core location. ALL of these locations downtown, be it this one, the civic site, the library, Lot D, B etc are all important focus points for development..
As it relates to the library site, I believe as the Riverfront redevelopment plan reaches closer to an 80% completion in a couple of years, new development proposals on that parcel will begin to take shape..
As it relates to the property which is the focus on this thread, like I’ve stated before, 16 years - we’ve waited long enough. Go time is yesterday...
Omaha Cowboy wrote: Thu Jan 21, 2021 2:56 am
If indeed this latest proposal is dead in the water (it’s seemingly barely on life support)..and we continue to get ZERO feedback from Jason Lanoha for basically 2 years.. Then-
As I’ve stated several times in this thread, it’s time for the city to apply some weight and ask Lanoha to move on..
It’s become time to bring in a new development team. Lanoha has had nearly a decade to make a go with this prominent parcel and has failed to deliver..
It’s been GO TIME since Townsend was awarded this property 16 years ago and failed. Lanoha has had 10 years at the helm and nothing to show for it. This has become an embarrassment for the city.. It’s time for a new, motivated development team with some fresh ideas. Considering there is a $280 million dollar Riverfront redevelopment plan currently in process and on schedule for completion by mid 2024, there must be a way to get this important parcel locked in with a significant high rise development. The city has stated repeatedly they expect nothing less. The time to get cracking on this was yesterday. And it’s frankly insulting to not hear a peep from Lanoha since they shuffled out this latest proposal in February of 2019. The city is culpable too as they appear asleep at this switch on this as well..
Bad form all around in my humble opinion..and I don’t want to hear excuses. 16 years of failure to deliver is long enough...
Ciao..LiO...Peace
The inability to develop this and the civic site is somewhat an embarrassment for the city, particularly for the current administration. I mean, we all think these are prime sites yet here we are several years later, neither showing any progress towards development. So the question I keep returning to when thinking about these sites is why haven't these 'prime' sites been developed when this past decade saw other downtowns across the country have booms in downtown construction?
Omaha Cowboy wrote: Thu Jan 21, 2021 2:56 am
If indeed this latest proposal is dead in the water (it’s seemingly barely on life support)..and we continue to get ZERO feedback from Jason Lanoha for basically 2 years.. Then-
As I’ve stated several times in this thread, it’s time for the city to apply some weight and ask Lanoha to move on..
It’s become time to bring in a new development team. Lanoha has had nearly a decade to make a go with this prominent parcel and has failed to deliver..
It’s been GO TIME since Townsend was awarded this property 16 years ago and failed. Lanoha has had 10 years at the helm and nothing to show for it. This has become an embarrassment for the city.. It’s time for a new, motivated development team with some fresh ideas. Considering there is a $280 million dollar Riverfront redevelopment plan currently in process and on schedule for completion by mid 2024, there must be a way to get this important parcel locked in with a significant high rise development. The city has stated repeatedly they expect nothing less. The time to get cracking on this was yesterday. And it’s frankly insulting to not hear a peep from Lanoha since they shuffled out this latest proposal in February of 2019. The city is culpable too as they appear asleep at this switch on this as well..
Bad form all around in my humble opinion..and I don’t want to hear excuses. 16 years of failure to deliver is long enough...
Ciao..LiO...Peace
The inability to develop this and the civic site is somewhat an embarrassment for the city, particularly for the current administration. I mean, we all think these are prime sites yet here we are several years later, neither showing any progress towards development. So the question I keep returning to when thinking about these sites is why haven't these 'prime' sites been developed when this past decade saw other downtowns across the country have booms in downtown construction?
That’s a legitimate and good question. I think it’s a combination of seducing the city with a beautifully crafted proposal- for this particular site, there have been several of them- it’s perfect window dressing. But then you have to wonder if the developer (Lanoha currently) is really bullish and committed to see a proposal through to completion. Perhaps the developer gets stretched too thin and their prime focus has shifted to another prime development (Heartland Preserve)..allowing their downtown highrise proposal to flap in the wind with no update on progress in 2 years.. Then the city is culpable too. Many times over the past 16 years we’ve heard that this particular location must be developed as a signature highrise which adds to the skyline. But yet, nothing happens..which would lead one to speculate the city is asleep at the switch and simply allowing nothing to be done..on top of the nothing that’s been there for 16 years and counting..
I’m on record on this site questioning the leadership at city hall..as much as I question the motivation of the current developer on this site to get the ball rolling..
In the end, I understand- in a 1 million population metro like Omaha, significant highrise development is extremely hard to come by..compared to a 2 million plus metro like Austin Texas which has highrise development with new tower cranes seemingly popping up darn near every week..
I think in the end, we need some bullish accountability..from the city to the developer..because as I stated in an earlier post- what we have right now is bad form all around...
Downtown Omaha unfortunately lacks a few competitive advantages that other city's downtowns have, mainly, that it's not the center of the city. The most desirable suburbs in Omaha are all in the south and west, whereas CB is stagnant and there's little to no growth on the northern fringes of the city due to the hills. We aren't seeing downtown high rises because the demand just isn't there for offices. That doesn't mean Omaha has had no urban development: the filling out of Aksarben, the rise of Dundee, Benson, and most notably Blackstone, and the beginnings of Little Bohemia all happened in the last decade. And this next decade already brings progress on ConAgra and the new park system which could bring the demand for a high rise. Even the suburbs are getting in on densification with things like Heartwood, Downtown La Vista, and what ever is coming out of the Westroads high rise site.
Omaha has a lot of urban development, for now it just lacks the demand for a high rise, but it might not stay like that for long.
And I don’t believe it will stay like that for long either..
I, along with several others here, have mentioned multiple times the benefit of the Riverfront Development Plan stitched with the ConAgra site plan..and the positive ripple effect both can have in helping to create the sustainable, walkable, point of destination “24/7” downtown core we’ve all been craving for years now..the by-product, would be creating demand- the more people drawn downtown for leisure, may then be motivated to more there.. the more people, the more need for potential residential and office related highrise development etc etc..
I firmly believe within the next 3-5 years, we will begin to see this develop in Omaha’s downtown. And while this process begins to bloom and take shape, I think the city really needs to look into whether they have the correct development teams in place to see proposals through to completion..and as it relates to the UP site- I’d say currently, the city needs to take a very hard look at whether Lanoha is the right developer to see a significant structure through to completion.. Because there are doubts aplenty right now...
I really like the downtown library site. A highrise there would have great views in each direction, especially the east and west views would be unparalleled. The old UP site is hampered by the very large UP headquarters directly to the south. This humongous building will block sunlight to the lower floors of the new tower and the views to the north and the west aren’t anything great, the east view might be the best. Plus the library site is closer to the downtown core and building up Omaha’s core should be priority one. The library could be moved somewhere else. I would be saddened to lose the brutalist style library but would gladly welcome its demolition to get a new sharp looking 250-450 footer in downtown’s core.
Cermak wrote: Thu Jan 21, 2021 5:41 pm
I really like the downtown library site. A highrise there would have great views in each direction, especially the east and west views would be unparalleled. The old UP site is hampered by the very large UP headquarters directly to the south. This humongous building will block sunlight to the lower floors of the new tower and the views to the north and the west aren’t anything great, the east view might be the best. Plus the library site is closer to the downtown core and building up Omaha’s core should be priority one. The library could be moved somewhere else. I would be saddened to lose the brutalist style library but would gladly welcome its demolition to get a new sharp looking 250-450 footer in downtown’s core.
The original renderings and plans for the GLM redevelopment had an office building on the library site and a 400+ ft residential tower on the block directly to the east. Current renderings removed the residential tower though. I agree that the core should be a top priority. I wonder what can be done to overcome some of the issues Garrett mentioned? I think ORBT is a start.
Anyone realize the last new condo/to-own residential construction or rehab of any significance (excluding the M's Pub fire rehab) in or near downtown Omaha was either jLofts or 1101 Jackson, almost 15 year ago?
Demand like that doesn't really bode well for 400 ft residential anythings downtown any time soon.
I wonder what can be done to overcome some of the issues Garrett mentioned? I think ORBT is a start.
[/quote]
I honestly believe new city leadership (city council & mayor) would do great things to improving the urban core at a faster rate than what we’re currently seeing.
Jins123 wrote: Thu Jan 21, 2021 7:29 pm
I wonder what can be done to overcome some of the issues Garrett mentioned? I think ORBT is a start.
I honestly believe new city leadership (city council & mayor) would do great things to improving the urban core at a faster rate than what we’re currently seeing.
[/quote]
... or new leadership could make it worse.
For the record NEBUGEATER does not equal BUGEATER !!!!!!!
Big E wrote: Thu Jan 21, 2021 6:37 pm
Reality check...
Anyone realize the last new condo/to-own residential construction or rehab of any significance (excluding the M's Pub fire rehab) in or near downtown Omaha was either jLofts or 1101 Jackson, almost 15 year ago?
Demand like that doesn't really bode well for 400 ft residential anythings downtown any time soon.
Agree, it would have to be apartments, the condo market in Omaha is probably at or near saturation point. 400ft is probably overly optimistic 250-300ft would be more likely. I would hope Omaha could support at least one 250-275ft apartment tower.
Garrett wrote: Thu Jan 21, 2021 6:12 am
Downtown Omaha unfortunately lacks a few competitive advantages that other city's downtowns have, mainly, that it's not the center of the city. The most desirable suburbs in Omaha are all in the south and west, whereas CB is stagnant and there's little to no growth on the northern fringes of the city due to the hills. We aren't seeing downtown high rises because the demand just isn't there for offices. That doesn't mean Omaha has had no urban development: the filling out of Aksarben, the rise of Dundee, Benson, and most notably Blackstone, and the beginnings of Little Bohemia all happened in the last decade. And this next decade already brings progress on ConAgra and the new park system which could bring the demand for a high rise. Even the suburbs are getting in on densification with things like Heartwood, Downtown La Vista, and what ever is coming out of the Westroads high rise site.
Omaha has a lot of urban development, for now it just lacks the demand for a high rise, but it might not stay like that for long.
I will agree with you that Omaha does have widespread urban development. We do have several largescale projects, even in downtown, that are taking shape that will change the fabric of the urbanscape. However, for the Lanoha site and Civic site, the City has largely dropped the ball. One could argue however, that there is an issue with how we view these lots that you allude to; mainly, that they may not be a prime as we think they are. So, maybe the City should not take all the blame for these sites failing to develop.
Omaha Cowboy wrote: Thu Jan 21, 2021 2:56 am
If indeed this latest proposal is dead in the water (it’s seemingly barely on life support)..and we continue to get ZERO feedback from Jason Lanoha for basically 2 years.. Then-
As I’ve stated several times in this thread, it’s time for the city to apply some weight and ask Lanoha to move on..
It’s become time to bring in a new development team. Lanoha has had nearly a decade to make a go with this prominent parcel and has failed to deliver..
It’s been GO TIME since Townsend was awarded this property 16 years ago and failed. Lanoha has had 10 years at the helm and nothing to show for it. This has become an embarrassment for the city.. It’s time for a new, motivated development team with some fresh ideas. Considering there is a $280 million dollar Riverfront redevelopment plan currently in process and on schedule for completion by mid 2024, there must be a way to get this important parcel locked in with a significant high rise development. The city has stated repeatedly they expect nothing less. The time to get cracking on this was yesterday. And it’s frankly insulting to not hear a peep from Lanoha since they shuffled out this latest proposal in February of 2019. The city is culpable too as they appear asleep at this switch on this as well..
Bad form all around in my humble opinion..and I don’t want to hear excuses. 16 years of failure to deliver is long enough...
Ciao..LiO...Peace
The inability to develop this and the civic site is somewhat an embarrassment for the city, particularly for the current administration. I mean, we all think these are prime sites yet here we are several years later, neither showing any progress towards development. So the question I keep returning to when thinking about these sites is why haven't these 'prime' sites been developed when this past decade saw other downtowns across the country have booms in downtown construction?
That’s a legitimate and good question. I think it’s a combination of seducing the city with a beautifully crafted proposal- for this particular site, there have been several of them- it’s perfect window dressing. But then you have to wonder if the developer (Lanoha currently) is really bullish and committed to see a proposal through to completion. Perhaps the developer gets stretched too thin and their prime focus has shifted to another prime development (Heartland Preserve)..allowing their downtown highrise proposal to flap in the wind with no update on progress in 2 years.. Then the city is culpable too. Many times over the past 16 years we’ve heard that this particular location must be developed as a signature highrise which adds to the skyline. But yet, nothing happens..which would lead one to speculate the city is asleep at the switch and simply allowing nothing to be done..on top of the nothing that’s been there for 16 years and counting..
I’m on record on this site questioning the leadership at city hall..as much as I question the motivation of the current developer on this site to get the ball rolling..
In the end, I understand- in a 1 million population metro like Omaha, significant highrise development is extremely hard to come by..compared to a 2 million plus metro like Austin Texas which has highrise development with new tower cranes seemingly popping up darn near every week..
I think in the end, we need some bullish accountability..from the city to the developer..because as I stated in an earlier post- what we have right now is bad form all around...
Ciao..LiO...Peace
I appreciate the response. In terms of the expectations the City has, particularly for the Lanoha site, I agree that can be a source of hinderance for this project to move forward. Personally, I would like the City to move away from its infatuation with block filling buildings downtown. We could have a nice skyline affecting project at the Lanoha site with a couple skinny towers on the site, but shorter like 200-250, and some midrise, TOD style buildings filling in the lot. I don't know. I just think we need to be a little more creative when it comes to these huge lots in downtown.
I think we should stop trying to build the "perfect" development and crank out 4-6 story buildings all over. I don't know how anyone in Omaha benefits from derelict buildings or empty parking lots while we spin on large developments like Wall Street Tower / Lanoha for years and years.
If we ever reach a point where we've become saturated with 4-6 story buildings, then we can worry about going vertical.
In context of this particular project, let's just get something/anything built. If we had built a 4-story apartment project here back in 2009 instead of idling and building nothing, it would have contributed to the urban fabric of our city and increased the number of residents downtown. Consider the runway for a decision to build a grocery store downtown... it probably takes years of planning. Every year that you don't have the metrics to support a grocery store, you're waiting at least x number of years planning before you get a grocery store. So let's focus on hitting whatever magical numbers that developers want to see from our downtown so that we can create a sustainable downtown, and that means building housing in empty lots. Because whatever we don't build today will delay future developments that much more.
I would support any legal means the city has to get this property built in any capacity.
Jins123 wrote: Thu Jan 21, 2021 7:29 pm
I wonder what can be done to overcome some of the issues Garrett mentioned? I think ORBT is a start.
Some really great responses here. This reminds me of the old days when we all chimed in on potential developments downtown like this- the best thing out our forum imo..
In any case, I agree with ORBT. And I think in concert with the Riverfront redevelopment plan and the ConAgra site plan- these will move downtown Omaha along as a more street friendly, vibrant, point of destination place for entertainment, leisure and lifestyle.. As this occurs, and more people come downtown, this can be a catalyst for further development- mid to high rise residential, mixed use or office.. I think that’s the ultimate goal- to help transition the downtown core into a more vibrant, walkable and livable 24/7 lifestyle area. I can see this happening within 3-5 years if the correct leadership at city hall is in place, in concert with the right development teams..
If Omaha can pull this off, it will be the envy of most mid major metros in the 1 to 2 million population range...
Apartments or a mix of office and apartments is going to be the best bet right now on this site. We’re pretty saturated on hotels, the high rise condo market is weak nationwide, and I don’t know we have any large companies nor enough industries that thrive on clustering to fill a pure office tower
We should continue to develop parking lots and underutilized structures into low-ish rise apartments, but I wouldn’t go as far to say we should fill in the Lanoha site or Civic site with them. When someone does want to build something tall, having a site ready to go will make the cost and process much more appealing. Besides these spots, there aren’t many where a high rise could easily be built. In the meantime, cheap programming can be placed on the vacant spaces - a food truck area or public art, etc.
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"Video game violence is not a new problem. Who could forget in the wake of SimCity how children everywhere took up urban planning." - Stephen Colbert
riceweb wrote: Thu Jan 21, 2021 8:25 pm
I think we should stop trying to build the "perfect" development and crank out 4-6 story buildings all over. I don't know how anyone in Omaha benefits from derelict buildings or empty parking lots while we spin on large developments like Wall Street Tower / Lanoha for years and years.
If we ever reach a point where we've become saturated with 4-6 story buildings, then we can worry about going vertical.
In context of this particular project, let's just get something/anything built. If we had built a 4-story apartment project here back in 2009 instead of idling and building nothing, it would have contributed to the urban fabric of our city and increased the number of residents downtown. Consider the runway for a decision to build a grocery store downtown... it probably takes years of planning. Every year that you don't have the metrics to support a grocery store, you're waiting at least x number of years planning before you get a grocery store. So let's focus on hitting whatever magical numbers that developers want to see from our downtown so that we can create a sustainable downtown, and that means building housing in empty lots. Because whatever we don't build today will delay future developments that much more.
I would support any legal means the city has to get this property built in any capacity.
I think you bring up a good point; usually, the first type of use to downtown revitalization is increased residential use. We have fortunately seen an influx in residential conversions in the last decade, but the City and those they work with on these City-owned/involved sites are allergic to such uses. We are seeing mixed use developments everywhere, but we can't get a mixed use building in downtown at one of these sites? Thankfully, Conagra/Hines has this mixed usage in mind, as well as the Builder's District and Millwork, but anything where the City has heavy involvement, the focus is office. I just looked back at the Tetrad deal for the Civic site and the City was wanting an employer to bring 1500 employees to that site. That's an unreal requirement for any developer in our City. The City can dictate what they want there; with proximity to Central High School, Creighton, and good bus and highway access, stick a mixed income, mixed use residential district there with some student housing. Throw in a new library. Convert the surface parking under 480 right across the street to an urban park with basketball courts, futsal courts, small playground, whatever. Then do up some bike lanes on Capitol and make it multimodel all the way to the Riverfront. I don't know, I am just spitballing. But my point is, the City needs to move away from the 'downtown is for office' mentality.
ita wrote: Thu Jan 21, 2021 9:42 pmWe have fortunately seen an influx in residential conversions in the last decade, but the City and those they work with on these City-owned/involved sites are allergic to such uses.
The weird thing about focusing so much on jobs in the downtown core is that one of Nebraska's natural advantages over many cities is that we have few geographical restrictions on our growth, meaning we can build sprawling industrial facilities in the outer ring of the city. Imagine a network engineer that wants to live downtown for amenities but works out in rural Sarpy County at a data center. This inversion of the city paradigm was on a fast track until the coronavirus epidemic, but I'm still optimistic about that trend in the long run, because many people want to live in the city even if their job cannot be located within the city.
ita wrote: Thu Jan 21, 2021 9:42 pmWe have fortunately seen an influx in residential conversions in the last decade, but the City and those they work with on these City-owned/involved sites are allergic to such uses.
The weird thing about focusing so much on jobs in the downtown core is that one of Nebraska's natural advantages over many cities is that we have few geographical restrictions on our growth, meaning we can build sprawling industrial facilities in the outer ring of the city. Imagine a network engineer that wants to live downtown for amenities but works out in rural Sarpy County at a data center. This inversion of the city paradigm was on a fast track until the coronavirus epidemic, but I'm still optimistic about that trend in the long run, because many people want to live in the city even if their job cannot be located within the city.
That's an interesting perspective. I'd like to see numbers on how many people do that currently.
ita wrote: Thu Jan 21, 2021 9:42 pmWe have fortunately seen an influx in residential conversions in the last decade, but the City and those they work with on these City-owned/involved sites are allergic to such uses.
The weird thing about focusing so much on jobs in the downtown core is that one of Nebraska's natural advantages over many cities is that we have few geographical restrictions on our growth, meaning we can build sprawling industrial facilities in the outer ring of the city. Imagine a network engineer that wants to live downtown for amenities but works out in rural Sarpy County at a data center. This inversion of the city paradigm was on a fast track until the coronavirus epidemic, but I'm still optimistic about that trend in the long run, because many people want to live in the city even if their job cannot be located within the city.
In your example of the network engineer, two things:
One, data centers tend to be located in relatively rural areas. Not all mind you but land is cheap and plentiful. Not just Omaha but look around.
Two, if your network engineer really wants to live downtown why not? The commute is against traffic. I can't imagine the drive from downtown Omaha to Sarpy county in the morning and home in the evening is as bad as if it were the other way.
And three, I'm not sure you want a data center in downtown Omaha. Not very many employees, relatively large facility, not exactly the same as a building with hundreds of employees and for what it's worth how good can it look?
I agree with some of the other suggestions, and possibly look at building some good looking 4-6 story residential units on the old UP site. It seems like we are stuck right now in a holding pattern waiting for the perfect development and until that comes along nothing will be done with the property . A little more creative thinking and flexibility is needed here because that perfect corporate highrise structure may never materialize, this isn’t Charlotte or Chicago. New highrises in downtown Omaha are somewhat rare. As we have only had 3 buildings built over 10 floors downtown since 2005, and currently none are being planned. 5 buildings in the entire metro with 10 or more floors have been built since 2005 which includes HDR and TD.
Unless the city changes their paradigm for what they want built at this prominent parcel, there won’t be any 4-6 story residential units built there..
Lanoha’s 2019 highrise twin tower proposal is still prominent as a planned development on their web page. Let’s see how this plays out. I’m on record here saying this proposal is likely dead in the water.. But I think the next couple months will be telling. If we don’t hear anything.. Then, as I’ve also said, it’s time for the city to require a fresh development team to look into this parcel.. Lanoha has had a decade...
I think it’s pretty obvious nothing is going to happen to the old UP parcel. They’ve had nothing but time including a pretty good economy before the pandemic hit but nothings ever happened.
Now as the the pandemic looks to be possibly declining. I look for it to be even tougher to get something built as more people than ever work from home. And downtown Omaha like most U.S. cities has lost some of its momentum because of the pandemic and summer riots have damaged some of the appeal of urban living lifestyles.
Cermak wrote: Sun Jan 24, 2021 8:44 pmsummer riots have damaged some of the appeal of urban living lifestyles.
I really don't believe this at all, at least for Omaha. Putting aside the murder-delayed-suicide, which obviously would make it hit different if one were personally tied to it, in Omaha it was some broken glass which got swept up the next day.
Omaha was not anywhere near as bad as places like Chicago or Minneapolis. But I don’t see how the riots have helped any in making urban living lifestyles better today than say a year ago. To me it might make someone think twice about living downtown and maybe hold off until this all plays out some more. Omaha definitely had protest and at least small scale riots.
Cermak wrote: Thu Jan 28, 2021 4:50 pm
Omaha was not anywhere near as bad as places like Chicago or Minneapolis. But I don’t see how the riots have helped any in making urban living lifestyles better today than say a year ago. To me it might make someone think twice about living downtown and maybe hold off until this all plays out some more. Omaha definitely had protest and at least small scale riots.
The majority of people that would see this as a deterrent to living downtown were never serious about living downtown anyways. I think you're greatly overstating the effect. Pandemic effects, which have been covered ad nauseam are the far greater factor.
Cermak wrote: Thu Jan 28, 2021 4:50 pm
Omaha was not anywhere near as bad as places like Chicago or Minneapolis. But I don’t see how the riots have helped any in making urban living lifestyles better today than say a year ago. To me it might make someone think twice about living downtown and maybe hold off until this all plays out some more. Omaha definitely had protest and at least small scale riots.
The majority of people that would see this as a deterrent to living downtown were never serious about living downtown anyways. I think you're greatly overstating the effect. Pandemic effects, which have been covered ad nauseam are the far greater factor.
I have to agree. I don’t think the riots last spring really have much to do with whether a person or couple or family decides to live downtown..or not.. I think the last time there was anything close to a riot in downtown Omaha (since last spring), was perhaps in 1968..Some 52 years prior..
As it relates to the Lanoha highrise proposal on this prime location site- the clock just keeps on ticking. I suspect very soon, we’ll be talking past tense and what if’s about this failed plan...
This is the excuse local developers will use to not advance any major highrise downtown development projects in the foreseeable future. It’s called uncertainty. I think we have entered a “wait and see” hovering pattern. And it could be a while before we get out of it.
just keeps on ticking. I suspect very soon, we’ll be talking past tense and what if’s about this failed plan...
