Digs Apartments (SE 31st and Marcy Street)

[skip]

Haven’t seen anyone post about these yet. 188 units located on the south east corner of 31st and Marcy st. Uptown properties. Would be a huge infill project along the Leavenworth corridor.

https://planning.cityofomaha.org/images ... rch/20.pdf

[ita]

This project was in the park Ave thread (https://www.eomahaforums.com/viewtopic. ... cy#p334624. It's the latest iteration of this project:

A 4 story 88 unit apartment building and 6 townhomes going between Mason, Marcy, 31st and 30th.

https://planning.cityofomaha.org/images ... ust/26.pdf

I think new design is better; more units, less obvious parking. Nice infill for park Ave neighborhood.

[Athomsfere]

Wow, added 100 units!?

Great infill though.

[nativeomahan]

Wow. Honest to God I can’t believe the city planning board would approve this proposal. They caved on just about every variance this project wants. Sidewalk setbacks reduced to 4’! What sort of landscaping will fit in such a tiny setback? The planning board document speaks of this being “in proximity” to the street car line. Which doesn’t run along Leavenworth Avenue but rather down Farnam Street. So this “proximity” allows the project backers to sharply reduce the number of off street parking spaces they will create.
Projects like this become a pain in the a$$ for neighborhoods.
Developers could have allowed for adequate landscaping and parking by simply adding a few floors to the building and decreasing its footprint.
But, this neighborhood is full of poor people who mostly rent, so the city clearly doesn’t expect any blowback. That’s what’s really at work here. I seriously doubt this would fly in Dundee.

[PWL73316]

They approved it because it fits with all the other new build multifamily projects in the area, all of which needed similar waivers. 35 foot setback in this neighborhood is absurd. (Actually its absurd in all neighborhoods, but that's beside the point.)

[Athomsfere]

Wow. Honest to God I can’t believe the city planning board would approve this proposal. They caved on just about every variance this project wants. Sidewalk setbacks reduced to 4’! What sort of landscaping will fit in such a tiny setback? The planning board document speaks of this being “in proximity” to the street car line. Which doesn’t run along Leavenworth Avenue but rather down Farnam Street. So this “proximity” allows the project backers to sharply reduce the number of off street parking spaces they will create.
Projects like this become a pain in the a$$ for neighborhoods.
Developers could have allowed for adequate landscaping and parking by simply adding a few floors to the building and decreasing its footprint.
But, this neighborhood is full of poor people who mostly rent, so the city clearly doesn’t expect any blowback. That’s what’s really at work here. I seriously doubt this would fly in Dundee.

I'm all for all of those variances. Less parking is good for the city.

And while it might not fly in Dundee, where I live even... That's a problem in Dundee that eventually also needs to change. Maybe when we get a rail line or street car extension.

[nativeomahan]

I’m not opposed to the density. Far from it. I am opposed to the design.

[TitosBuritoBarn]

Ooof. That's not a good design. It looks cheap. It could also be a little denser.

I'm glad they have less parking than the city would otherwise require, but the lot still looks huge. Also it's a pet peeve of mine when in "urban developments" the parking is still very exposed. Here there are 10 spots perpendicular to the entrance off Marcy Street with about 60 feet or so of grass next to them. From the street it just makes things look incomplete, like they were going to put more apartments there but ran out of money.

[legato9]

Looks just like the Conrad...which is also not good design. Ug.

Which reminds me...I stumbled across a beautifully written article on this topic recently. It's well worth a read if for no other reason than the phenomenal sentences that it has, let alone the topic.

https://www.nplusonemag.com/issue-44/th ... g-so-ugly/

[Coyote]

$46 million ‘Digs’ project fuels debate about parking squeeze in Omaha’s urban core

OMAHA — Pat O’Donnell says he’s all for development, especially in his childhood stomping grounds where walking, biking and newer housing is replacing shady activity that once was the norm. The Omaha native loves watching seats fill up in the trendy new corner coffee shop, The Mill at 31st and Leavenworth Streets, and welcomes other commercial enterprises reviving the corridor southwest of downtown Omaha. He even had a hand in the shift, moving back some 25 years ago to the home he grew up in and revamping multiple other properties to rent out in the evolving inner-city area. But O’Donnell said he is drawing the line on the latest proposal by a private development company to provide only 147 parking spaces for a 188-unit apartment complex with 239 bedrooms. He is among area critics who fear the $46 million Digs apartments, as proposed for southeast of 31st and Marcy Streets, will leave existing neighborhood residents scrounging for a parking spot along already jammed side streets.



The Digs apartments would span 1.5 acres southeast of the 31st and Marcy Streets intersection, shown at the top left corner.

[TransitOriented]

It's 500 feet from the 35. It's 600 feet from the 11.

[Jins123]

I’m usually all for less parking, however when the mayor fight such tiny changes like protective bike lanes, the street car closing at 10pm and other little things that could make this more feasible. I feel this area/city aren’t prepared for such a complex commitment like this.

[Coyote]

Omaha City Council approves plan to build apartment complex with limited parking

[Renovator2559]

This is promising and what I like to see. More density, less parking and a city council that is determined to challenge the current culture that was ingrained to us by big auto in the 50s and their decades vision of a "vibrant" city. Its time to return to a more traditional approach in urbanism.

Maybe this is a prelude to reducing parking requirements per building?

[Athomsfere]

I’m usually all for less parking, however when the mayor fight such tiny changes like protective bike lanes, the street car closing at 10pm and other little things that could make this more feasible. I feel this area/city aren’t prepared for such a complex commitment like this.

And yet, that's never what the fight is for.

Where is the fight to build more bike lanes, or transit? Why is the only option so often either A) More parking or B) nothing.

I'll take this win, personally. Hopefully the future residents will help fight for a better city.

[skip]

I’m usually all for less parking, however when the mayor fight such tiny changes like protective bike lanes, the street car closing at 10pm and other little things that could make this more feasible. I feel this area/city aren’t prepared for such a complex commitment like this.

And yet, that's never what the fight is for.

Where is the fight to build more bike lanes, or transit? Why is the only option so often either A) More parking or B) nothing.

I'll take this win, personally. Hopefully the future residents will help fight for a better city.

Absolutely - if half of the residents either walk, bike, or ride the bus, that's a huge win for the urban core. There will be less cars and more liveliness on the streets in that area with people walking around and checking out local businesses. This will ultimately attract more people to live there. Hopefully future developers in the urban core follow suit with limited parking.

I didn't look at all of the renderings, but I'm hoping the complex has a good amount of bike racks or maybe a smaller garage dedicated to bikes.

[ita]

Omaha officials greenlight the ‘Digs’ apartment project despite neighbor objections

I just wanted to pull a quote from Cindy's article that stood out. It's comments from Brinker Harding, a West Omaha council person. It's good evidence that there is some thought changes happening at the highest levels of local leadership regarding development.

Councilman Brinker Harding, echoing comments from city planners, said developable land within Douglas County is running low, with 20 or so years “left on that clock.” He said the city needs to find ways to build density.

“There are some cultural changes that we will be challenged with here in Omaha that we have to be real about,” Harding said. “Density is certainly one of those issues. If we want to continue to grow our city and maintain the level of services … that’s the reality we live in.”

[TransitOriented]

I didn't look at all of the renderings, but I'm hoping the complex has a good amount of bike racks or maybe a smaller garage dedicated to bikes.

There's something labeled "bike"
https://planning.cityofomaha.org/images ... May/12.pdf

[Renovator2559]

I didn't look at all of the renderings, but I'm hoping the complex has a good amount of bike racks or maybe a smaller garage dedicated to bikes.

I'm pretty sure it will come with bike storage, afterall the intended outcome, as city council mentioned, are less cars. Also, if they include a Heartland bike share that would be great. The convenience of picking up any Heartland bike from any station, any time is quite valuable.

[Dusty]

This is a big win for the area. More density, less parking =a more vibrant and walkable community. We need to get past the notion of where will I park. It's needs to be shifted to where will I live, work, and play. I always get a good laugh at comments like the video posted. "No one will ride the bus at zero degrees." It doesn't stop everyone else in the world from riding transit.

For the sake of satire, I would love to see the opposite reaction. You expect me to spend 5 minutes scraping a frozen windshield? And then you expect me to sit in a frozen car for 10 minutes while it warms up? That is absurd! I could of jumped on the bus or rode my bike to my destination in that same time frame.

[Renovator2559]

For the sake of satire, I would love to see the opposite reaction. You expect me to spend 5 minutes scraping a frozen windshield? And then you expect me to sit in a frozen car for 10 minutes while it warms up? That is absurd! I could of jumped on the bus or rode my bike to my destination in that same time frame.

Great points, I agree...

[nativeomahan]

This will be an interesting “experiment”. If it works, expect to see more waivers to the zoning guidelines, or outright changes to those guidelines.
But if it fails, the neighbors to this project will become collateral damage.

[Coyote]

Omaha City Council approves apartment complex development plan



The neighborhood near 31st and Marcy Streets already has parked cars lining the street. A new apartment complex could bring even more parked cars and that has people living in the area concerned. Tuesday, the Omaha City Council voted to let the development go forward. "Sometimes you win. Sometimes you don't," Pat O'Donnell, a neighbor close to the future complex, said.

[JONOVO]

2 bedroom units aimed at college students. Approximately 92 extra cars will need to find parking spots on the street?!?! Seriously, parking is at a premium on Marcy St. Top that off with idiots who cannot parallel park, taking up 2 spaces on the street as well. People that want to live there don’t want or drive cars? Where do the get their information from? I live on this street. There are 3 bed townhomes on 33rd and Marcy, with enough off street parking spaces for 1 car per unit. Leaving all the others scrambling to find parking. I understand people and developers think/want/hope these urban areas become less car dependent. It’s not going to happen. Omaha is NOT a walking/biking city.

[GetUrban]

With such a sloped site, they probably could have found a way to have at least a portion of the parking garage be 2-stories to fit in more parking stalls, similar to 38th and Leavenworth, at added cost to the development though. I have to side with the neighbors on this one, since transit in Omaha has not yet developed to be as efficient and dependable as needed to handle the added density. Most people in Omaha still need a car to reach all of the necessities in life.

[TitosBuritoBarn]

2 bedroom units aimed at college students. Approximately 92 extra cars will need to find parking spots on the street?!?! Seriously, parking is at a premium on Marcy St. Top that off with idiots who cannot parallel park, taking up 2 spaces on the street as well. People that want to live there don’t want or drive cars? Where do the get their information from? I live on this street. There are 3 bed townhomes on 33rd and Marcy, with enough off street parking spaces for 1 car per unit. Leaving all the others scrambling to find parking. I understand people and developers think/want/hope these urban areas become less car dependent. It’s not going to happen. Omaha is NOT a walking/biking city.

Why would you assume college kids, of all people, would each have a car with them?

“Urban” and “plenty of parking” don’t go together. They just don’t. And cities are dynamic. The part of omaha you’re in isn’t going to regress toward suburbia. So you have two choices. Deal with not having like five spaces for your one car or move west of 72nd Street.

[legato9]

Parking is a big cost of development.

It’s an excellent place to start (reducing it) to increase housing affordability.

Mandatory parking minimums are horrible. If people don’t want to live in a place without parking, they won’t. And the developers will adjust accordingly.

[Dusty]

The worst thing to do is to keep dangling tons of convenient parking at people (surface or garages), especially in an urban part of town. If you seriously want to develop transit, you have to take car parking away. This is not an absurd experiment. TONS of cities around the world have done this. When driving is less convenient, you start riding the bus, riding a bike, and walking more. Basing our reactions on a few grumpy complainers does not reflect the neighborhood as a whole. The neighborhood has been telling the city for years they want it less car dependent so we can bring better infrastructure for busing and bikes.

Out of curiosity, is the development charging residents for parking? I don't see it any different a complex that has limited garages and everyone else has to park in the surface lots. The garages are a luxury for a cost. Everyone else gets on a waiting list. In this case, all the parking is the luxury. Anyone not wanting to pay can find other modes to get around.

[Jins123]

What’s the bus schedule for Leavenworth street/Park Ave? Not to mention the bus schedule for anything going North/South in this city.

Where’s the protected bike lanes for Park Ave/ Leavenworth St?

The grocery options are sort of there (Supermercado/Wholners),

I can think of the wide roads, busy traffic with no stoplights on intersections like 33rd & Leavenworth.

It just seems the urban infrastructure/density needs to better. Maybe these things come along after something like this and someone could tell about it.

[nativeomahan]

Parking is a big cost of development.

It’s an excellent place to start (reducing it) to increase housing affordability.

Mandatory parking minimums are horrible. If people don’t want to live in a place without parking, they won’t. And the developers will adjust accordingly.

This doesn’t just impact potential residents of the new project. It also impacts all of the neighbors! What options are given to them when they can no longer find places to park their vehicles, or for their friends, or service vehicles coming to their homes, because the mass of new neighbors without adequate parking park in front of their homes. It’s a quality of life issue for the existing neighborhood.

[legato9]

Parking is a big cost of development.

It’s an excellent place to start (reducing it) to increase housing affordability.

Mandatory parking minimums are horrible. If people don’t want to live in a place without parking, they won’t. And the developers will adjust accordingly.

This doesn’t just impact potential residents of the new project. It also impacts all of the neighbors! What options are given to them when they can no longer find places to park their vehicles, or for their friends, or service vehicles coming to their homes, because the mass of new neighbors without adequate parking park in front of their homes. It’s a quality of life issue for the existing neighborhood.

I get that it’s frustrating. I really do. But we have to keep in mind that we do not own the roads outside of our homes. We don’t have a right to force someone else use their property in a certain way just for our convenience.

We have every right to put a driveway on *our* property and to exclude others from using it.

If we rent, we have a right to move somewhere with a parking situation that we more desire.

Otherwise, we do like most of the world: we walk a few blocks. I never expect to park right in front of my destination in a city.

[nativeomahan]

I’m not suggesting to baldly “force someone else (to) use their property in a certain way just for our convenience.” What I am suggesting is being a good neighbor, and developers not exacting harm on neighbors when they choose to erect a dense development without sufficient parking stalls on the developed property, resulting in a spillover of their lessee’s motor vehicles into the surrounding neighborhood streets, creating an imbalance of available parking for existing homeowners/renters. Some cities require permits to park on residential streets. If you don’t live on the street, you cannot legally park there. I know that Chicago does this. So do at least some of the DC suburbs. You affix a sticker to your windshield that shows your allowable parking zone. Omaha has yet to face this issue. The day may be coming very soon. Ultimately it is the city’s responsibility to weigh the respective interests of all of the stakeholders and decide what is best.
Call me a cynic, but my guess is that developers contribute much greater dollars to city council re-election campaigns than do the residents in and near the 3100 block of Marcy Street.

[Dusty]

The development is attracting residents that want an urban lifestyle. This means less car dependent. They want to live car-free or car-lite. So where is the spill-over of excessive cars coming from when many don't own a car? This is more panic attacks over nothing. If you don't like the fear of not finding a parking stall 5 feet from your door, then don't live here. Vacancies will be filled will people who wants an actual urban lifestyle.

We are only talking about 41 parking stalls cut.. This is NOTHING in the grand scheme of things. So there will be 41+ residents enjoying a car-free lifestyle. Amsterdam is removing 10,000 parking stalls in a 5 year period. Paris and Oslo are banning all privatized cars in the city center in 5 years. This would be like Omaha banning all cars in the urban core. Tempe, AZ just opened Culdsac Tempe (600+ units with where residents are not allowed to have a car).

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles ... ing-spaces

[TitosBuritoBarn]

They may be putting the cart before the horse a bit by not having adequate alternative transportation handy and in place by the time the development opens. Ideally that would come first. I can't imagine parking is at a premium here in the meantime.

Some cities require permits to park on residential streets. If you don’t live on the street, you cannot legally park there. I know that Chicago does this. So do at least some of the DC suburbs. You affix a sticker to your windshield that shows your allowable parking zone. Omaha has yet to face this issue. The day may be coming very soon. Ultimately it is the city’s responsibility to weigh the respective interests of all of the stakeholders and decide what is best.
Call me a cynic, but my guess is that developers contribute much greater dollars to city council re-election campaigns than do the residents in and near the 3100 block of Marcy Street.

The residential parking permits, at least in Chicago, aren't limited to specific streets. They're set up as neighborhood-sized zones and you're free to park anywhere within the zone. They are also sometimes only active during evening hours. This is because the primary reason for them is to ensure commercial businesses don't take away the availability of residential parking, not to ensure there is an available spot in front of one's house. In fact I don't think they even check to ensure there is enough street space for parking compared to the number of cars they permit. Even if you have an off-street parking spot, you still need to get the residential parking permit for your zone. When I lived in a residential parking zone, I never parked on my own street, in part because I lived in a commercial block that was metered and permit holders cannot occupy metered spaces without paying.

[Dundeemaha]

You can't get quality transit until it's inconvenient for people to have cars. The city government is a representative body of the people and if all of the people have and want cars they will support car centric development which due to the enormous affect it has on the built environment excludes all other modes.

If we want reasonably affordable housing we need more housing. Less parking. Less lanes of traffic.

It's not a perfect system but we have to reduce and remove our parking minimums while increasing allowed density throughout the city. Only then can we justify the transit spending.

[Brad]

This project was laid over by the city council twice to get more information on how the TOD zoning will effect the current neighbors. Couple things that came up during the city council meetings:

1. There are 25+ Bike lockers.
2. Parking will be assigned so people will know before they sign a lease if they have a parking spot or not.
3. There will be a shared car (Zipcar or something similar) parked in the garage for residents only.

This project has changed a couple times, most recently changed to make it more dense after the announcement of the street car 7 blocks to the north.

[Athomsfere]

This project was laid over by the city council twice to get more information on how the TOD zoning will effect the current neighbors. Couple things that came up during the city council meetings:

1. There are 25+ Bike lockers.
2. Parking will be assigned so people will know before they sign a lease if they have a parking spot or not.
3. There will be a shared car (Zipcar or something similar) parked in the garage for residents only.

This project has changed a couple times, most recently changed to make it more dense after the announcement of the street car 7 blocks to the north.

Great updates, thanks

[skip]

sounds like construction has begun according to Grow Omaha.

[Jins123]

sounds like construction has begun according to Grow Omaha.

Ohhhh! Found it mods, but yeah lots of work being done here right now.

Sounds like this particular real estate company has a bit (theme) the ones on Park Ave are up and running.