The Duo (222 S 15 ST) formerly Central Park Plaza

[OverlookedFarm]

i worked in that sewer pipe for many years. there arent enough clorox wipes and glade plugins in the world to mask the mixture of natural gas, street urchins, starbuck hippies and and sweaty pits stains left from all the conagra and up workers. gunna have to be a total gut and new hvac and mech. the sins committed in those halls will haunt it for a millenia.

the garage in back in its current config is way too tight. if i recall, only compact cars. the skybridge to park1 will need to be doused with a truckload of bleach to get rid of the urine.

it was fun back in the day to take the skybridge from walgreens after dropping off your fujifilm to little king, have a sandwich, walk through brandies, sit down at the second little king, have another sandwich. walk back and spectate the chumps unable to navigate the Red Lion deadend like a windows95 maze screensaver.

cool that they are getting more resi down there, but at the expense of office space that it needs to fill it. 35% vacancy is generous. the core has been shelled by business closures and layoffs since the late 2000's and hasnt recovered to its vibrance of the 80s and 90s. i think it has been near 50 or for a looong time.

parkfair/16th st hasnt been more than lunchtime only eateries, occasional gettin spots and places to buy lottery tickets (hoping youd never have to work downtown again) in more than 40 years.

again, fun, cool, another great use of your subsidized tif tax dollars, but 20-25 years too late. maybe the mutual boost can get thier wfh people downtown. guess thats what you get when developers act as for hire agents of the council. arrested development.

[Cermak]

A little saddened that this will no longer be office space. It was an office building for about 40 years. But the apartment concept is much better than the alternative of an empty building. And it should help with foot traffic DT. The design from what I can tell by the rendering looks pleasant enough. I always liked these buildings and is downtown’s best example of early to mid 80’s highrise architecture. I believe it’s the only twin tower highrise building complex in the state of Nebraska and Iowa. Kansas City has at least one that I can think of as there are some in the Twin Cities area as well.

[Athomsfere]

Closer-up rendering per Grow Omaha.

Definitely adding a bit of height…

Ciao..LiO…Peace

Has no one else called out:

Looks like they are also keeping the middle building build-out on this rendering. Possibly a facade for the garage?

[bldgengineer2015]

Closer-up rendering per Grow Omaha.

Definitely adding a bit of height…

Ciao..LiO…Peace

Has no one else called out:

Looks like they are also keeping the middle building build-out on this rendering. Possibly a facade for the garage?

There is a link between the two towers. It is only one bay deep though.

[skinzfan23]

I didn't know that they are planning to replace all the windows in the buildings. That by itself, will be a huge undertaking.

[Coyote]

Downtown Omaha twin-tower office complex to be converted into residential development along streetcar route



A twin-tower office complex in downtown Omaha will be converted to one of the largest residential developments in the city's urban core. Mayor Jean Stothert said Central Park Plaza, located on S 15th Street between Farnam and Douglas streets, has been sold to NuStyle Development. They will develop the towers into an apartment building called The Duo, city officials said. Sullivan's Steakhouse will remain at its current location in the towers, and a new coffee shop will replace the Starbucks that recently closed at the site, according to officials.

[JDJase]

I didn't know that they are planning to replace all the windows in the buildings. That by itself, will be a huge undertaking.

I have an acquaintance that specializes in turning office buildings into residential buildings (mostly in California but also Texas) and I recall him saying that window replacement is one of the biggest obstacles (since most office buildings don't have windows that open, and most places have regulations requiring residential units to have windows that open), and they've turned down projects specifically because of the massive undertaking window replacement would have been (usually in commercial buildings with an all-glass facade).

[skinzfan23]

I didn't know that they are planning to replace all the windows in the buildings. That by itself, will be a huge undertaking.

I have an acquaintance that specializes in turning office buildings into residential buildings (mostly in California but also Texas) and I recall him saying that window replacement is one of the biggest obstacles (since most office buildings don't have windows that open, and most places have regulations requiring residential units to have windows that open), and they've turned down projects specifically because of the massive undertaking window replacement would have been (usually in commercial buildings with an all-glass facade).

I have also read that is a huge obstacle to high-rise condos in the country as well. The owner is responsible for window replacement. Normally, on a house, not that big of a deal, but if you are on the 20th floor, it isn't as simple as getting on a ladder to replace, making the costs much higher.

[Dusty]

Don't they have rules for windows when built above a certain height? I thought they only allowed windows that could open a few inches to prevent people from jumping or accidentally leaning to close to the edge.

[Dusty]

I still like the idea of adding that third tower in the center. They could change the name to "The Trio".
In the meantime....still a step forward. I feel like the garage plans are very modest considering how many units are involved.

[Omahayngin]

am I the only one that likes the two separate towers better? Rather than now looking just one large superblockish building. either that or the 3 in the middle idea was kind of cool

[nebugeater]

Maybe I am the only one but I do not like the new name

[CBJason]

I think it’s good but if they build a tower in the middle connecting everything it doesn’t really make much sense anymore.

[Nosebot]

The "Trio"? The "V"?

[Big E]

I think it’s good but if they build a tower in the middle connecting everything it doesn’t really make much sense anymore.

They'll need a duo-ver.

[ItsAllAboutMe]

Interior demolition of the south tower started a couple weeks ago. Fencing is up around the southwest corner and haul away containers in place.

[Louie]

Interior demolition of the south tower started a couple weeks ago. Fencing is up around the southwest corner and haul away containers in place.

They are getting after on this project. Exciting to see.

[iamjacobm]

Some looks at the floor plans and massing for the new garage/apts on 16th. Love the retail addition to 16th as well.

https://planning.cityofomaha.org/images ... cation.pdf

[nebport5]

Some looks at the floor plans and massing for the new garage/apts on 16th. Love the retail addition to 16th as well.

https://planning.cityofomaha.org/images ... cation.pdf

Yes Indeed, encouraging possibilities with retail spaces of 6847 SF and 9015 SF.

[Garrett]

Document also a construction finish date of October 2027, and this neat little rendering

[skinzfan23]

So, if I counted correctly, the addition has 11 stories?

[bldgengineer2015]

View of the new Mutual Tower from the Penthouse.

[almighty_tuna]

View of the new Mutual Tower from the Penthouse.

That's a sweet photo!! Thanks for posting it!

[skinzfan23]

Very nice view…at least for now. You can also tell the crane doesn’t have much space before it needs to go up more.

[NewDoom]

Looks like the Duo south tower is adding some height to compete with Mutual for the time being...

[skinzfan23]

Nice vantage point you have there. I would assume that this project would get a tower crane as well once they start developing the garage and apt piece on the west side of the block. (probably in the next 1 - 1.5 yrs)

[bldgengineer2015]

Looks like the Duo south tower is adding some height to compete with Mutual for the time being...

That additional structure is for the new elevator machine room and elevator overrun.

[HighWinds]

Nice vantage point you have there. I would assume that this project would get a tower crane as well once they start developing the garage and apt piece on the west side of the block. (probably in the next 1 - 1.5 yrs)

[Brad]

Nice vantage point you have there. I would assume that this project would get a tower crane as well once they start developing the garage and apt piece on the west side of the block. (probably in the next 1 - 1.5 yrs)

Two tower cranes at once in DT!

3 There is one at the Holland Center too.

[skinzfan23]

Nice vantage point you have there. I would assume that this project would get a tower crane as well once they start developing the garage and apt piece on the west side of the block. (probably in the next 1 - 1.5 yrs)

Two tower cranes at once in DT!

There were two at the same time for the Capitol District hotel and apts just 5 years ago when they were building them. And also several at UNMC, I think there were 7-8 total at one time between the sites.

[skinzfan23]

[Garrett]

From Grow Omaha, the towers are being connected

[GenX]

From Grow Omaha, the towers are being connected

That was a key part of the original proposal. I do agree not enough emphasis was put into that.

I see they’ve been swapping out windows.

[Cermak]

Looking forward to seeing how this turns out. I always liked these buildings. 15th st between Douglas and Farnam really has a cavernous feel to it now with the Mutual building directly across the street from CPP.

[Brad]

Couple Update Photos from Today:

1.

202410202X4A6972.jpg

2.

202410202X4A7013.jpg

[skinzfan23]

Coming along nicely

[Doctor Fate]

Will residents of The Duo be using the city owned garage on 1516 Douglas or will the new garage at The Duo have enough parking by itself?

[GenX]

I would imagine it would be at least partially used by residents given the skywalk connection.

[nebport5]

Work has started or accelerated on the Park Fair side(16th St).

[ita]

Work has started or accelerated on the Park Fair side(16th St).

Did they put up fences or something? Or are they already taking it down?