Gretna Goodlife District

[Garrett]

Local development group, Woodsonia Real Estate, has thrown their hat in the ring as a key developer for the Gretna Good
Other ideas include a J.W. Marriott paired with a golf course, a sports complex, retail center and bringing Wally's, a family-friendly travel center. With those, Snyder said their proposal has the potential to bring in 1.9 million visitors a year.

A JW? KC, OKC, DEN, SEA, LA don't even have JWs! Admittedly, Marriott's had a lot of brand drift lately, but still...

That boy's high.

Yeah the JW claim is a surprising one. I would hope Woodsonia isn't similarly in the business of making partnership proclamations without any meat to them a la Yates.

[nebport5]

Local development group, Woodsonia Real Estate, has thrown their hat in the ring as a key developer for the Gretna Good
Other ideas include a J.W. Marriott paired with a golf course, a sports complex, retail center and bringing Wally's, a family-friendly travel center. With those, Snyder said their proposal has the potential to bring in 1.9 million visitors a year.

A JW? KC, OKC, DEN, SEA, LA don't even have JWs! Admittedly, Marriott's had a lot of brand drift lately, but still...

That boy's high.

Actually LA does...and one in Anaheim.

[damonhynes]

Local development group, Woodsonia Real Estate, has thrown their hat in the ring as a key developer for the Gretna Good
Other ideas include a J.W. Marriott paired with a golf course, a sports complex, retail center and bringing Wally's, a family-friendly travel center. With those, Snyder said their proposal has the potential to bring in 1.9 million visitors a year.

A JW? KC, OKC, DEN, SEA, LA don't even have JWs! Admittedly, Marriott's had a lot of brand drift lately, but still...

That boy's high.

Actually LA does...and one in Anaheim.

Oops, and I was looking at JW's map at the time!

[Greg S]

Local development group, Woodsonia Real Estate, has thrown their hat in the ring as a key developer for the Gretna Good
Other ideas include a J.W. Marriott paired with a golf course, a sports complex, retail center and bringing Wally's, a family-friendly travel center. With those, Snyder said their proposal has the potential to bring in 1.9 million visitors a year.

A JW? KC, OKC, DEN, SEA, LA don't even have JWs! Admittedly, Marriott's had a lot of brand drift lately, but still...

That boy's high.

Yeah the JW claim is a surprising one. I would hope Woodsonia isn't similarly in the business of making partnership proclamations without any meat to them a la Yates.

Anyone know much about Woodsonia?

[Garrett]

Local development group, Woodsonia Real Estate, has thrown their hat in the ring as a key developer for the Gretna Good
Other ideas include a J.W. Marriott paired with a golf course, a sports complex, retail center and bringing Wally's, a family-friendly travel center. With those, Snyder said their proposal has the potential to bring in 1.9 million visitors a year.

A JW? KC, OKC, DEN, SEA, LA don't even have JWs! Admittedly, Marriott's had a lot of brand drift lately, but still...

That boy's high.

Yeah the JW claim is a surprising one. I would hope Woodsonia isn't similarly in the business of making partnership proclamations without any meat to them a la Yates.

Anyone know much about Woodsonia?

Looks like their portfolio is mostly suburban retail & residential. At the very least they seem to have a consistent stream of active projects so that's a good sign. But this would easily be their biggest project.

https://woodsonia.net/projects/

[CBJason]

If they really were able to get a Jack Nicholas signature golf course, I’d think that would make it pretty easy to get a JW. That’s something KC, OKC and Denver definitely wouldn’t have.

[F0R_L1F3]

Nebraska Examiner did an article on this just today, feel free to check out some of the photos they presented! https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2025/02/05 ... -district/ Very interesting plans, I wouldn't mind something like this though. Though as I said on another forum, hopefully a plan for Nebraska Crossing goes forward and with the Good Life District pushes the Gretna Crossing neighborhood plan that called for some mixed use nearby as well.

[PotatoeEatsFish]

At least we get cool renderings out of this!

Respect to Mr Yates, if I ever come into money I will be doing this to Des Moines for decades.

[Doctor Fate]

Trenton’s comments on Grow Omaha about Woodsonia’s plans/rendering for the Gretna Good Life District were comical. If only he could apply the same critical approach to anything that comes out of Rod Yate’s mouth, especially when he’s on the show….

[nebport5]

Trenton’s comments on Grow Omaha about Woodsonia’s plans/rendering for the Gretna Good Life District were comical. If only he could apply the same critical approach to anything that comes out of Rod Yate’s mouth, especially when he’s on the show….

While I can't speak for G.O. it seems clear that they are not really traditional journalists and tend to take a neutral stance over hard commentary. Yes, they point out Yates is "a friend of the show". It's a decidedly diplomatic commentary that extends beyond Yates and to an overall approach as cheerleaders for development.

Now if you listened to Uncut, Trenton all but says Yates' terms for Gretna were ludicrous. "Any city would go bankrupt." And for a 5,000 acre development, "you'd need another million people." Jeff also stated his skepticism that Yates would get his bill through the legislature this year.

[Doctor Fate]

Trenton’s comments on Grow Omaha about Woodsonia’s plans/rendering for the Gretna Good Life District were comical. If only he could apply the same critical approach to anything that comes out of Rod Yate’s mouth, especially when he’s on the show….

While I can't speak for G.O. it seems clear that they are not really traditional journalists and tend to take a neutral stance over hard commentary. Yes, they point out Yates is "a friend of the show". It's a decidedly diplomatic commentary that extends beyond Yates and to an overall approach as cheerleaders for development.

Now if you listened to Uncut, Trenton all but says Yates' terms for Gretna were ludicrous. "Any city would go bankrupt." And for a 5,000 acre development, "you'd need another million people." Jeff also stated his skepticism that Yates would get his bill through the legislature this year.

To me, their comments about Rod all had to do with the political aspects of the Goof Life Districts and not with the actual potential development itself, as it did with Woodsonia. The number of things that Rod Yates has told other media outlets, not to mention all the stuff he has said on Grow Omaha, has been so far beyond what Woodsonia is proposing in terms of likelihood, but they have never expressed anywhere near the level of skepticism that they did for Woodsonia's proposal. Trenton's saying that there's a difference between Woodsonia putting up a rendering and making it happen, and then also saying that Rod Yates was going to build an NHL arena there. Like they were being skeptical for a Wally's, JW Marriott, and a Jack Nicklaus designed golf course going there but when have they ever done that for anything that Rod Yates has said is going to happen, most of which haven't yet, including:
- NHL arena
- USA Volleyball HQ (said that an agreement would be signed in March 2024)
- Tony Robbins health campus
- The Dallas Cowboys of youth sports facilities
- 1,000 employee out-of-town corporation would relocate its HQ
- FASTCASH
- Any of Drew Brees' restaraunts, one of which he gave an actual estimate for opening on Grow Omaha
- Big 10 Crossing (said the rebranding/partnership would happen in "the next month" on Grow Omaha)
- Fintech campus
- New to market retail like: Ikea, Gucci/Louis Vuitton, and Crate & Barrel/ CB2/West Elm

[nebport5]

I hear where you are coming from but I don't think it was ever like they were drinking the Yates kool-aid, but just reporting it. I remember the looks on their faces during the live event at NeX when Yates announced "Big Ten Crossings".

Jeff also said during Uncut that he(Yates) says something different every time. Jeff goes on to say, I think a lot of what Woodsonia has proposed, could work there."

[Doctor Fate]

I hear where you are coming from but I don't think it was ever like they were drinking the Yates kool-aid, but just reporting it. I remember the looks on their faces during the live event at NeX when Yates announced "Big Ten Crossings".

Jeff also said during Uncut that he(Yates) says something different every time. Jeff goes on to say, I think a lot of what Woodsonia has proposed, could work there."

That makes sense. I listen to the show on Spotify so I didn’t actually see that and then usually don’t see the Uncut version.

[nebport5]

I hear where you are coming from but I don't think it was ever like they were drinking the Yates kool-aid, but just reporting it. I remember the looks on their faces during the live event at NeX when Yates announced "Big Ten Crossings".

Jeff also said during Uncut that he(Yates) says something different every time. Jeff goes on to say, I think a lot of what Woodsonia has proposed, could work there."

That makes sense. I listen to the show on Spotify so I didn’t actually see that and then usually don’t see the Uncut version.

I prefer listening to Uncut, even if that means waiting longer and or via YouTube. This last episode even had a few "and this is why you listen to Uncut" moments, including Trenton going into the political ties of Woodsonia to Pillen.

[HskrFanMike]

While I can't speak for G.O. it seems clear that they are not really traditional journalists and tend to take a neutral stance over hard commentary. Yes, they point out Yates is "a friend of the show". It's a decidedly diplomatic commentary that extends beyond Yates and to an overall approach as cheerleaders for development.

They are definitely NOT journalists. Beals and Magid are both commercial real estate executives with NAI NP Dodge. Because of that, they know what they are talking about...but they aren't going to break any news before the parties want it announced, and they aren't going to sour any relationships with potential business partners/customers.

[nebport5]

While I can't speak for G.O. it seems clear that they are not really traditional journalists and tend to take a neutral stance over hard commentary. Yes, they point out Yates is "a friend of the show". It's a decidedly diplomatic commentary that extends beyond Yates and to an overall approach as cheerleaders for development.

They are definitely NOT journalists. Beals and Magid are both commercial real estate executives with NAI NP Dodge. Because of that, they know what they are talking about...but they aren't going to break any news before the parties want it announced, and they aren't going to sour any relationships with potential business partners/customers.

I think that's well said.

[Doctor Fate]

I prefer listening to Uncut, even if that means waiting longer and or via YouTube. This last episode even had a few "and this is why you listen to Uncut" moments, including Trenton going into the political ties of Woodsonia to Pillen.

What was his point in doing this? Rod Yates has pretty deep ties to Pillen too, especially considering many of his comments about Pillen on Grow Omaha?

[nebport5]

I prefer listening to Uncut, even if that means waiting longer and or via YouTube. This last episode even had a few "and this is why you listen to Uncut" moments, including Trenton going into the political ties of Woodsonia to Pillen.

What was his point in doing this? Rod Yates has pretty deep ties to Pillen too, especially considering many of his comments about Pillen on Grow Omaha?

He mentioned the Yates and Pillen association too. I think he(Trenton) was just saying in light of this it'll be interesting to see it all play out.

[Doctor Fate]

While I can't speak for G.O. it seems clear that they are not really traditional journalists and tend to take a neutral stance over hard commentary. Yes, they point out Yates is "a friend of the show". It's a decidedly diplomatic commentary that extends beyond Yates and to an overall approach as cheerleaders for development.

They are definitely NOT journalists. Beals and Magid are both commercial real estate executives with NAI NP Dodge. Because of that, they know what they are talking about...but they aren't going to break any news before the parties want it announced, and they aren't going to sour any relationships with potential business partners/customers.

I know they aren't journalists and I don't think they try to be journalists. I think they are generally pretty fair in their coverage of developments and growth. But their clear reluctance to openly question anything Rod Yates has to say is, at the very least, odd.

Wouldn't the same "potential partners/customers" and cheerleaders of development logic apply to Woodsonia then? They are a potential business partner/customer who has proposed a relatively large development that would contribute to growing Omaha, of whom Trenton was openly skeptical of. I guess he probably doesn't have a personal relationship with them like he does Rod Yates....

[Doctor Fate]

I prefer listening to Uncut, even if that means waiting longer and or via YouTube. This last episode even had a few "and this is why you listen to Uncut" moments, including Trenton going into the political ties of Woodsonia to Pillen.

What was his point in doing this? Rod Yates has pretty deep ties to Pillen too, especially considering many of his comments about Pillen on Grow Omaha?

He mentioned the Yates and Pillen association too. I think he(Trenton) was just saying in light of this it'll be interesting to see it all play out.

Oh gotcha. As in seeing what Pillen does with the Good Life and destination legislature as he now has ties to both in the Gretna district.

[NEDodger]

LB 637 (Rod Yates' attempt to get his own "Good Life District" legislation and bankrupt the state) is scheduled for a public hearing on February 19th.

If you're not able to go in person to speak against this boondoggle, you can submit public feedback that's taken into account for the hearing: https://nebraskalegislature.gov/committ ... -input.php

[Doctor Fate]

Destination Nebraska Act: New path proposed for Rod Yates’ mega project in Gretna area

Yates told the committee that at a full buildout he projects $2 billion in annual retail sales and 20 million visitors a year with pro athletic teams, a youth sports resort, arenas, housing, furniture district, retail and entertainment venues he foresees occupying the project site.

Fundamental features of Yates’ previous plan remain the same, but LB 637 calls for elements that state lawmakers described as unusual and opponents, in some instances, called unconstitutional.

For example, the legislation calls for the destination project site essentially to become its own village, which would have power to sell bonds and use public tax increment financing to help pay for development of the district. The Nebraska Department of Economic Development would be charged with determining an occupation tax to be imposed in the area.

Indeed, the plan also calls for the current Nebraska Crossing mall to be de-annexed from the City of Gretna, becoming a part of the new village Yates compared to the economic development zones that Walt Disney World uses in central Florida.

“You’re creating a city for all intents and purposes,” said State Sen. Brad von Gillern of Omaha, committee chair. “This is a very unusual approach … I am skeptical of.”

The proposal relies on a close partnership with the Nebraska DED, which Ballard said would need a few staffers to guide destination districts.

Sens. Mike Jacobson of North Platte and Kathleen Kauth of Omaha raised questions and concerns about the use of TIF on destination sites.

“I admire your ambition, but I do see some problems,” said Jacobson.

Kauth raised several concerns and said she did not believe TIF was intended for use on “prime land” such as the farmland surrounding Nebraska Crossing between the state’s two biggest cities.

Von Gillern said also that he was “struggling from a credibility standpoint,” as he recalled the Yates’ team coming to the Legislature two years ago, seeking passage of the Good Life Transformational Act that it has now abandoned.

“I feel like we’re having some deja vu,” said Kauth.

[Garrett]

There's a theme park now? A LEGO arena, soccer stadium, and whatever the heck "playerx arena" is?

Don't do drugs kids.

[Linkin5]

I am so confused I thought Woodsonia created a proposal because Yates was abandoning his Goodlife district here?

[Doctor Fate]

There's a theme park now? A LEGO arena, soccer stadium, and whatever the heck "playerx arena" is?

Don't do drugs kids.

Also, both indoor and outdoor golf courses, Woodward Action Sports center, a music venue, and separate youth hockey and volleyball buildings (instead of Prairie Green Arena for both the NHL and USA Volleyball).

[Doctor Fate]

I am so confused I thought Woodsonia created a proposal because Yates was abandoning his Goodlife district here?

Rod Yates wanted Gretna to use eminent domain to acquire the thousands of additional acres he said he needed. Woodsonia's proposal is a small part of that. This is new and different proposal from Rod is on 1,000 acres of that land and I'm not sure who owns it currently.

[djc311]

There's a theme park now? A LEGO arena, soccer stadium, and whatever the heck "playerx arena" is?

Don't do drugs kids.

I saw that this morning and was going to post it, but got tied up.

A few questions I would have:
1.) Is the LEGO Arena constructed from LEGO bricks? Or, is it an arena designed to accommodate LEGO themed events only?
1a. How many people believe LEGO actually knows he stuck the LEGO brand name on the proposed drawing?
2.) The "furniture" retail space is obviously NOT an IKEA. Perhaps his idea is a CB2 or something similar. Granted, I doubt he could pull either one, but it's disappointing that he's not shooting for the stars here (and assuming we'd have all the Swedish meatballs we could ever want with an IKEA store).
3.) I'm interested in knowing who he supposedly has lined up for his "Luxe Retail" section. Why would any of them want to plant a store between what was recently an outlet mall and a ton of youth sporting facilities?
4.) It's surprising he'd want to utilize the same type of "village" setup that Disney has in Florida, when all of his conservative party friends have to be EXTREMELY against that. But I guess it's OK if it applies to something that could benefit him directly.
5.) Seems like 1/2 the expansion is named after Drew Brees... he's the same party that supposedly was going to open a restaurant or other business in the area by now, correct?

I'm all for bringing in new businesses, expanding options and supporting local sports, youth or professional. But IMO, it seems like he's simply throwing stuff at the wall waiting to see what will stick (and basically wondering who will get behind him to sell the local govt to give in to his requests).

I'd be interested to know if they bring up his inability to get other developments done at these meetings (ie, Crossroads). Or, if they mention the useless app that people say has never rewarded shoppers at NEX... ever. The app, BTW, should be a relatively simple fix - if they wanted it to be fixed. There are reward apps and programs all over the country and thousands of retailers that utilize them. This isn't a new idea, so something isn't right with that.

[Garrett]

I do think the most amusing part of this is that there's a Par 3 golf course in the mix. Like you have all of these pie-in-the-sky ideas and you just throw in a Par 3 course?

[Doctor Fate]

I saw that this morning and was going to post it, but got tied up.

A few questions I would have:
1.) Is the LEGO Arena constructed from LEGO bricks? Or, is it an arena designed to accommodate LEGO themed events only?
1a. How many people believe LEGO actually knows he stuck the LEGO brand name on the proposed drawing?
2.) The "furniture" retail space is obviously NOT an IKEA. Perhaps his idea is a CB2 or something similar. Granted, I doubt he could pull either one, but it's disappointing that he's not shooting for the stars here (and assuming we'd have all the Swedish meatballs we could ever want with an IKEA store).
3.) I'm interested in knowing who he supposedly has lined up for his "Luxe Retail" section. Why would any of them want to plant a store between what was recently an outlet mall and a ton of youth sporting facilities?
4.) It's surprising he'd want to utilize the same type of "village" setup that Disney has in Florida, when all of his conservative party friends have to be EXTREMELY against that. But I guess it's OK if it applies to something that could benefit him directly.
5.) Seems like 1/2 the expansion is named after Drew Brees... he's the same party that supposedly was going to open a restaurant or other business in the area by now, correct?

I'm all for bringing in new businesses, expanding options and supporting local sports, youth or professional. But IMO, it seems like he's simply throwing stuff at the wall waiting to see what will stick (and basically wondering who will get behind him to sell the local govt to give in to his requests).

I'd be interested to know if they bring up his inability to get other developments done at these meetings (ie, Crossroads). Or, if they mention the useless app that people say has never rewarded shoppers at NEX... ever. The app, BTW, should be a relatively simple fix - if they wanted it to be fixed. There are reward apps and programs all over the country and thousands of retailers that utilize them. This isn't a new idea, so something isn't right with that.

2) Johanna Boston told me years ago that they would for sure be getting Crate & Barrel, CB2, West Elm or a similar brand. But they've stopped name dropping them. There is no market that I'm aware of that has a CB2 but not a Crate & Barrel. I highly doubt they are getting any of these brands.
3) They have name dropped Louis Vuitton and Gucci. I believe they also said that they would have 100,000 square feet of luxury designer retail. The average designer store (LV, Gucci, Ferragamo, Chanel, Hermes, Dior, etc.) is around 7,000 sq ft. so this area would have 13 designer stores, which is a massive number for an area this size unless they were do go after lower tiers like Michael Kors, Kate Spade, or Coach all of which they already have. Johanna Boston never responded when I asked her about this one.

[almighty_tuna]

lol, Rod Yates is not a serious man.

[Bob from Omaha]

He may or may not be serious but the fact is that, and I'm not quoting Steve Jobs, you do need the dreamers. Without them you would be living in a much more boring time. Television, cel phones, hotels, food, on and on, are all the result of dreamers. Kemmons Wilson is on a business trip and decides that hotels for families are what's needed, so he builds one called Holiday Inn. No idea if it will succeed or not but runs with an idea. Yeah, dreamers fail a lot. Check out Shark Tank.

Rod is a kooky guy and may not be able to pull this off. He is getting others to consider the area though. Where is Omaha's theme park? How about a big water park? A music amphitheater? A major league sports team? Don't tell me Omaha is too small. A dreamer with access to money is what makes it happen. Mike Harper (whether you like what he did or not) took an abandoned battery plant and jobbers canyon and brought a couple of thousand jobs downtown AND helped make a park and a lake next to the riverfront. Without Harper none of that would be here today. Dreamer.

[Louie]

Mike's dream sucked

[Garrett]

He may or may not be serious but the fact is that, and I'm not quoting Steve Jobs, you do need the dreamers. Without them you would be living in a much more boring time. Television, cel phones, hotels, food, on and on, are all the result of dreamers. Kemmons Wilson is on a business trip and decides that hotels for families are what's needed, so he builds one called Holiday Inn. No idea if it will succeed or not but runs with an idea. Yeah, dreamers fail a lot. Check out Shark Tank.

Rod is a kooky guy and may not be able to pull this off. He is getting others to consider the area though. Where is Omaha's theme park? How about a big water park? A music amphitheater? A major league sports team? Don't tell me Omaha is too small. A dreamer with access to money is what makes it happen. Mike Harper (whether you like what he did or not) took an abandoned battery plant and jobbers canyon and brought a couple of thousand jobs downtown AND helped make a park and a lake next to the riverfront. Without Harper none of that would be here today. Dreamer.

OK so this ended up being a long rant, so this isn't directed at you so much as my general frustrations with Yates/I had a long week and need to get some rage out haha

I agree you need people with vision, but you also need consistency and the ability to deliver on that vision. I think Omaha has it's fair share of visionaries, whether its Jay Noddle or the Heistands transforming neighborhoods, or foundations like Heritage and Kiewit investing hundreds of millions into facilities to serve the public. They are dreamers who are able to follow through without overpromising on what they're doing.

But Yates is far from those visionaries. He flailed around with Crossroads for years and made increasingly big demands out of the city that led to him demanding subsidies and assistance that would have amounted to almost HALF of the financing for the development and then just walked away, leaving us with a hole in the ground at one of the most significant intersections in the city some 15+ years after plans were first announced for the site. He's since had some success with Nebraska Crossing, and that's great! But in my opinion, it's not really a development that shows vision. It has the architectural charm of the backside of a big box store, lacks any significant public space to host events or gatherings, and while it has had expansions, they all feel extremely tacked on because of the tight nature of the racetrack design. Compare its design to Village Pointe's, built a decade earlier, and it's clear Village Pointe is the winner. Even the trees are so poorly planted that they'll be dead before they grow into anything significant. And in Nebraska Crossing itself, he's having problems. There are multiple lawsuits against the property, ranging from unpaid landscapers to a non-functioning rewards program. He is actively |expletive| over both business partners and customers, but instead of addressing those issues, he wants more.

So now lets pivot to Nebraska Crossing/Big Ten/Athletic Crossing/Drew Brees Village & Spa. He started with a pretty reasonable vision of new retail and some high rise housing. You can see on the very first page of the thread that most of us, suburban skeptics and all, were cautiously optimistic about this project. But ever since that workable vision, the plan has expanded by 1,000 acres every few months, and has had a laundry list of definitely-happening-but-wait-just-kidding-they-aren't partners. Manchester City Soccer Academy! NHL Team! US Volleyball! A health campus! The Disneyland of Youth Sports! Whatever the heck a furniture district is! A partnership with the Big Ten that is becoming official in the next 30 days! And to do it, all he needs is for Gretna to agree to a non-negotiable (!) term sheet that includes a demand that they go through with a wildly illegal use of eminent domain because Yates's perfect vision can only be done by him. And when Gretna's attorney tells them that that the non-negotiable terms Yates is demanding are illegal, he walks away and has a 3rd consecutive hand crafted bill targeted specifically to him introduced in the legislature.

While many of us may disagree with you on your Mike Harper example, he at least was able to follow through with his visions. Rod Yates is no Mike Harper.

[Bob from Omaha]

Mike's dream sucked

And while it may have, without it it's entirely possible that the abandoned battery plant would still be sitting on the riverfront, jobbers canyon may or may not have been developed and downtown may be as desolate at night as it was when I was a teen. Yeah, it was a shame but what became of it is amazing.

[Bob from Omaha]

He may or may not be serious

OK so this ended up being a long rant, so this isn't directed at you so much as my general frustrations with Yates/I had a long week and need to get some rage out haha

I agree you need people with vision, but you also need consistency and the ability to deliver on that vision. I think Omaha has it's fair share of visionaries, whether its Jay Noddle or the Heistands transforming neighborhoods, or foundations like Heritage and Kiewit investing hundreds of millions into facilities to serve the public. They are dreamers who are able to follow through without overpromising on what they're doing.

But Yates is far from those visionaries. He flailed around with Crossroads for years and made increasingly big demands out of the city that led to him demanding subsidies and assistance that would have amounted to almost HALF of the financing for the development and then just walked away, leaving us with a hole in the ground at one of the most significant intersections in the city some 15+ years after plans were first announced for the site. He's since had some success with Nebraska Crossing, and that's great! But in my opinion, it's not really a development that shows vision. It has the architectural charm of the backside of a big box store, lacks any significant public space to host events or gatherings, and while it has had expansions, they all feel extremely tacked on because of the tight nature of the racetrack design. Compare its design to Village Pointe's, built a decade earlier, and it's clear Village Pointe is the winner. Even the trees are so poorly planted that they'll be dead before they grow into anything significant. And in Nebraska Crossing itself, he's having problems. There are multiple lawsuits against the property, ranging from unpaid landscapers to a non-functioning rewards program. He is actively |expletive| over both business partners and customers, but instead of addressing those issues, he wants more.

So now lets pivot to Nebraska Crossing/Big Ten/Athletic Crossing/Drew Brees Village & Spa. He started with a pretty reasonable vision of new retail and some high rise housing. You can see on the very first page of the thread that most of us, suburban skeptics and all, were cautiously optimistic about this project. But ever since that workable vision, the plan has expanded by 1,000 acres every few months, and has had a laundry list of definitely-happening-but-wait-just-kidding-they-aren't partners. Manchester City Soccer Academy! NHL Team! US Volleyball! A health campus! The Disneyland of Youth Sports! Whatever the heck a furniture district is! A partnership with the Big Ten that is becoming official in the next 30 days! And to do it, all he needs is for Gretna to agree to a non-negotiable (!) term sheet that includes a demand that they go through with a wildly illegal use of eminent domain because Yates's perfect vision can only be done by him. And when Gretna's attorney tells them that that the non-negotiable terms Yates is demanding are illegal, he walks away and has a 3rd consecutive hand crafted bill targeted specifically to him introduced in the legislature.

While many of us may disagree with you on your Mike Harper example, he at least was able to follow through with his visions. Rod Yates is no Mike Harper.

First of all, rant at me all you want. Just get in line with the rest.

I just deleted a couple of paragraphs of thoughts & responses. Yates is a kook and yes, he's no Mike Harper. On the other hand, with the exception of NEX, the rest of the development along I-80 for the most part is warehouses.

[Louie]

Mike's dream sucked

And while it may have, without it it's entirely possible that the abandoned battery plant would still be sitting on the riverfront, jobbers canyon may or may not have been developed and downtown may be as desolate at night as it was when I was a teen. Yeah, it was a shame but what became of it is amazing.

Its also entirely possible that jobbers canyon would have been rehabbed and be a really beautiful and interesting area.

[djc311]

He may or may not be serious but the fact is that, and I'm not quoting Steve Jobs, you do need the dreamers. Without them you would be living in a much more boring time. Television, cel phones, hotels, food, on and on, are all the result of dreamers. Kemmons Wilson is on a business trip and decides that hotels for families are what's needed, so he builds one called Holiday Inn. No idea if it will succeed or not but runs with an idea. Yeah, dreamers fail a lot. Check out Shark Tank.

Rod is a kooky guy and may not be able to pull this off. He is getting others to consider the area though. Where is Omaha's theme park? How about a big water park? A music amphitheater? A major league sports team? Don't tell me Omaha is too small. A dreamer with access to money is what makes it happen. Mike Harper (whether you like what he did or not) took an abandoned battery plant and jobbers canyon and brought a couple of thousand jobs downtown AND helped make a park and a lake next to the riverfront. Without Harper none of that would be here today. Dreamer.

OK so this ended up being a long rant, so this isn't directed at you so much as my general frustrations with Yates/I had a long week and need to get some rage out haha

I agree you need people with vision, but you also need consistency and the ability to deliver on that vision. I think Omaha has it's fair share of visionaries, whether its Jay Noddle or the Heistands transforming neighborhoods, or foundations like Heritage and Kiewit investing hundreds of millions into facilities to serve the public. They are dreamers who are able to follow through without overpromising on what they're doing.

But Yates is far from those visionaries. He flailed around with Crossroads for years and made increasingly big demands out of the city that led to him demanding subsidies and assistance that would have amounted to almost HALF of the financing for the development and then just walked away, leaving us with a hole in the ground at one of the most significant intersections in the city some 15+ years after plans were first announced for the site. He's since had some success with Nebraska Crossing, and that's great! But in my opinion, it's not really a development that shows vision. It has the architectural charm of the backside of a big box store, lacks any significant public space to host events or gatherings, and while it has had expansions, they all feel extremely tacked on because of the tight nature of the racetrack design. Compare its design to Village Pointe's, built a decade earlier, and it's clear Village Pointe is the winner. Even the trees are so poorly planted that they'll be dead before they grow into anything significant. And in Nebraska Crossing itself, he's having problems. There are multiple lawsuits against the property, ranging from unpaid landscapers to a non-functioning rewards program. He is actively |expletive| over both business partners and customers, but instead of addressing those issues, he wants more.

So now lets pivot to Nebraska Crossing/Big Ten/Athletic Crossing/Drew Brees Village & Spa. He started with a pretty reasonable vision of new retail and some high rise housing. You can see on the very first page of the thread that most of us, suburban skeptics and all, were cautiously optimistic about this project. But ever since that workable vision, the plan has expanded by 1,000 acres every few months, and has had a laundry list of definitely-happening-but-wait-just-kidding-they-aren't partners. Manchester City Soccer Academy! NHL Team! US Volleyball! A health campus! The Disneyland of Youth Sports! Whatever the heck a furniture district is! A partnership with the Big Ten that is becoming official in the next 30 days! And to do it, all he needs is for Gretna to agree to a non-negotiable (!) term sheet that includes a demand that they go through with a wildly illegal use of eminent domain because Yates's perfect vision can only be done by him. And when Gretna's attorney tells them that that the non-negotiable terms Yates is demanding are illegal, he walks away and has a 3rd consecutive hand crafted bill targeted specifically to him introduced in the legislature.

While many of us may disagree with you on your Mike Harper example, he at least was able to follow through with his visions. Rod Yates is no Mike Harper.

I would like to know what others' thoughts are here, specifically regarding Yates' abandonment of Crossroads. He legit pretty much left it as a "hole in the ground". Is that good developmental practice? Also, how do you expect to receive support when you pull moves like that?

I'd also like to know the thoughts on his app and apparent lack of interest in resolving the "issues" that supposedly can't be fixed... yet should be easily addressable. IMO, it seems he simply wants to keep the revenue; or, at least not share the revenue by redistributing it in the manner it was supposed to be (back to shoppers, thanking them for spending money at his development). Lastly, what about the lawsuits across multiple tenants (past or existing), along with the lawsuits from the landscape maintenance companies? If his argument on not paying the maintenance companies is that he doesn't believe they did the work right, that brings to mind one LARGE idiot that's notorious for pulling the same |expletive|.

Anyway, it's great that he has ideas... and I suppose if he throws his line into the river enough times, he'll get some bites. Doesn't mean it's going to work.

[Doctor Fate]

You guys need to remember that Rod Yates is one of five guys in the world who could pull this off (with the help of the city of Greta the state of Nebraska).

[djc311]

You guys need to remember that Rod Yates is one of five guys in the world who could pull this off (with the help of the city of Greta the state of Nebraska).

My apologies...

[Garrett]

As an addendum to my above post, here's a reminder of the Southport Outlets plan that was announced at right around the same as the NEX development but never got off the ground because NEX built first. You can't help but wonder if it would have been a better development. Omaha has missed having Cordish in the market a few times.

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