The Carnac Apartments - Former WOWT Bldg (3501 Farnam St)

[Brad]

These are just more apartments that people in west Omaha will never use, just like the streetcar. #StopTheApartments

I know you’re being sarcastic, but every single time grow Omaha posts anything about apartments the amount of hate that rolls in is just crazy. There’s a big anti-apartment crowd and there’s also a big “New apartments aren’t affordable“ crowd.

[Garrett]

Ah so it's a residential only mixed-use. Wonder what happened to the Leo A Daly rumor. Perhaps in the mutual redevelopment?

[Big E]

These are just more apartments that people in west Omaha will never use, just like the streetcar. #StopTheApartments

I know you’re being sarcastic, but every single time grow Omaha posts anything about apartments the amount of hate that rolls in is just crazy. There’s a big anti-apartment crowd and there’s also a big “New apartments aren’t affordable“ crowd.

Loookng forward to five spam texts a day regarding Boondoggle Flats.

[stormchaser]

Wow, another great project for Midtown! Its amazing what the streetcar has done without a single piece of track in the ground yet. Way to go Omaha.

Tell that to Mike McDonnell.

Right? Just based on this idiotic stance alone I won’t vote for the guy…

[almighty_tuna]

These are just more apartments that people in west Omaha will never use, just like the streetcar. #StopTheApartments

I know you’re being sarcastic, but every single time grow Omaha posts anything about apartments the amount of hate that rolls in is just crazy. There’s a big anti-apartment crowd and there’s also a big “New apartments aren’t affordable“ crowd.

I get the affordability aspect, but blanket anti-apartment is strange to me.

[stormchaser]

These are just more apartments that people in west Omaha will never use, just like the streetcar. #StopTheApartments

I know you’re being sarcastic, but every single time grow Omaha posts anything about apartments the amount of hate that rolls in is just crazy. There’s a big anti-apartment crowd and there’s also a big “New apartments aren’t affordable“ crowd.

I get the affordability aspect, but blanket anti-apartment is strange to me.

Or the blanket anti-development people in general. I’ll never understand that mentality.

[Nebraska>Iowa]

These are just more apartments that people in west Omaha will never use, just like the streetcar. #StopTheApartments

I know you’re being sarcastic, but every single time grow Omaha posts anything about apartments the amount of hate that rolls in is just crazy. There’s a big anti-apartment crowd and there’s also a big “New apartments aren’t affordable“ crowd.

I get the affordability aspect, but blanket anti-apartment is strange to me.

Or the blanket anti-development people in general. I’ll never understand that mentality.

A city either grows or dies. There is no staying the same.

[cpmoore1984]

I never post, but couldn't help. I fail to understand how people cannot grasp supply and demand? What company benefits from building something they cannot sell? Rent hasn't skyrocketed because renters decided they were OK with paying more for rent.

[MadJack]

I never post, but couldn't help. I fail to understand how people cannot grasp supply and demand? What company benefits from building something they cannot sell? Rent hasn't skyrocketed because renters decided they were OK with paying more for rent.

Exactly. Developers build what they can lease or sell.

Also, developers don't necessarily have anything against affordable housing. It's just that you can't construct new affordable housing without heavy government subsidies. The cost of land, materials and labor are simply too much. To make matters worse, dealing with the government (in order to get those subsidies) is burdensome enough that a lot of builders simply don't find the juice worth the squeeze. If I put myself in their shoes, I frankly don't blame them. That's too bad, because we obviously have an affordability crisis in every major U.S. city.

[Doctor Fate]

Ah so it's a residential only mixed-use. Wonder what happened to the Leo A Daly rumor. Perhaps in the mutual redevelopment?

Fingers crossed. I hope that’s the case.

[F0R_L1F3]

This building has needed something over it for quite some time especially with the Blackstone Plaza renovation! Great to see that it's going to fill in with some more apartments and bring some more density to the area. Gonna be great with the Mutual redevelopment as well to have the two neighborhoods against each other. I know Blackstone Plaza has had a few shops opening up, hopefully this spurs more along this area of Blackstone also.

[Garrett]

I never post, but couldn't help. I fail to understand how people cannot grasp supply and demand? What company benefits from building something they cannot sell? Rent hasn't skyrocketed because renters decided they were OK with paying more for rent.

Exactly. Developers build what they can lease or sell.

Also, developers don't necessarily have anything against affordable housing. It's just that you can't construct new affordable housing without heavy government subsidies. The cost of land, materials and labor are simply too much. To make matters worse, dealing with the government (in order to get those subsidies) is burdensome enough that a lot of builders simply don't find the juice worth the squeeze. If I put myself in their shoes, I frankly don't blame them. That's too bad, because we obviously have an affordability crisis in every major U.S. city.

It’s tough. Even in New York City, one of the most expensive real estate markets in the world, developers need subsidies to be able to build, including tax abatements that can last as long as 40 years. That said, they also get more credits and density bonuses for setting aside a portion of their units for affordable housing.

Omaha is fairly generous with TIF. This project alone is getting $15 million on a $45 million total budget. It could be workable to add full blown requirements to the existing program, or give additional TIF bonuses for setting aside a portion of their developed units as affordable.

[skinzfan23]

Online it’s always that syndrome, everyone complains that Omaha or any other area has nothing to do. Along comes a proposal for a new office tower, apts, children’s museum, waterpark, streetcar…..everyone is against all of it and “I don’t want my tax dollars going towards that….i will never use that….I don’t want that in my neighborhood”

Sometimes it’s so hard to tell what reality is. A simple point is the waterpark in Bellevue. I have posted on our neighborhood page about it, just stating facts, and it’s ridiculous the amount of hate I have gotten. On the bright side, there have been several others that are supportive of knowing what’s going on.

[GenX]

These are just more apartments that people in west Omaha will never use, just like the streetcar. #StopTheApartments

I know you’re being sarcastic, but every single time grow Omaha posts anything about apartments the amount of hate that rolls in is just crazy. There’s a big anti-apartment crowd and there’s also a big “New apartments aren’t affordable“ crowd.

I get the affordability aspect, but blanket anti-apartment is strange to me.

Or the blanket anti-development people in general. I’ll never understand that mentality.

A city either grows or dies. There is no staying the same.

A city without construction is a dying one.

[Toto]

Another feather in the cap of Stothert and the streetcar. Glad the put the streetcar front and center in the rendering.

[stadsborgare]

Increasing the housing stock is the best way of making housing more affordable overall. It's the law of supply and demand, right? Demand for housing is going up, so you have to increase the supply if you have any hope of keeping this city affordable.

Sure, maybe some can't afford to live on the streetcar route or downtown or some other very desirable neighborhood, but those moving into these new units will be moving out of their old units to do so - creating vacancies in the old units.

If you want a city where the working poor can't afford to live anywhere in the city limits, then don't build new housing.

[halgy]

Online it’s always that syndrome, everyone complains that Omaha or any other area has nothing to do. Along comes a proposal for a new office tower, apts, children’s museum, waterpark, streetcar…..everyone is against all of it and “I don’t want my tax dollars going towards that….i will never use that….I don’t want that in my neighborhood”

The rhetoric is simultaneously "I don't want this in my neighborhood" and "this isn't near me and I'll never use it, so I'm against it". All while complaining that "there's nothing to do in Omaha". These people aren't NIMBYs (not in my back yard), they're BANANAS (build absolutely nothing anywhere near anything), and they drive me nuts.

This development isn't anything special, but it should fit nicely into the neighborhood. I hope we keep seeing more like it.

[GenX]

This development isn't anything special, but it should fit nicely into the neighborhood. I hope we keep seeing more like it.

Agreed, and as they said, it would have been half the size without the streetcar due to the otherwise additional parking requirements.

[BuildTaller]

Really, y'all excited over another 4 over 1?

[skinzfan23]

Really, y'all excited over another 4 over 1?

I think we all would like to see more, but compared to what was there and adding 180 more units, I'll take it.

[Garrett]

Really, y'all excited over another 4 over 1?

Not every development needs to be a show stopper. This will help stitch together MTC/The Mutual Campus to Blackstone, and we’re expecting pretty big things out of the Mutual Campus redevelopment, so smaller things to fill in the area around it are good

[stormchaser]

Really, y'all excited over another 4 over 1?

$45 million dollar investment vs $0 and an empty building...

[GenX]

Really, y'all excited over another 4 over 1?

Compared to the previously proposed 2-story building with a parking lot? Absolutely!

[skinzfan23]

Just bringing in a little higher definition rendering

[Dusty]

I agree. it's some nice density that help spur more development. Any mention of the breakdown of the 180 units? All studios? Blend of 1 and 2 bedrooms?

[Renovator2559]

Not bad on this project, I just hope that there are more finer details to this buildings design but I imagine these are preliminary renderings

Online it’s always that syndrome, everyone complains that Omaha or any other area has nothing to do. Along comes a proposal for a new office tower, apts, children’s museum, waterpark, streetcar…..everyone is against all of it and “I don’t want my tax dollars going towards that….i will never use that….I don’t want that in my neighborhood”

Sometimes it’s so hard to tell what reality is. A simple point is the waterpark in Bellevue. I have posted on our neighborhood page about it, just stating facts, and it’s ridiculous the amount of hate I have gotten. On the bright side, there have been several others that are supportive of knowing what’s going on.

We have to remember that people are coming out of the brainwashing that was pushed during the 1950s propaganda by GM and other car companies to glamorize car centricity and demonize density. Its not that cars are bad, they have their benefits but how we put the car on a pedestal, over people was detrimental.

People that despise high density projects like these, just need exposure and to be informed, so that they realize that walkable neighborhoods with density are old traditional urban methods; methods that have been tested for millenia.

I thought Grow Omaha did a great job on the episode two weeks ago, in informing the public on how important the health of our downtown is.
We are coming through on this, because Even far flung suburbanites that I talk to, are waking up to the reality, that we need vibrant walkable neighborhoods, not clogged concrete jungles of nothing more than concrete and parking lots; that keep drivers perpetually behind the wheel with ever increasing long commutes.

If it wasn't for Grow Omaha, we would be like Des Moines and Tulsa, who don't have an urban developer channel like we do. Which they wish they had but they don't.

When I look at other peer cities, its often more challenging to find anything on their projects, since they tend to be mostly covered by their local news.

I'm always impressed at the level of reporting that Grow Omaha provides in addition to our local news, so easy to find search results in anything Omaha developments with frequent updates. They are doing a great job in informing the public and turning skeptics into supporters of making the urban core stronger and attractive.

[MadJack]

Really, y'all excited over another 4 over 1?

Absolutely! It's a heck of a lot better than a vacant, 2-story former television studio.

[F0R_L1F3]

Not bad on this project, I just hope that there are more finer details to this buildings design but I imagine these are preliminary renderings

Online it’s always that syndrome, everyone complains that Omaha or any other area has nothing to do. Along comes a proposal for a new office tower, apts, children’s museum, waterpark, streetcar…..everyone is against all of it and “I don’t want my tax dollars going towards that….i will never use that….I don’t want that in my neighborhood”

Sometimes it’s so hard to tell what reality is. A simple point is the waterpark in Bellevue. I have posted on our neighborhood page about it, just stating facts, and it’s ridiculous the amount of hate I have gotten. On the bright side, there have been several others that are supportive of knowing what’s going on.

We have to remember that people are coming out of the brainwashing that was pushed during the 1950s propaganda by GM and other car companies to glamorize car centricity and demonize density. Its not that cars are bad, they have their benefits but how we put the car on a pedestal, over people was detrimental.

People that despise high density projects like these, just need exposure and to be informed, so that they realize that walkable neighborhoods with density are old traditional urban methods; methods that have been tested for millenia.

I thought Grow Omaha did a great job on the episode two weeks ago, in informing the public on how important the health of our downtown is.
We are coming through on this, because Even far flung suburbanites that I talk to, are waking up to the reality, that we need vibrant walkable neighborhoods, not clogged concrete jungles of nothing more than concrete and parking lots; that keep drivers perpetually behind the wheel with ever increasing long commutes.

If it wasn't for Grow Omaha, we would be like Des Moines and Tulsa, who don't have an urban developer channel like we do. Which they wish they had but they don't.

When I look at other peer cities, its often more challenging to find anything on their projects, since they tend to be mostly covered by their local news.

I'm always impressed at the level of reporting that Grow Omaha provides in addition to our local news, so easy to find search results in anything Omaha developments with frequent updates. They are doing a great job in informing the public and turning skeptics into supporters of making the urban core stronger and attractive.

They have worked on other projects such as Blackstone Corner and have done a few renovations to some older buildings throughout the district. They are pretty basic but they aren't that bad though, much better then some I would say. I'm sure it'll turn out decent, probably something on par with Blackstone Corner but with a much darker scheme since it's right next to Blackstone Plaza.

Though, i agree with you. Grow Omaha is continuing to increase it's footprint and I have noticed that as well. Even with people who disagree on the concept of walkable neighborhoods, merely just the presence of a group like them helps out with gaining more traction for support of these projects. They update the website very quickly and that's awesome when new projects are added on a daily because it really shows you the momentum in the city. Their articles as well such as their transportation one comparing other cities and the future of Omaha is great. The way it's organized I think is awesome and really is a step forward in changing the behavior and mentality people have on projects like these. You show them a true image about the momentum and it's benefits. And much better then somebody stumbling across a forum like the subreddit who can't grasp the basic understanding most of the time of concepts like TIF or the benefits of the streetcar from companies like Mutual.

[Athomsfere]

Really, y'all excited over another 4 over 1?

Also minor gripe: 5 over 1.

It isn't about the floor count, but the material choices required to get the height and density needed for less money.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/5-over-1

[GenX]

Really, y'all excited over another 4 over 1?

Also minor gripe: 5 over 1.

It isn't about the floor count, but the material choices required to get the height and density needed for less money.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/5-over-1

No. The linked article even has example photos of buildings labeled as a 4-over-1 and a 3-over-1. The first number is the number of combustible floors (used to be 4, but currently limited to a maximum of 5 per IBC) above a concrete podium, which is typically used for parking. People don't go around calling a 4-over-1 a 5-over-1 to be grammatically correct and they'll just assume you can't count.

If we need a common term to settle on, we can go with podium building.

[ita]

Just a thought about the height/number of floors for this development. While I am also in the camp of "it should be taller", I was thinking that maybe they are trying to preserve some sightlines for tenants/users of Blackstone Plaza. Lund Sr. owns or manages that building. It would make sense to me that he wouldn't want a huge 8+ story building blocking views of upper level tenants.

[Dusty]

Just a thought about the height/number of floors for this development. While I am also in the camp of "it should be taller", I was thinking that maybe they are trying to preserve some sightlines for tenants/users of Blackstone Plaza. Lund Sr. owns or manages that building. It would make sense to me that he wouldn't want a huge 8+ story building blocking views of upper level tenants.

I think they could have gone up to 8 floors and still not obstruct the views for the upper tenants in Blackstone Plaza. Maybe they were just trying to keep cost down since they were applying for TIF. Regardless, standing at street level will still bring a strong presence.

In a way, this is development becomes a kickstarter for the other lots around it. The gamechanger is the massive surface lot behind Crescent Moon. This lot is so big you could build tall density around the outside perimeter. This leaves the center for a plaza or courtyard space. Lots of possibilities, but this is a good start!

[skinzfan23]

In a way, this is development becomes a kickstarter for the other lots around it. The gamechanger is the massive surface lot behind Crescent Moon. This lot is so big you could build tall density around the outside perimeter. This leaves the center for a plaza or courtyard space. Lots of possibilities, but this is a good start!
[/quote]
I just hope that they don't try to develop that lot as one project. Could easily be divided into several huge projects.

[GenX]

Just a thought about the height/number of floors for this development. While I am also in the camp of "it should be taller", I was thinking that maybe they are trying to preserve some sightlines for tenants/users of Blackstone Plaza. Lund Sr. owns or manages that building. It would make sense to me that he wouldn't want a huge 8+ story building blocking views of upper level tenants.

I think they could have gone up to 8 floors and still not obstruct the views for the upper tenants in Blackstone Plaza. Maybe they were just trying to keep cost down since they were applying for TIF. Regardless, standing at street level will still bring a strong presence.

In a way, this is development becomes a kickstarter for the other lots around it. The gamechanger is the massive surface lot behind Crescent Moon. This lot is so big you could build tall density around the outside perimeter. This leaves the center for a plaza or courtyard space. Lots of possibilities, but this is a good start!

I've always thought that north side of Farnam between 35th & 36th would be prime for development, though it would come at the cost of losing Crescent Moon and it's neighbors; however, looking at it from above, there's plenty of room for both the current tenants and a large development on the scale of 37 Farnam.

[buildomaha]

I am not personally worried about building height along the streetcar route. Density is what matters.

Omaha should look at legalizing single stair apartment buildings. There is precedent for safe, single stair building types in Europe. Denver is looking into single stair multifamily , and we should be right there with them. Omaha’s housing costs have followed the trend of coastal cities in recent years, and we should be looking for any opportunity to keep our housing affordable.

[ita]

I am not personally worried about building height along the streetcar route. Density is what matters.

Omaha should look at legalizing single stair apartment buildings. There is precedent for safe, single stair building types in Europe. Denver is looking into single stair multifamily , and we should be right there with them. Omaha’s housing costs have followed the trend of coastal cities in recent years, and we should be looking for any opportunity to keep our housing affordable.

I have looked into this previously as well. Single stair buildings allow for increased density because of how architects can design floorplans that use more square footage. We generally need double stairs once your over three stories. Some places allow single stairs up to 20 stories.

That would be a welcomed change to Omaha's building code.

[Cermak]

Looks like a good project. Will help with density, Blackstone is already the densest part of Omaha I believe. At least it seems like it to me.

[Louie]

Looks like a good project. Will help with density, Blackstone is already the densest part of Omaha I believe. At least it seems like it to me.

I think you are correct as far as people per sq mile for residential.

[Garrett]

On GrowOmaha, they pretty firmly implied that Leo A Daly is still looking for a site in the area. They also hinted at a lot of other major projects in the corridor that they know about but can’t say anything about yet.

[HskrFanMike]

In a way, this is development becomes a kickstarter for the other lots around it. The gamechanger is the massive surface lot behind Crescent Moon. This lot is so big you could build tall density around the outside perimeter. This leaves the center for a plaza or courtyard space. Lots of possibilities, but this is a good start!

That lot is Mutual's, and is probably slotted for redevelopment after Mutual moves downtown along with the rest of the property. Presuming that Mutual will be tearing everything other than the parking garages down.