SEC 72nd & Farnam redevelopment

[Athomsfere]

The Rocket Carwash signs are gone and replaced with for lease signs.

Finally some good news for this area.

What's all the bad news that's been happening in that area?

The Library and the Crossroads in a suburban intersection.

If the city wants this to actually act as a usable, walkable and vibrant area: Not adding a carwash is a great move.

I guess I don't really view that area as the suburbs. Even if I did with so much going vertical and infill coming it is transforming away from that. A single car wash would not have really had an impact one way or the other IMO.

I consider it suburban in its development pattern. Its ~8 lanes to cross with parking lots everywhere. That's not how you design a truly vibrant urban area. It instead encourages anyone who wants to shop at Crossroads and check out the library to drive that distance.

And with the newest Crossroads plan of 1200 apartments: that's 30 people / acre: LRT in North America density. Past the point where most of the developed world would have plans for LRT or even medium rail. And it drives me mad that we are squandering this major project so badly.

[S.O.Boy]

The Rocket Carwash signs are gone and replaced with for lease signs.

Finally some good news for this area.

What's all the bad news that's been happening in that area?

The Library and the Crossroads in a suburban intersection.

If the city wants this to actually act as a usable, walkable and vibrant area: Not adding a carwash is a great move.

I guess I don't really view that area as the suburbs. Even if I did with so much going vertical and infill coming it is transforming away from that. A single car wash would not have really had an impact one way or the other IMO.

I consider it suburban in its development pattern. Its ~8 lanes to cross with parking lots everywhere. That's not how you design a truly vibrant urban area. It instead encourages anyone who wants to shop at Crossroads and check out the library to drive that distance.

I think even if what separated them was a 2 lane road with NO traffic, people would still drive .

[halgy]

The Rocket Carwash signs are gone and replaced with for lease signs.

Finally some good news for this area.

What's all the bad news that's been happening in that area?

The Library and the Crossroads in a suburban intersection.

If the city wants this to actually act as a usable, walkable and vibrant area: Not adding a carwash is a great move.

I guess I don't really view that area as the suburbs. Even if I did with so much going vertical and infill coming it is transforming away from that. A single car wash would not have really had an impact one way or the other IMO.

I consider it suburban in its development pattern. Its ~8 lanes to cross with parking lots everywhere. That's not how you design a truly vibrant urban area. It instead encourages anyone who wants to shop at Crossroads and check out the library to drive that distance.

And with the newest Crossroads plan of 1200 apartments: that's 30 people / acre: LRT in North America density. Past the point where most of the developed world would have plans for LRT or even medium rail. And it drives me mad that we are squandering this major project so badly.

How would we add LRT into Omaha? Is there way to add it into the existing space, or would we basically have to bulldoze a swath across the city?

[Athomsfere]

How would we add LRT into Omaha? Is there way to add it into the existing space, or would we basically have to bulldoze a swath across the city?

There are people here better able to answer than me, but from what I can see we have a few ways to do it without bulldozing buildings.

Depends on budget, commitment, and buy in from the city to act like an actual modern city.

These are ~50th and Dodge. Where building to building front is around 90 feet.

First option, cheapest.



Second option: Use the space from the swing lane to add modes and an elevated LRT with bypass as required.
Likely would cost almost as much as burying a line.


Third option would be to tunnel. A huge cost...

[Busguy2010]

The Rocket Carwash signs are gone and replaced with for lease signs.

Finally some good news for this area.

What's all the bad news that's been happening in that area?

The Library and the Crossroads in a suburban intersection.

If the city wants this to actually act as a usable, walkable and vibrant area: Not adding a carwash is a great move.

I guess I don't really view that area as the suburbs. Even if I did with so much going vertical and infill coming it is transforming away from that. A single car wash would not have really had an impact one way or the other IMO.

I consider it suburban in its development pattern. Its ~8 lanes to cross with parking lots everywhere. That's not how you design a truly vibrant urban area. It instead encourages anyone who wants to shop at Crossroads and check out the library to drive that distance.

And with the newest Crossroads plan of 1200 apartments: that's 30 people / acre: LRT in North America density. Past the point where most of the developed world would have plans for LRT or even medium rail. And it drives me mad that we are squandering this major project so badly.

How would we add LRT into Omaha? Is there way to add it into the existing space, or would we basically have to bulldoze a swath across the city?

I myself had two lines of thought. You technically could have light rail in the space Dodge street or 72nd occupy. Some examples of other cities that did it that way are Houston, Minneapolis, Detroit, and Phoenix. It's the ineffective way to do it, as there's always several, and I mean several interactions with vehicle crossings. These have caused numerous accidents and it limits the light rail's ability to move fast, which sorts defeats the purpose. It kind of just makes it a glorified streetcar, and that's not an effective form of mass transit. Plus as Athomsfere illustrated, it would mean giving up 60% of automobile capacity... I'm no expert, but I really don't think that would fly in Omaha.

My other thought was to align light rail in right of way next to the existing freight lines. Plenty of room there for two sets of rails. Just need to convince the freight companies to hand over some of their ROW. There's places that would need to be viaduct(ed), but in the scope of things, that's really not a big deal. Then the rest could be aligned in between, or next to lanes of interstate, freeway, or otherwise expansive roads, like I-80, Kennedy Freeway, West Dodge, Expressway, and Fort Crook Road. You can see my line of thinking here - Omaha Light Rail System Map
https://goo.gl/maps/wdvc24AuP73mNEaS9
The best example of a system utilizing this approach is Denver.

Then you get into actual, true rapid transit. These are actual subways, or elevated heavy rail rapid transit. Best examples here are the DC Metro, Miami-Dade Transit, the Red and Purple lines in LA, and the MARTA in Atlanta. They were all established in the 80's I believe. Think of them as modern subways. They are powered by third rail instead of catenary (overhead) power, and thus they cannot interact with cars or even people at any level, and as a result are faster by that default. They are the most effective form of rail transit, but also by far the most expensive.

[Dusty]

Do you think there is enough room to put a skinny apartment complex here? I would think a 5 or 6 story apartment would be great to add density over a car wash or strip mall.

With the location of it, they could target it towards college students. Minimal parking as there is no room for it. They could offer a car share program to rent when needed. Plus, Target is right down the street for grocery access.

[nebugeater]

Do you think there is enough room to put a skinny apartment complex here? I would think a 5 or 6 story apartment would be great to add density over a car wash or strip mall.

With the location of it, they could target it towards college students. Minimal parking as there is no room for it. They could offer a car share program to rent when needed. Plus, Target is right down the street for grocery access.

IMO, it is not the place I would want to live without a car,

[Dusty]

Do you think there is enough room to put a skinny apartment complex here? I would think a 5 or 6 story apartment would be great to add density over a car wash or strip mall.

With the location of it, they could target it towards college students. Minimal parking as there is no room for it. They could offer a car share program to rent when needed. Plus, Target is right down the street for grocery access.

IMO, it is not the place I would want to live without a car,

I respect your opinion, but like I said...we would be targeting students. These tenants wouldn't own a car. They are within walking distance to transit and bike distance to campus to ride to school.

Just because someone doesn't own a car, doesn't mean they never use cars. This is why I mentioned car share. You use cars when you need them verses owning and it sits unused 90% of the time.

[nebugeater]

Do you think there is enough room to put a skinny apartment complex here? I would think a 5 or 6 story apartment would be great to add density over a car wash or strip mall.

With the location of it, they could target it towards college students. Minimal parking as there is no room for it. They could offer a car share program to rent when needed. Plus, Target is right down the street for grocery access.

IMO, it is not the place I would want to live without a car,

I respect your opinion, but like I said...we would be targeting students. These tenants wouldn't own a car. They are within walking distance to transit and bike distance to campus to ride to school.

Just because someone doesn't own a car, doesn't mean they never use cars. This is why I mentioned car share. You use cars when you need them verses owning and it sits unused 90% of the time.

Fair enough. Even though I live in Gretna and commute daily, I get the no-car environment. In the right situation, I can see that being a win and something I would consider. This is just not the location for that, IMO.

[Dusty]

Do you think there is enough room to put a skinny apartment complex here? I would think a 5 or 6 story apartment would be great to add density over a car wash or strip mall.

With the location of it, they could target it towards college students. Minimal parking as there is no room for it. They could offer a car share program to rent when needed. Plus, Target is right down the street for grocery access.

IMO, it is not the place I would want to live without a car,

I respect your opinion, but like I said...we would be targeting students. These tenants wouldn't own a car. They are within walking distance to transit and bike distance to campus to ride to school.

Just because someone doesn't own a car, doesn't mean they never use cars. This is why I mentioned car share. You use cars when you need them verses owning and it sits unused 90% of the time.

Fair enough. Even though I live in Gretna and commute daily, I get the no-car environment. In the right situation, I can see that being a win and something I would consider. This is just not the location for that, IMO.

To each their own. I guess I see an apartment complex like the Swivel down the street. It's long and skinny in shape. Flip it into that space and right against the retaining wall. A big project like this is what the corridor needs to see more dense projects along 72nd. Hopefully, it would spark excitement where you would see former Firestone/Jimmy Johns/20's club developed, Petsmart's parking lot, and NFM to build a dense campus along 72nd.

[Brad]

I guess I see an apartment complex like the Swivel down the street. It's long and skinny in shape. Flip it into that space and right against the retaining wall.

Zoning will not allow that. The residential to the east is zoned R3, so there is a 30 foot landscape buffer along the east property line. Even if they re-zone the lot from CC to R6 or R7 it will still have the 30 foot landscape buffer. There are processes to possibly cut that buffer down some, but there will always be some buffer there. The lot is only 100' wide so whatever ends up there is going to be very skinny.

[daveoma]

I guess I see an apartment complex like the Swivel down the street. It's long and skinny in shape. Flip it into that space and right against the retaining wall.

Zoning will not allow that. The residential to the east is zoned R3, so there is a 30 foot landscape buffer along the east property line. Even if they re-zone the lot from CC to R6 or R7 it will still have the 30 foot landscape buffer. There are processes to possibly cut that buffer down some, but there will always be some buffer there. The lot is only 100' wide so whatever ends up there is going to be very skinny.

I assume the rule for the landscape buffer came into effect after the 311 S 72nd building was completed? That building appears to be almost flush against the retaining wall.

[S.O.Boy]

I guess I see an apartment complex like the Swivel down the street. It's long and skinny in shape. Flip it into that space and right against the retaining wall.

Zoning will not allow that. The residential to the east is zoned R3, so there is a 30 foot landscape buffer along the east property line. Even if they re-zone the lot from CC to R6 or R7 it will still have the 30 foot landscape buffer. There are processes to possibly cut that buffer down some, but there will always be some buffer there. The lot is only 100' wide so whatever ends up there is going to be very skinny.

I assume the rule for the landscape buffer came into effect after the 311 S 72nd building was completed? That building appears to be almost flush against the retaining wall.

Year Built 1956. You have that right.

[Brad]

The old Arby's is currently on fire...

[S.O.Boy]

Those buildings will be trouble until they are torn down.

[S.O.Boy]

There is equipment by the old Arby's. Demolition?

[Brad]

There is equipment by the old Arby's. Demolition?

It wasn't there this evening. Building looks the same as it did after the fire.

I did see a couple guys behind the building the other day. Didn't see any cars around so I kind of assumed they were homeless.

[djc311]

There is equipment by the old Arby's. Demolition?

Perhaps Mega Saver is planting a store there since they won't be able to sell booze at the 72nd & Dodge store. This way, their customers can simply stumble down the sidewalk to Farnam(ish) to get their fix.

[Louie]

There is equipment by the old Arby's. Demolition?

Perhaps Mega Saver is planting a store there since they won't be able to sell booze at the 72nd & Dodge store. This way, their customers can simply stumble down the sidewalk to Farnam(ish) to get their fix.

Like the Hyvee on 96th had their next door liquor store for years.

[S.O.Boy]

There is equipment by the old Arby's. Demolition?

It wasn't there this evening. Building looks the same as it did after the fire.

I did see a couple guys behind the building the other day. Didn't see any cars around so I kind of assumed they were homeless.

Went past it today. Building looks untouched. I did see what looks like fresh soil in front, but didn't where it came from.

[MTO]

Probably just a squatter, but there is a tractor trailer in the parking lot now.

[MTO]

The blue and white building is gonzo.

[Padre]

The old Arby’s has been torn down.

[Brad]

I’ll need to check the building permits on this later, but there is some sort of work going on in this building right now. Hopefully they’re gutting it, prepping it for demo…

[Brad]

I’ll need to check the building permits on this later, but there is some sort of work going on in this building right now. Hopefully they’re gutting it, prepping it for demo…

No permits of any kind, so must be prepping for demo?

[S.O.Boy]

Appears asbestos removal is going on.

[meliketrains]

This entire southeast stretch of land is such a nightmare. Frankly, the southwest side isn't great either. Part of the problem comes from the depth of the lot, but in general, you just have this insane high-traffic area that is inherently anti-pedestrian. The "responsible" thing to do is add density, or maybe some needed public utility, but then if you don't address the traffic and stroad issue, you're basically putting people in harm's way.

I have no idea what the long-term solution is going to be to 72nd and Dodge (or really Dodge entirely). Some form of mass transit seems inevitable. I do know that whatever the City decides, this intersection is going to dominate the discussion.

[locoluke]

This entire southeast stretch of land is such a nightmare. Frankly, the southwest side isn't great either. Part of the problem comes from the depth of the lot, but in general, you just have this insane high-traffic area that is inherently anti-pedestrian. The "responsible" thing to do is add density, or maybe some needed public utility, but then if you don't address the traffic and stroad issue, you're basically putting people in harm's way.

I have no idea what the long-term solution is going to be to 72nd and Dodge (or really Dodge entirely). Some form of mass transit seems inevitable. I do know that whatever the City decides, this intersection is going to dominate the discussion.

The hardest part with Dodge is that because it’s a US Highway, you have to deal with the DOT as well. I would think the only way you might be able to get away with a diet on Dodge is to expand I-80 to handle the traffic diverted off of Dodge. Ideally, you would convert the reduced traffic almost entirely into transit ridership, but this is the same city that is building a 15 story parking garage in conjunction with its streetcar project. We like talking about promoting sustainable and active transportation, but god forbid you do anything that makes it harder to drive anywhere.

[buildomaha]

If Omahans can figure out how to navigate the insane levels of construction on nearly every major thoroughfare at the same time, I think they’ll be fine with some roadspace converted for transit priority…

[Busguy2010]

If Omahans can figure out how to navigate the insane levels of construction on nearly every major thoroughfare at the same time, I think they’ll be fine with some roadspace converted for transit priority…

I don't think they would. The lowest hanging fruit at this very moment would be to convert the curb lanes between 69th and 99th, or even just 84th to 99th, to transit lanes. I can hear the crying already.

Wouldn't help the bus or car traffic. All it would do is make the bus look a little more effective, and upset off 98% of the people who drive Dodge.

[Toto]

Appears asbestos removal is going on.

Need to remove the asbestos and homeless at the same time. Can't wait for this eyesore to disappear. Wish they would go all the way to Howard so that ugly car dealership would go away too. The retaining wall behind this property needs a redo too.

[Busguy2010]

Appears asbestos removal is going on.

Need to remove the asbestos and homeless at the same time. Can't wait for this eyesore to disappear. Wish they would go all the way to Howard so that ugly car dealership would go away too. The retaining wall behind this property needs a redo too.

Yep, regularly see people climbing in through the broken glass. I dont even want to think about all the needles, trash, human waste, etc that would be in there. Probably like Kensington Ave in there.

[Brad]

Two alarm fire in this building last night:

[Padre]

Two alarm fire in this building last night:

Why am I not surprised?!

[Brad]

Why am I not surprised?!

With all the junk piled up in shopping carts on the south end of the building, I'm sure there were homeless living in the building.

[Padre]

Why am I not surprised?!

With all the junk piled up in shopping carts on the south end of the building, I'm sure there were homeless living in the building.

It was about a year and a half ago that the old Arby’s building next door caught fire. Likely the same reason.

[Brad]

They were demolishing this building earlier today. I'll try to get a photo this evening.

[Brad]

Photos from this evening:

1.

20250926881A4607.jpg

2.

20250926881A4612.jpg

[Busguy2010]

Good riddance.

Is this a response to the fire? Or were whomever owns it going to continue dragging their feet, and the fire was the prompt? Orrrrrr, could it have been purposeful? Wouldn't doubt that for a sec.

[GenX]

Looks like what remains is there to support the rear wall of the building, which is also the retaining wall.