Developer Morton Braiker, architect Charles Wilscam and contractor Robert Lueder talk about celebrating New Year’s Eve 1986 in a $40 million, 27-story hotel and parking structure they have proposed for downtown Omaha.
The three presented their proposal to Mayor Boyle last week who will decide what use will be made of city property once occupied by the Fontenelle Hotel and the Interim City Hall. The half-block site is on 18th Street between Dodge and Douglas Streets.
Lueder said Boyle indicated he would make a decision soon on whether to sell the property to Braiker or to the Woodmen of the World Insurance Co. Price tag on the property to any developer would be $650,000.
The Woodmen of the World has proposed construction of a six- to eight-story parking structure that would contain retail shops on the first floor and 650 parking stalls on the remaining floors.
Braiker said the 616,000 square-foot structure he proposes would have a 360-room hotel constructed on top of a 572-stall parking structure.
The building would have space for retail shops and would include two hotel floors with convention facilities, both with open-air terraces.
Elevators to the hotel rooms would be glass-encased and would be constructed on the exterior of the building, facing the Missouri River.
Braiker said marketing studies indicate a new hotel “would be very feasible” in downtown Omaha.
Lueder said a recent government study, by the Department of Housing and Urban Development, reported that Omaha was one of eight major U.S. cities needing more hotel space in its downtown area.
The Woodmen of the World proposal would be financed by the insurance company. Braiker, who developed the Braiker-Brandeis Building at 16th and Douglas Streets, said he would line up financing for his proposal by Jan. 1.
The hotel project could be financed by one of several methods, he said, including sale of tax-exempt bonds, a Federal Urban Development Action Grant and private funds.
If the city selects the Braiker proposal, Wilscam said a final development plan could be delivered to the city by Dec. 31.
Designing the building would require six months and construction would take about 2½ years, he said.
Lueder said he is studying the question of whether the parking garage could be put into use before the hotel was completed.
I read several of the follow up articles on this hotel proposal and it seems as though it was doomed because initially they were going to be granted a special tax exemption which angered the Red Lion Hotel downtown. Red Lion then threatened to just close their hotel entirely stating they couldn’t compete and the tax incentive offer was revoked.
