The Breakers Apartments - Old Power Plant

the1wags · Post by **the1wags** » Fri Sep 29, 2006 3:37 am

Been thinking about an area with HUGE potential for Omaha, what I'd call the south riverfront.

Here is a Google Earth image of the area in question.

--EDIT: The photos that were removed by tiny pic are in Brad's post, 2 posts below with some writing about a hill on it.

Here is a start on the planning.

Long story short, Riverfront development between ConAgra and Ameristar.

As you can can see, both Omaha and Council Bluffs would build marinas. The purple line is relocated rail just inside the dike.

The red line is a continuation of the bike trail and yes, a second Ped bridge. Forming a large loop for biking, etc.

Light Blue areas in CB are primary development areas, Condos, shops, etc. Areas in Yellow and green on the Omaha side are also mixed use development.

For the old powerplant, think Baltimore, they have an old power plant (I think) on their shore that is now shops and whatnot. Pics anyone?

The area in green (Conagra and UP Harriman lots) get replaced with garages with ground level uses (of course) to tie the area into the Old Market.

Anyways, more later, gotta hit the hay. Discuss.

Coyote · Post by **Coyote** » Fri Sep 29, 2006 3:42 am

Definite possibilities there. I think the train rail would dictate what could happen here on the Nebraska side. 'Back to the River' should be more active in these areas that you outlined!

Post by **Brad** » Fri Sep 29, 2006 3:47 am

I love the Idea of the bike loop.

I don't think you should worry about the rail line. Its at the bottom of a large hill. I think you could build on top of the hill and bridge the rail area to the marina.

Coyote · Post by **Coyote** » Fri Sep 29, 2006 4:02 am

I haven't skulked that area much so I don't really know how the rails affect this area. After 9th & Pacific the area turns into industrial oblivion. That elongated white triangle is for sale right now. Total concrete. Most of this area is zoned industrial. That land use thought would have to change.

Post by **Brad** » Fri Sep 29, 2006 4:06 am

Here is one I started months ago:

I was checking out some property in the "Little Itally" area and I stumbled across this. While its probably nothing it has HUGE potential.

All the land is owned by Riverview Properties LLC. Can you Imagine the potential here. You have a huge tract the overlooks the river.

Coyote · Post by **Coyote** » Fri Sep 29, 2006 4:16 am

Brad - could you identify what is here marked Green, Red and Pink?

Post by **Brad** » Fri Sep 29, 2006 4:20 am

Red is Little Itally (Caniglia's)

Green Is th Geovana

Pink is all land owned by Riverview Properties LLC

Coyote · Post by **Coyote** » Fri Sep 29, 2006 4:26 am

OK - out of ignorance - or laziness - who is Riverview Properties LLC?
And - why do they have all this land?

adam186 · Post by **adam186** » Fri Sep 29, 2006 4:29 am

Great potential. "Garunteed Unobstructed Views" are HUGE right now and a great selling point.

When I get things rolling in my career and start developing I want to use many of you forumers. There is such passion and vision for Omaha on this site it's not even funny.

Post by **Brad** » Fri Sep 29, 2006 4:30 am

Coyote wrote:OK - out of ignorance - or laziness - who is Riverview Properties LLC?
And - why do they have all this land?

I don't know, I started that other thread trying to find out, but no answer. Try using your magical internet skills and see what you come up with, I ran in to a dead end.

Coyote · Post by **Coyote** » Fri Sep 29, 2006 4:31 am

If I could buy the Postal Annex - View?... I am in the wrong business.

Post by **Omaha Cowboy** » Fri Sep 29, 2006 4:30 pm

This is good stuff Josh..And a point that was made earlier..The area has so much potential..

I think the 'vision' is for the entire Omaha metro to have an active and vibrant riverfront stretching from the Castaway Pointe project in Plattsmouth..To the Pedestrian Bridge north of DT Omaha..

Just imagine an active and continuous 25 mile stretch of river front..Now that's a tasty thought..

..

..Ciao..LiO....Peace

MTO · Post by **MTO** » Fri Sep 29, 2006 4:33 pm

A helping hand may be needed to jump start all this. So maybe Lou could pull some "banking strings".

Post by **Omaha Cowboy** » Fri Sep 29, 2006 4:41 pm

Unfortunately I don't pull any pursestrings..Just my own..

But I'm sure a power guest or 2 on our forum will see your suggetion..And perhaps give it serious consideration..And who knows..Perhaps something is already in the works..

..Ciao..LiO....Peace

MTO · Post by **MTO** » Fri Sep 29, 2006 4:44 pm

I can just imagine how big our summer crowds will be during the festivals. We already get 100,000 just imagine them after all this.
And all those 200lb dogs walking around.

the1wags · Post by **the1wags** » Fri Sep 29, 2006 5:13 pm

Yeah the potential of the area is MEGA to say the least. I'm thinking long term planning needs to take place, I'm thinking out prolly 10+ years here, but need to start the ideas now.

I know some people would freak about the idea of two ped bridges, but to create a "riverloop" would be amazing, IMO. With full buildout of the area with condos/apartments, entertainment, resturants, the new marinas, etc, you'd see hundreds if not thousands of people on the riverfront on the weekends.

Hopefully there could be a large chunk of fed money, with the area being industrial for years, there probably needs to be enviro cleanup and things like that.

I'll have more detail on these plans later.

MTO · Post by **MTO** » Fri Sep 29, 2006 5:16 pm

With cool Omaha T-shirts. Showing our picks. Just thinking of all the fascist that are involved with something like this is amazing.

Post by **Brad** » Thu May 08, 2008 1:20 pm

Southern riverfront project eyed

http://www.omaha.com/index.php?u_page=1 ... d=10329585

TOM SHAW WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITER wrote:More condos and office space could overlook the Missouri River under a plan to develop a former power plant south of Leavenworth Street.

The Omaha Public Power District no longer uses the shuttered Jones Street power station, which sits on seven acres between Sixth Street and the river.

Under the plan approved Wednesday by the Omaha Planning Board, the city and OPPD would work together to bring residential and commercial space to the site.

The plan now goes to the Omaha City Council for approval, probably next month.

Pete Festersen, Planning Board chairman, said he was pleased with the idea.

"I think this is another significant opportunity for redevelopment," he said.

The area had been one of the sites that a special committee considered for a downtown baseball stadium. But problems were posed by the lack of street access and the proximity to railroad tracks and a newer OPPD power station.

Erik · Post by **Erik** » Thu May 08, 2008 3:11 pm

So is this the big one? or is that still by tomorrow?

Post by **Brad** » Thu May 08, 2008 3:16 pm

Erik wrote:So is this the big one? or is that still by tomorrow?

Big What?

agibson95 · Post by **agibson95** » Thu May 08, 2008 3:32 pm

Brad wrote:
Erik wrote:So is this the big one? or is that still by tomorrow?

Hopefully this isnt the "big one". I still have my fingers crossed for the Tornado Tower

Erik · Post by **Erik** » Thu May 08, 2008 3:53 pm

Brad wrote:
Erik wrote:So is this the big one? or is that still by tomorrow?
Big What?

Big, as in the Fahey Announcement..

Fahey stated that there will be a major announcement in two weeks, and that was early last week..

Post by **Brad** » Thu May 08, 2008 3:56 pm

Erik wrote:Big, as in the Fahey Announcement..

The north downtown one? I doubt it this is southeast downtown.

Erik · Post by **Erik** » Thu May 08, 2008 4:08 pm

Brad wrote:
Erik wrote:Big, as in the Fahey Announcement..
The north downtown one? I doubt it this is southeast downtown.

Oh yeah, southeastern dt wouldn't be in North Downtown, now would it! I can't believe I didn't place the logical connection there,

Post by **Brad** » Thu May 08, 2008 4:18 pm

Here is a photo I shot of the property last summer:

Erik · Post by **Erik** » Thu May 08, 2008 4:42 pm

Brad wrote:Here is a photo I shot of the property last summer:

Nice, there have been some buildings that initially look too dumpy to renovate like this one at first glance, but these developers do a nice job in bringing them up to par and beyond..

I'm pretty excited about this one, and we can no officially start calling it SoDo, right? :)

the1wags · Post by **the1wags** » Thu May 08, 2008 4:53 pm

I'm ahead of the curve a couple years huh? :;): Good news, I'd like to see more detailed plans soon. The area has a lot of potential.

Hawkeye · Post by **Hawkeye** » Thu May 08, 2008 4:53 pm

Brad wrote:Southern riverfront project eyed

http://www.omaha.com/index.php?u_page=1 ... d=10329585

TOM SHAW WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITER wrote:More condos and office space could overlook the Missouri River under a plan to develop a former power plant south of Leavenworth Street.

The Omaha Public Power District no longer uses the shuttered Jones Street power station, which sits on seven acres between Sixth Street and the river.

Under the plan approved Wednesday by the Omaha Planning Board, the city and OPPD would work together to bring residential and commercial space to the site.

The plan now goes to the Omaha City Council for approval, probably next month.

Pete Festersen, Planning Board chairman, said he was pleased with the idea.

"I think this is another significant opportunity for redevelopment," he said.

The area had been one of the sites that a special committee considered for a downtown baseball stadium. But problems were posed by the lack of street access and the proximity to railroad tracks and a newer OPPD power station.

While I will, of course, patiently wait for the plans to unfold and be more fully developed, I will say this...I'll be EXTRAORDINARILY disappointed and dismayed if this turns out to be another development with little to no general-public oriented commercial space.

Build your Class A office and residential stuff to anchor the project if necessary...but then, also include retail, dining, nightlife, and other entertainment establishments that appeal to people from all over the metro and even visitors, instead of just catering to the needs of those couple thousand who may live and/or work right there.

We've given up enough of our extremely limited riverfront property to 9-5 corporate types. Would it be so bad to have a nightlife/entertainment district on the riverfront? Would it be so bad to have a dock/marina there to allow boaters to have as easy access to it as motorists? Would it be such a travesty for the Omaha metro area to have more than ONE riverfront dining option. Other cities have developed riverfront entertainment venues/districts (Cincinnati, Cleveland, Pittsburgh, to name just a few)...why not Omaha?!

DTO Luv · Post by **DTO Luv** » Thu May 08, 2008 4:54 pm

Hopefully they don't screw this part of the riverfront up like they did with where Gallup is.

S33 · Post by **S33** » Thu May 08, 2008 5:10 pm

agibson95 wrote:
Brad wrote:
Erik wrote:So is this the big one? or is that still by tomorrow?
Hopefully this isnt the "big one". I still have my fingers crossed for the Tornado Tower

Lol, the Tornado Tower. Is that project still actively proposed? I suppose it would be quite interesting to say the least.

Neway, I think this South RF development would be an interesting opportunity to use the old Union Pac. Bridge for Street Car Conversion to access more riverfront and the C.B. Casinos. Omaha would then have taken a much more proactive step in making Downtown a tourist destination for capture the best $ of all (out of town revenue!) Also, C.B. could help offset much of the street car cost as it would directly impact Casino revenue and in turn the Iowa West Foundation.

Is it me or does C.B. seem to be sleeping on a pile of opportunity? They scrapped their high rise condo proposal for a rather unimpressive development, or to me it seems.

Great forum BTW. :D

Post by **Admin** » Thu May 08, 2008 5:13 pm

Welcome to eOmahaForums S33!

the1wags · Post by **the1wags** » Thu May 08, 2008 5:20 pm

Yeah, think bars, restaurants, comedy club, etc nightlife, with retail, some condos/apartments. Water taxi to the casinos. Have Bluestone develop their lot. Maybe even have the lots between get replaced with a garage with ground level bays. :shock:

Post by **Brad** » Thu May 08, 2008 5:25 pm

Brad wrote:Here is a photo I shot of the property last summer:

Looking at the photo more, some how they are going to have to "connect" it to downtown. Parking garages with street level retail would be a start. May be a visitor center at the police barn.

Bobcat · Post by **Bobcat** » Thu May 08, 2008 5:33 pm

It also appears from the photo that there are railroad tracks between the site and the river and the setback from the river is significant. Is there really an opportunity to harness the "riverfront" on the site or is it simply too far away? No doubt the views would be excellent.

Uffda · Post by **Uffda** » Thu May 08, 2008 6:11 pm

Google map of site

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&g ... 8&t=h&z=16

Post by **Brad** » Thu May 08, 2008 6:24 pm

Here is a 2007 aerial map of the site(it has the police barn finished and the butternut is gone)

EDIT: looks like 2 of were thinking MAP at the same time

Coyote · Post by **Coyote** » Thu May 08, 2008 6:36 pm

... and here is another view:

Post by **Brad** » Thu May 08, 2008 6:43 pm

There is a good amount of room and a good amount of possibilities. Just wish that darn OPPD substation could go away...

Better start another website http://www.save-the-downtown-deer-population.com

EDIT AGAIN: Now it looks like 3 of us were thinking the same thing. First Uffda and I post a map at about the same time, then Coyote and I post aerials at about the same time.... Great minds think alike.

thenewguy · Post by **thenewguy** » Thu May 08, 2008 9:33 pm

i think the CB side of the bridge (in reference to the scrapped plans for the high rise condos, or at least high rise by our standards) will still look good. There are some buildings that appear to be about 5 stories, and have a lot of town homes in the area with some restaurant and retail options, too. There was a rendering in the play land development thread that you could take a look at, that you may have missed since you just signed up. I agree with hawkeye about the marina/boat dock options. I think it'd do wonders to have access to another entertainment district, with some business and residential rolled in there, too. One thing that is cool about anchor inn is that a lot of people just drive right up off the river and hit up concerts and a beer.

Omaha is going to be quite the destination before long. I wouldn't be surprised if more and more pops up all around town now that some of this other stuff is starting to happen.

thenewguy · Post by **thenewguy** » Thu May 08, 2008 9:37 pm

i forgot to hit the quote button---i was addressing s33, just to eliminate any confusion.