A plan to renovate downtown Omaha's long-vacant Burlington train station is moving forward with 60 percent of the commercial space spoken for and buyers for three of its 15 condominiums, the developer said Monday.
Developer Myriel Boes displays a rendering by Alley Poyner Architecture of the renovated Burlington station. An 80-seat restaurant run by a former New York City chef is planned over the railroad tracks.
The City Planning Board could consider tax-increment financing for the project at 1001 S. 10th St. as soon as March.
Myriel "My" Boes said construction of a new restaurant over the tracks is to begin this spring and be completed in 10 months. She said the renovation would be completed by summer 2007.
She said 80 people attended a Sunday open house and brunch prepared by the former New York City chef who will open the 80-seat restaurant.
"He's a European chef who studied at Le Cordon Bleu and had a restaurant in the Village of New York until Sept. 11," Boes said, referring to the 2001 terrorist attacks. "He moved here - his wife is from here - and he's been waiting for the right location for a restaurant, and this is the one."
Also planning to take advantage of the project's lease-to-own commercial spaces are a spa, a technology company and a small ethnic gourmet market, Boes said. She said she is still seeking a bar to set a lively tone for the three-story lobby and other food-related markets or retailers for the track level.
The chef and the other commercial tenants can't be named yet, Boes said, "because they have other lives to lead in the meantime."
A rendering of restored spiral staircase below a dome in the old station. A spa and an ethnic market are planned, and a bar is sought.
Visitors on Sunday saw a virtual tour and booklets showing renderings and floor plans for the project. The condos range from 1,329 square feet to 4,515 square feet and are priced from $379,000 to $1,375,000. Each unit will have two underground parking spaces, and six garages will be for sale.
About 9,100 square feet of commercial space remains. Boes said the tour and other images soon will be featured at
http://www.ontrackdevelopment.com.
Boes said features that set the $13 million Burlington project apart include 100 outdoor parking spaces for customers and guests; private gardens with an outdoor kitchen, eating spaces and places for residents to tend plants; and a climate-controlled wine cellar and tasting room with individual lockers for residents.
Boes said she plans to restore an original winding staircase and make use of the 1898 building's original mosaic and subway tile. She is aiming for a five-star, European-hotel feel - "very upscale, very restful" - throughout.
A city committee that analyzes requests for tax-increment financing - a form of funding that allows new property taxes generated by a redeveloped area to be applied to the project - has recommended that the project go forward, said Ken Johnson, city economic development manager.
The project is subject to Planning Board consideration and City Council approval. Johnson said he is working toward getting the project on the Planning Board's March agenda.
The attorney for the project, Ken Bunger, said about $1.7 million in tax-increment financing has been requested.
Johnson called the project "extremely worthy of consideration and approval" because of its "critical impact" on the effort to rebuild the 10th Street corridor.
Cost has been an issue for previous developers who considered redeveloping the train station, Johnson said, "but with the approach this developer has taken and the commitments the developer has in hand, it is a doable deal."
Boes and son Jamison Hiner are working with David and Brad Underwood to develop the project. Alley Poyner Architecture is preparing the drawings, and Weitz Co. is the general contractor.
Brad Underwood said Weitz has done an extensive cleanup and installed temporary lighting. Construction will probably begin about May 1, he said.
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