Planners/developers designate new tracts for development

[eomaha]

Omaha eyes more westward expansion

Omaha is preparing to crack open about eight square miles of land for new development as the suburbs continue to stretch with businesses and housing.

Southwest Omaha would move farther west. Northwest Omaha would nudge closer to Bennington. And the area west of Cunningham Lake would offer attractive new addresses.

The proposal, which is going before the City Council, results from months of talks between city officials and developers.

Developers want more land to continue feeding Omaha's steady housing and commercial growth. The city would oblige by extending its sewer system, the key precursor for new growth, and by expanding Omaha's zone where development is permitted.

Omaha planners are proposing to open more land than they believe the city's growth necessitates. But in return for offering that land, the city won the building industry's support for new street construction fees.

"We think that's reasonable," said Steve Jensen, Omaha's assistant planning director.

In all, city planners propose to expand the development zone by 13 square miles. But only about eight square miles of that could be turned into subdivisions.

Part of the expansion, in an area south of Elkhorn, already holds Skyline golf course and neighboring houses. Another square mile has been eyed for construction of future flood control lakes.

The expansion of Omaha's development boundary marks three areas for future growth.

To the southwest, the zone for development would encompass 204th Street. In the northwest, Omaha could approach to within one mile of Bennington. To accommodate the growth, 156th Street would be widened between Blondo and State Streets.

West of Cunningham Lake, city planners say, spread-out acreages are starting to swallow up too much land. The City Planning Department, not developers, are seeking to extend sewers there to allow more suburban-style housing instead.

The Omaha Planning Board has signed off on the plans, which the City Council will vote on in the coming weeks.

In some areas, developers are waiting for the city's go-ahead to implement their plans.

Development lawyer Jerry Slusky said the changes would offer enough land to keep up with Omaha's growth demands but not open up too much at once. Omaha's recent expansion has been remarkable, he said, and will only continue.

"Nobody that I've talked to has seen any signs of letup," Slusky said.

[Raraavis]

So much for Omaha by Design.

At least we will get a couple more Applebee's.

[almighty_tuna]

Its funny that opening up 8sq miles for housing developments is viewed as not too out of the ordinary in Omaha, but in Lincoln 8 sq miles is all the new development in the past several years. Totally different approaches. I think Omaha's is working out better. It may stink of sprawl, but Lincoln has a bit of a land crisis - an article last week in the LJS quoted average lot prices at $50,000 and the average price of a new home over $200,000.

[DMRyan]

That will equal density and upward growth in a growing city like Lincoln...provided the locals let it happen.

[almighty_tuna]

...provided the locals let it happen.

Survey says.....

[DMRyan]

If land costs get too high though, look for Lincoln to actually start having some suburbs when other nearby towns get in on the growth act.

[almighty_tuna]

That's already happening, and its not just with houses either. Waverly was selected ahead of Lincoln recently for a larger industrial relocation because Lincoln didn't have enough land available for it.

Here's the article I'm talking about;

report new home building declined in Lincoln as lot prices rose
By MATT OLBERDING/Lincoln Journal Star

Predictions that high lot prices and impact fees would send some home building outside the bounds of Lincoln may be coming true, according to builders' interpretations of figures from the Realtors Association of Lincoln.



Sales of new homes increased in areas near Lincoln and decreased sharply within the city limits last year, the association reported.

There were 1,066 new homes sold through the Multiple Listing Service in the Lincoln area in 2004. That is a slight dip from the 1,076 that were sold in 2003.

That MLS includes Lancaster County and some areas in adjacent counties.

Sales of new homes outside of Lincoln in that area increased more than 20 percent, while sales of new homes within Lincoln declined nearly 10 percent, according to the association.

By contrast, sales of existing homes in Lincoln set a record in 2004.

In addition, Lincoln had a drop of 22 percent in building permits sought for single-family homes in the city — 1,565 in 2003 and 1,227 in 2004.

Rod Hornby, president of Rembolt Development, said those numbers don't surprise him.

Hornby said 2004 was a down year for his company, with some houses sitting on the market for as long as 8 months.

It could have been worse, he said, but "we picked up some sales outside the city."

That's a trend he sees continuing if lot prices continue their upward climb in the city of Lincoln.

"I actually believe we'll be doing 60 to 80 percent of our business outside the city in 5 years," he said. He hadn't done any business outside the city before 2004.

According to the Realtors Association, average lot prices in Lincoln increased 18 percent in 2004, to almost $50,000.

Those lot prices are why many builders are seeing a slowdown in demand for their Lincoln homes, said Jim Christo, president of Christo Design-Build and past president of the Home Builders Association of Lincoln.

"A buyer that might have been going to that home (in Lincoln) is now going to Hickman or other areas," Christo said.

Steve Henrichsen, chief planner for Lincoln and Lancaster County, said the MLS numbers may not truly reflect the market. Since not all builders sell their homes through the MLS, overall sale numbers could have been higher.

"You really can't say one way or the other because it's not really a complete inventory," he said.

Henrichsen also noted that since building permits for homes decreased in 2004, the percentage of sales compared to permits was actually higher last year than the year before. And he pointed out that the 2004 numbers still make it the second best year ever for new home sales.

Christo, though, said he felt the MLS numbers were a pretty good indicator of the overall market because more than half of all the builders sell their homes through the system.

Terry Kraft, a broker with Home Real Estate who represents Prairie Homes, agrees that lot prices and impact fees are big reasons fewer homes are being built in Lincoln.

Impact fees are imposed by the city on developers for new construction, such as each new residential or commercial building. They are intended to help pay for city infrastructure to serve new development. For most single-family homes, impact fees run about $3,400.

Kraft pointed out that there is now a glut of new homes on the local market.

"Two thousand three was the best year ever in real estate, so everybody became a builder," he said.

Even though Prairie Homes had a good year in 2004, Kraft said he noticed that some other builders were struggling. In addition to offering big incentives, some builders have started discounting the price of their homes, which Kraft said is very unusual for new homes.

Even with discounts and other incentives, the new homes that are getting built are pricier than ever.

For the first time, the average price of a new home in Lincoln was more than $200,000 — topping out at $210,418 in 2004, up from $194,000, in 2003, according to the Realtors Association. For the whole MLS area, the 2004 average was $193,063.

Kraft said the Lincoln price level puts new homes out of reach for a lot of people, including most first-time buyers.

"I think first-time buyers in new construction is becoming a thing of the past," he said.

[Coyote]

New developments in Western Sarpy County:

Palisades: (168th & Cornhusker Road)
Old Cedar Tree Estates: (192nd Street, ½ mile north of Buffalo)
Courtyard at Bellbrook: (192nd and Bellbrook Blvd)
Cornish Acres: (174th Street and Cornish Road)