Trio Project (SEC 15th & Farnam)

[iamjacobm]

Not sure if this is conceptual or for sure happening. Ran across a few renderings and some marketing that say redevelopment is in process for this corner to get a rehab. Apartments above retail.

[Brad]

Wow, looks amazing! Much needed!

[Louie]

I really dig the amount of rooftop focus that recent proposals have had, we were really lacking in them.

[Taco]

I agree this looks great. Hope it turns out to be more than just a pretty rendering though. Downtown/old market projects have been struggling to get off the ground.

[Omaha Cowboy]

From today’s W-H-

“From the rooftop of downtown’s old Jazz Cajun-style restaurant building, the nearness of major Omaha employer hubs and public attractions is even clearer.

Across the street to the north sits the main library, and the Union Pacific tower stands just beyond. A few footsteps east, the Gene Leahy Mall is undergoing complete transformation. A westward glance reveals the WoodmenLife office high-rise, City Hall and the route a potential streetcar could take someday.

The prominence of this corner at 15th and Farnam Streets and what surrounds it is what attracted developer Bread Pudding LLC to buy the Jazz and two neighboring structures for renovation into 18 loft apartments and 7,200 square feet of street-level commercial space.

With a price tag of $7.3 million, the so-named Trio project is expected to revive a tired conglomeration of three structures built at three different times (the oldest in 1881) and spanning about 32,000 square feet.
When done, it is to function as a single development featuring a sunken outdoor patio along 15th Street that would open via garage-like doors to a yet-to-be-secured retailer, perhaps a restaurant or brewpub.

A rooftop deck is an option, and tall glass windows would wrap the corner three-story structure that for 13 years housed Jazz on the main level. Whiskey Tango occupied the upstairs before it became Club Karma.”..

The complete W-H story link:

https://omaha.com/business/7-3-million- ... op-story-1

Ciao..LiO...Peace

[skinzfan23]

Great to see some re-development for this site. I still wish that Jazz was there. I thought it brought something unique that you can't really find in any other part of the city.

[Louie]

Great to see some re-development for this site. I still wish that Jazz was there. I thought it brought something unique that you can't really find in any other part of the city.

Yeah I liked the interior a lot, just because it was so different. However, this is a good move and primo real estate for redevelopment.

[ita]

Developers plan to bring new life to historic buildings at 15th and Farnam

Alexandra Stone
15th and Farnam has been a hub of downtown activity for over a century.

Now, the southeast corner, where boarded-up windows line a historic Art Deco property, is on the brink of a major makeover.

"It'll be floor to ceiling glass. It's going to look a lot better than it has," said Ryan Kuehl, a developer on the project.

Kuehl and the team behind this project plans to rehab historic features of three buildings on Farnam, through what they're calling the "Trio project."

"The biggest challenge in the project has been connecting all three buildings with different floor heights and ceiling heights," Kuehl said.

In addition to being a developer on this project, Kuehl is also a commercial real estate broker.

He said they're planning for 18 total apartments and 8,700 square feet of commercial space. According to Kuehl, they have a good idea of what one of the new businesses will be.

"It'll be a new concept to Omaha, and it should do really well here for both residents in downtown office tenants nearby," he said.

The project also includes a sunken patio on the west side and the possibility of a rooftop bar.

Video has an updated rendering.

[Brad]

Good to hear, I was starting to think this project died.

[ItsAllAboutMe]

This is going to be a such a great project, a lot of progress has been made on one of my favorite buildings downtown. The developers hit the jackpot with this location with the MofO & street car announcement.

[Omaha Cowboy]

Agreed. Absolutely a perfect location for this project with the streetcar line, new skyscraper on the way, the Riverfront Redevelopment etc etc..

There is soooo much happening in the downtown core right now. It’s mind expanding …

Ciao..LiO…Peace

[nebraska]

[omahahawk]

Man talk about some primo real estate for some apartments and a top notch new restaurant.

[skinzfan23]

Man talk about some primo real estate for some apartments and a top notch new restaurant.

Especially during and after construction of the new MOO HQs.

[Athomsfere]

It's also a great looking building. I was staring at it a month or so ago. I was surprised I never really noticed it before. But it's a handsome building for sure.

[NEB-3234]

Any updated images of this? Excited to see the final product.

[Brad]

Any updated images of this? Excited to see the final product.

Here you go, taken last Saturday:

20230115881A4876.jpg

[Louie]

It cleaned up nice.

[skinzfan23]

Also looks better with historic looking streetlights.

[Brad]

Got a little more information:

[Athomsfere]

Got a little more information:

That is so incredibly sexy to my ears. I love that this cool old building is really bring in the mixed use. Not huge numbers. Not 5 over 1. Just plain old, good mixed use.

[ita]

Got a little more information:

That is so incredibly sexy to my ears. I love that this cool old building is really bring in the mixed use. Not huge numbers. Not 5 over 1. Just plain old, good mixed use.

Agreed. For every massive tower spurred by the streetcar, we need incremental development at this scale to compliment.

[Louie]

The big projects give the small developers the chutzpah and momentum to move on these smaller projects. A never ending domino effect, barring macroeconomic issues, ofc.

[Athomsfere]

The big projects give the small developers the chutzpah and momentum to move on these smaller projects. A never ending domino effect, barring macroeconomic issues, ofc.

Speaking of which...

I've been wondering how some of the big tech layoffs and the (likely) coming recession might help Omaha. I have heard we generally do well when the nation does less well. Might Omaha have it's best decade for growth since the 1910s /20s?

[Coyote]

Omaha city council members approve tax increment financing for Trio Project



The Trio project at 15th and Farnam streets is set to receive more tax increment financing (TIF) after approval from city council members on Tuesday. The project involves three historic buildings that will be turned into businesses on the ground level and apartments above, located next to the new Mutual of Omaha construction site. According to the developers, the use of TIF is their only economic incentive to build. TIF plans were pushed through to create an enhanced employment area, with similar plans already in place in other parts of the metro such as Aksarben and Blackstone. The tax is an additional cost that customers will have to pay at businesses and goes back into the pockets of the developers.

[Cermak]

The 3 story building on the corner looks really good now that's it's been refurbished. This building always looked tired and hodgepodge to me, now that isn't the case anymore. And it's a high profile location being across from the new Mutual tower and will be in the middle of all the action.

[ita]

If you didn't read the article:

Despite initial plans for a rooftop bar, Buser said it's unlikely to happen due to its high cost and difficulty in finding a bar owner to partner with.

[TransitOriented]

If you didn't read the article:

Despite initial plans for a rooftop bar, Buser said it's unlikely to happen due to its high cost and difficulty in finding a bar owner to partner with.

Sounds like the rent is too damn high.

[Louie]

If you didn't read the article:

Despite initial plans for a rooftop bar, Buser said it's unlikely to happen due to its high cost and difficulty in finding a bar owner to partner with.

I wonder if they left it open to happening in the future. Add in 4k employees 50 feet from the door and I bet a bar would take a chance on it.

[halgy]

From the article:

According to the developers, the use of TIF is their only economic incentive to build.

Really? That location will be across the street from the MoO skyscraper, directly on the streetcar line, and less than a block from the park. It has got to be one of the most desirable locations downtown. And they're saying that there's no incentive to build unless they get TIF money?

I just made a post critical of TIF in another thread, and I really don't want to seem like I'm against development. But this is clearly BS, right? The new building looks great an is miles better than what was there, but I worry about setting a precedent where every new development gets a 20 year tax break. TIF is good in theory and in many applications. I just have yet to be convinced that building luxury apartments in the most popular neighborhood of the city is a good application.

Anyway, that is me done ranting. I don't want this forum to devolve into NIMBY, anti-development complaining like on the Omaha subreddit (or even the appearance of it). This forum is for being excited about progress, not quibbling.

[PWL73316]

TIF is an imperfect tool and every project that gets TIF that would be built without it is a failure, and arguably the same with projects where the cost of TIF is greater than the return to the city (however measured) without TIF on a downsized project.

That said, it is really hard to know where those lines are, and you can make an argument it's better to lean to granting TIF and miss out on a few tax dollars than to lean against it and miss out on more projects.

[daveoma]

From the article:

According to the developers, the use of TIF is their only economic incentive to build.

Really? That location will be across the street from the MoO skyscraper, directly on the streetcar line, and less than a block from the park. It has got to be one of the most desirable locations downtown. And they're saying that there's no incentive to build unless they get TIF money?

I just made a post critical of TIF in another thread, and I really don't want to seem like I'm against development. But this is clearly BS, right? The new building looks great an is miles better than what was there, but I worry about setting a precedent where every new development gets a 20 year tax break. TIF is good in theory and in many applications. I just have yet to be convinced that building luxury apartments in the most popular neighborhood of the city is a good application.

Anyway, that is me done ranting. I don't want this forum to devolve into NIMBY, anti-development complaining like on the Omaha subreddit (or even the appearance of it). This forum is for being excited about progress, not quibbling.

I think that he chose his words carefully. He didn't say that he would've abandoned the project without TIF or that it was unprofitable without it He merely said that this was the only incentive for his investment. It sounds to me like the approximately $900,000 in TIF is on top of the profit he's expected to make. Why make a profit when you can ask for charity and make a little more?

[nativeomahan]

Them that has, gets.

[halgy]

I drove past here last night and realized I hadn't heard anything about it since the construction fences came down. I found their Facebook and Website. Both currently say that it is supposed to open in September, but the facebook also said it was supposed to open in August and had a bunch of teaser posts starting more than a year ago, so I'm taking their current timeframe with a grain of salt.

Anyone have better info?

[Ben]

I drove past here last night and realized I hadn't heard anything about it since the construction fences came down. I found their Facebook and Website. Both currently say that it is supposed to open in September, but the facebook also said it was supposed to open in August and had a bunch of teaser posts starting more than a year ago, so I'm taking their current timeframe with a grain of salt.

Anyone have better info?

This is another concept from Alex Harrington, the local Pinkelmann's franchisee. Healthy, quick service food concept that he developed.

[BIGO88]

They have been posting stories within the last few weeks on their instagram saying that they’re getting close to open.

[Coyote]

Mixed-use apartments and restaurant open in downtown Omaha



Developers have revamped a historic, more than a century-old, downtown Omaha building into 18 new apartments that sit above a health-focused restaurant. It's at 15th and Farnam, in the building where Jazz, A Louisiana Kitchen and Whiskey Tango used to be. The TIF will be paid over the next 20 years and covers about 10% of the project or about $1 million. The total project costs more than $9 million. The Trio Architect Sean Gibbons said developers have faith it's going to succeed and be an investment in downtown.