Creighton details new parking garages, student housing

[eomaha]

CU will build parking garages, continue eastward march

Creighton University's president said Tuesday that his predecessor told him "never to succumb to the siren calls of a parking structure."

Well, he succumbed.

And to not one, but two.

The Rev. John Schlegel - going against the advice of the Rev. Michael Morrison - announced that Creighton would begin construction in May on two parking structures with a total of 1,100 stalls. He also provided the first details on the locations of other projects for the campus' eastward expansion.

Schlegel presented the plans at the school's Founder's Day convocation, attended by more than 400 people at St. John Catholic Church on the downtown Omaha campus.

One of the parking garages, he said, will go up along 24th Street between Burt and California Streets. The other will be built across from the Ahmanson Law Center, near 21st and California Streets.

Public safety offices will go in one of the structures, Schlegel said.

Alternate parking sites will be needed for the fall semester, he said, requiring the use of a shuttle service. Funding for the structures, Schlegel said, will come from issuing tax-exempt bonds and higher parking fees.

Additional townhome-style residence halls for 300-plus juniors and seniors will be built starting in early summer where the Murphy Building now sits near 19th and California Streets. The targeted completion date is July 2006.

The site is southeast of the existing Davis Square junior-senior housing complex that's surrounded by Burt, Webster, 20th and 21st Streets.

Near those two complexes will be the student living-learning center that Schlegel talked about in December when he announced a $50 million anonymous donation to the school. The building will go where the Epsen Hillmer Graphics building now sits at 20th and California Streets.

The center will offer student services and academic support offices and include recreational, classroom and meeting space. It will be paid for, Schlegel said, with gifts, primarily from $25 million out of the $50 million donation. Demolition of the Epsen Hillmer building is to start in the fall, he said, with completion expected in 2007.

The additions, Schlegel said, "will significantly enhance the quality of campus life and the services we provide."

Since 2001, Schlegel said, Creighton has invested $100 million in new construction, renovation, enhanced technology and campus beautification.

[DTO Luv]

That's cool. 1,100 stalls is alot. Maybe their is some truth to this baseball stadium. Why else would they need that many.

[almighty_tuna]

Why else would they need that many.

Because they're building residence halls for an additional 300+ Juniors and Seniors and planning for more growth?

[FatGuy]

Creighton does have a bad parking problem. It is nearly impossible to find a spot if you arrive after 8:00 a.m. I think they should have just outlawed freshman from bringing cars like many other universities.

[Finn]

The great news is that three of the four projects (student center, housing and one parking garage) are adjacent to each other on the east end of campus. This will really transform this blighted section and create activity and an aesthetically pleasing environment as it bridges the campus with the new soccer stadium. The new student center will be the "front door" of campus and will front a new quad area to the west. I'm sure the quad will be developed in the near future, as its cost will be well below that of other planned buildings. This is exciting news and the concentration of the three projects will quickly have an impact in the area.

Check out the following link and scroll down the page to see a map of the proposed future improvements for campus.


http://www.creighton.edu/President/Speeches/125.html

[OmahaDevelopmentMan]

Its great that we are starting to see Creighton take a great intrest in expansion. Hopefully these buildings have some architectual significance to them.

[StreetsOfOmaha]

Consolidating parking into garages is great because it frees up huge surface lots for development, however, you have to do it right. There HAVE to be active uses on the streetlevel. Something tells me these will not have active uses.

[omahahawk]

Great to see Creighton taking the initiative with their expansion plans. With the increased student body and hopefully more soon to be entertainment options, I can really see that little North Downtown district taking off. Wish I could see 10 years into the future to see what it might be like. I would love to see a much more active and revitalized district that would bring Omaha a little more recognition nationally. With the revitalization of Cuming St. connected via an improved 16th St. Corridor to the Old Market and revitalization down to the riverfront, this place does have the potential to be really cool. Hopefully whatever is done is done right and with some vision. I'd love it if it could take on the kind of image that would make a kid tell his parents he wants to go to Creighton because it is a good school in a cool college town with a great vibe. It’d be so cool to have Omaha kind of become known like the San Antonio of the Midwest or something like that.

[Finn]

It sounds like one of the parking structures (probably the one at 21st and California) will also house the Public Safety offices.

[FatGuy]

Finn, it looks like the little map of campus is already outdated. Just east of the law school looks to be something other than a parking lot. I could be wrong because it is a small diagram, but I imagine the parking structure will look like something other than that.

[Finn]

I think they have/will make adjustments to the map. The housing and student center parcels still have the same demarcation. However, east of the Law School it shows a surface lot and a new building splitting the block. I think the parking garage is a modification and will take up the entire block. However, it sounds like the Public Safety offices will occupy the ground floor. I hope so as the north end of the structure will be along the "mall" leading to the soccer stadium and the offices will add a little activity and aesthetics.

[OmahaDevelopmentMan]

Don't they need it for the soccer stadium, i believe one of the garages are near there.[/quote]

[eomaha]

It just struck me where Epsen Hillmer Graphics is. I am going to miss that building! Sort of a Spanish architecture. I have no idea what the history is. How sad... so many run down blocks in this part of town... and they have to level one of the best ones.