Biggest Omaha Development Mistake (to Date)

[stormchaser]

Just out of curiosity (and for the fun of it), what does everyone consider to be the top development mistake Omaha has made to date? I'm not referring to under construction or proposed developments since it's impossible to know how things will actually come together. I mean projects that are 100% complete.

I'm assuming many people will say the Con Agra campus development and the loss of historic buildings as a result (though this occurred before I lived here). What else though?

Thoughts? Where has Omaha missed badly and what would have been different/better if they hadn't?

[Louie]

was the old UP building beyond reuse? also hotel fontenelle and the original woodmen of the world?

[stormchaser]

For me, one of the things I wish they would have been able to save and have still have remaining today would have been the buildings from the "Trans-Mississippi and International Expo" in Omaha in 1898. I believe this would have been a pretty amazing structure to still have...

[nebport5]

A number of these great structure lost were replaced with a modern building like OFNC in place of the Medical Arts Building. Of course it’s easy to think couldn’t other locations been chosen?...and we’d still have Hotel Fontenelle and etc.

More egregious is the tearing down of something like The World Theatre for a f’ing parking garage.

[WorldStreet]

The biggest mistake that comes to my mind is the Hilton Hotel attached to the arena/convention center. One of the proposals was for a high-rise to be built. Instead, under Mayor Fahey's leadership, they chose the current hotel which I think resembles a high-rise lying on its side.

[ricko]

A number of these great structure lost were replaced with a modern building like OFNC in place of the Medical Arts Building. Of course it’s easy to think couldn’t other locations been chosen?...and we’d still have Hotel Fontenelle and etc.

More egregious is the tearing down of something like The World Theatre for a f’ing parking garage.

Or the (art nouveau) Brandies theater for a f’ing parking garage

[NEDodger]

The biggest mistake that comes to my mind is the Hilton Hotel attached to the arena/convention center. One of the proposals was for a high-rise to be built. Instead, under Mayor Fahey's leadership, they chose the current hotel which I think resembles a high-rise lying on its side.

This. It cost us a 30-story building AND we had to build a stupid extension anyways.

Runner-Up: The Nebraska State Office Building

Dishonorable Mention: Rick’s Boatyard Cafe in a bizarre mix of middle of nowhere + on the riverfront. At least that’s been rectified.

[Gobears27]

I will add the demolition of jobbers canyon to this. Imagine how much different downtown would be today if those buildings had been converted to office space for Conagra instead of demolished.

[nebugeater]

Probably not the highest on the list, but I hated to see the Indian Hills Theater go.

[GenX]

Probably not the highest on the list, but I hated to see the Indian Hills Theater go.

That place was awesome! I remember standing in line there for The Phantom Menace on opening night.

[nebport5]

A number of these great structure lost were replaced with a modern building like OFNC in place of the Medical Arts Building. Of course it’s easy to think couldn’t other locations been chosen?...and we’d still have Hotel Fontenelle and etc.

More egregious is the tearing down of something like The World Theatre for a f’ing parking garage.

Or the (art nouveau) Brandies theater for a f’ing parking garage

Absolutely. Perhaps one of the most heart breaking examples.

The Brandeis, The World(Omaha) and Rialto Theatres all replaced for f’ing parking space.


Also:

-Hotel Fontenelle (now the parking lot of The Roman Hruska Courthouse)

-The Old Post Office (replaced in 1966 by FNC -built along with The Hilton Hotel that terminated 16th St.)

-Jobber’s Canyon (Perhaps the most well known example)



The 80’s were an especially dark era of architectural demolition in Omaha.

[Busguy2010]

Biggest? Probably without a doubt Jobbers Canyon, as it was the biggest demolition of national register of historic places ever. For what's now a suburban campus for a company that skipped town.

I wish in my lifetime, I could have seen the old woodmen tower, the old post office, and hotel Fontenelle.

I think for the most part, we have a lot of the big ones covered.

A couple that don't qualify as "biggest", but are losses are the old Dundee bar, and family fun center. Not architecturally significant by any stretch, but culturally so. One replaced by a parking lot, the other a panda express.

Family fun center is significant to me because I grew up attending many birthday parties there. At least for us in the 90s in our neighborhood, that was THE spot. It pretty much went downhill right with Crossroads, when they decided to escape the riffraff and move out west. Went there once and it was just so sterile. No character. And now they're out of business.

Old Dundee was just a (quite literally) hole in the wall bar that many a good time were had, and now just a parking lot. At least they kept the Dundee Theater, but in a way its gone too, as its completely different in principle.

[Louie]

A couple that don't qualify as "biggest", but are losses are the old Dundee bar, and family fun center. Not architecturally significant by any stretch, but culturally so. One replaced by a parking lot, the other a panda express.

Old Dundee was just a (quite literally) hole in the wall bar that many a good time were had, and now just a parking lot. At least they kept the Dundee Theater, but in a way its gone too, as its completely different in principle.

Oh man, the old dundee was such a good spot. And I don't really know where that clientele went when it closed. Possibly alderman's or the underwood?

[Busguy2010]

Oh man, the old dundee was such a good spot. And I don't really know where that clientele went when it closed. Possibly alderman's or the underwood?

Hmm, I dunno... I haven't been to enough bars to say, but perhaps also neighbers, oleavers, or the elbow room, all kinda nearby.

My group wasnt really into bar hopping. Once we found a place nearby that we liked, we pretty much stuck to it. Now that im pretty much past my bar going days, I regret a little now that I didn't visit all of the dives.

But ODB is fond to me. We always parked across 50th street and went in the front door (now that I think back, I couldn't tell ya why). But after being there a couple hours and having a few (or more), walking out the front door and having Dodge street in your lap was always a little uneasy. Likewise, walking in the front door with all the traffic zooming by and hearing the door shut behind you made it really feel like a safe haven.

[Jins123]

Midtown Crossings?

I get what it did for the rest of the area, Blackstone, Midtown as a whole, 30th & Leavenworth area, grew and have thrived since this project. But the specific Midtown Crossing/Mutual area was/has been a bust. I’m surprised no one has said it yet.

[Busguy2010]

Midtown Crossings?

I get what it did for the rest of the area, Blackstone, Midtown as a whole, 30th & Leavenworth area, grew and have thrived since this project. But the specific Midtown Crossing/Mutual area was/has been a bust. I’m surprised no one has said it yet.

You have a point there. I guess it didn't come to mind, because it didn't displace something meritable.

I wouldn't write off MTC as a failure just yet. Its only 20 years old, and figuring that MofO has a large hand in the streetcar, their new HQ, and whatever ends up happening at their (to be old) HQ, I think itll finally have the juice to be what it was intended to be. I'd venture to say it was way ahead of its time for Omaha at that time.

[Linkin5]

Besides the wonky retail layout, I think the biggest mistake MTC made was not going all or nearly all apartments with the residential component. It would have brought a lot more vibrancy to the area right away.

[damonhynes]

How many alignments of Abbott Drive have there been since, say 1975? I can recall at least three.

While on the subject, is the only reason why there isn't a legitimate Marriott or Hilton at Eppley is that Carter Lake would receive the tax receipts?

[Brad]

While on the subject, is the only reason why there isn't a legitimate Marriott or Hilton at Eppley is that Carter Lake would receive the tax receipts?

Eppley is in Omaha. Abbott Drive is only in Carter Lake for 2,560 feet. So it has nothing to do with tax receipts. I believe it has to do with the very close proximity to downtown. Why stay at the airport when you can get from Downtown to the airport in less than 5 min.

[Greg S]

The biggest mistake that comes to my mind is the Hilton Hotel attached to the arena/convention center. One of the proposals was for a high-rise to be built. Instead, under Mayor Fahey's leadership, they chose the current hotel which I think resembles a high-rise lying on its side.

Completely agree. Everything I am at Charles Scwab Field and look over I get irritated. Such a waste of land how they went more horizontal than vertical. Those hallways on the north side or so long due to the addition.

[GenX]

I’d have to say I-480 and the north freeway simply due to the impacts it has had on the neighborhoods cut in half and the lost boulevards.

These interstates did bring a lot of growth to Omaha though. Just wish it had been done more thoughtfully, but that’s just the way it worked back then.

[Omaha Cowboy]

The biggest mistake that comes to my mind is the Hilton Hotel attached to the arena/convention center. One of the proposals was for a high-rise to be built. Instead, under Mayor Fahey's leadership, they chose the current hotel which I think resembles a high-rise lying on its side.

I agree 1000%..

I Still get a bit agitated about the then “mayor” Mike Fahey short-sightedness..even today.. We all know the original room count of 450 was going to be too small and the original high rise Marriott would have been 528 rooms..and guess what, less than 6 years later, the Hilton was expanded by 150 rooms to it’s current 600..at an accelerated cost..All due to short sighted, ego inflated silliness..

Oh well, hopefully we continue to learn from mistakes such as that…

Ciao..LiO…Peace

[Bob from Omaha]

As I've said numerous times, at the Hilton it has to feel like a mile walk from the front desk to the farthest rooms.

It always gnawed at me that Fahey got the street name while Daub did all the heavy lifting.

[Louie]

As I've said numerous times, at the Hilton it has to feel like a mile walk from the front desk to the farthest rooms.

It always gnawed at me that Fahey got the street name while Daub did all the heavy lifting.

Boy, renderings sure have come a long way haha.

[damonhynes]

It always gnawed at me that Fahey got the street name while Daub did all the heavy lifting.

I wonder if he said 'thanks, but no thanks'?

[damonhynes]

While on the subject, is the only reason why there isn't a legitimate Marriott or Hilton at Eppley is that Carter Lake would receive the tax receipts?

Eppley is in Omaha. Abbott Drive is only in Carter Lake for 2,560 feet. So it has nothing to do with tax receipts. I believe it has to do with the very close proximity to downtown. Why stay at the airport when you can get from Downtown to the airport in less than 5 min.

Brad: I can't get to South Economy from the terminal within ten minutes and I wouldn't expect to make the Marriott within twenty at least.

And unless Omaha's leading lights are okay with demolishing the Dancing Cranes statue, there isn't any Nebraska property big enough for a Springhill/Fairfield, IMO. The FAA would look askance at anything along Locust east of Abbott.

There are two parcels SSW of Locust/Abbott big enough for hotels, three if you include that underused off-airport parking lot.

[nebport5]

As I've said numerous times, at the Hilton it has to feel like a mile walk from the front desk to the farthest rooms.

It always gnawed at me that Fahey got the street name while Daub did all the heavy lifting.

Boy, renderings sure have come a long way haha.

slightly better…

[Busguy2010]

I’d have to say I-480 and the north freeway simply due to the impacts it has had on the neighborhoods cut in half and the lost boulevards.

These interstates did bring a lot of growth to Omaha though. Just wish it had been done more thoughtfully, but that’s just the way it worked back then.

I was gonna say that too, but I didn't see it so much as a mistake, but a necessary evil of the times. I find it to be an asset now (at least the I-480 south portion and Kennedy Freeway). I'm willing to admit the north Freeway might have been over kill for our needs. Also, the east west portion of I-480 is probably mainly only there now because it was planned to continue westward, so close to the point the bridges over 30th were built. Im sure most of us remember those never used bridges. I cannot imagine our losses if that had gone through. Dundee, Benson, Fairacres, ruined. I still have never seen a pinned down route of where exactly it was supposed to be aligned, but Ive heard varying stories from people alive at the time, so you can kind of make it out. Our city would be completely different. So I'd like to raise that as the biggest development mistake to NOT happen.

And to think, you can find people nowadays going 10, 15+ over the posted 35, people basically treat it as a freeway as is. So I call that a very, very good thing that didn't happen.

[damonhynes]

I still have never seen a pinned down route of where exactly it was supposed to be aligned, but Ive heard varying stories from people alive at the time, so you can kind of make it out. Our city would be completely different. So I'd like to raise that as the biggest development mistake to NOT happen.

IIRC, it was supposed to parallel Dodge, 2-3 blocks north. At some point, it was going to go northwest to intersect Maple, then on to Fremont.

[Busguy2010]

IIRC, it was supposed to parallel Dodge, 2-3 blocks north. At some point, it was going to go northwest to intersect Maple, then on to Fremont.

I had heard that too. I also saw a 1957 "recommendation map". Its obviously pretty vague, but it moreso had it parallel Dodge to 90th. Obviously if it were to happen that way, it would have made a ton of sense given the nature of the West Dodge Expressway today.

I think you can pretty much bet it would have gone straight west along Davenport, at least to a point. I imagine if it were there today, it would at least be a 6-lane freeway, and Dodge street would be a defacto frontage road for it. I imagine they would have gone gangbusters along the corridor, not only tearing down every house between Davenport and Dodge, but also put down a bunch of 60's style plazas and places to shop.

[Cermak]

Hotel Fontenelle was disappointing to say the least. I never saw the building in person as I didn’t move to Omaha till 1985, it was torn down a few years earlier. Pretty much nothing replaced it except a parking lot. The pictures I saw of it looked pretty impressive. Sure it would be apartments or hotel if it was still standing. Huge mistake. The Old Woodmen ,Post office and Jobbers canyon all huge mistakes. In defense of Omaha some great buildings have been saved as well.