Heartland of America Campus

Coyote · Post by **Coyote** » Wed Sep 30, 2015 11:32 pm

Now that it looks like CON Agra is moving to the Windy City, lets envision its replacement...

Iamjacob posted a map in the other rumor section, we should move all those posts here, but...

Coyote wrote:Ok, I'm playing. Jacobs #4 plus the original North Downtown's Museum District.
What was the Museum in search of a building. There were plans already posted.
If each building housed a different genre, without taking away from other local exhibits...

What would a World Class Omaha Museum District Campus house?

Midwestern · Post by **Midwestern** » Thu Oct 01, 2015 1:55 am

I agree with bigredmed's comment from the other thread that it would be a good idea to expand the park. I would like to see easy access between the OM and HOA Park, hence why I think the northernmost ConAgra building should eventually be demolished. But no matter what happens with ConAgra's five buildings, I would like to see as much of 9th street brought back as soon as possible. It is the obvious first and easy step toward re-configuring the street grid and making that area more dense.

However, since it is very likely that all five buildings will probably stay around in the near term, my idea for redevelopment that keeps all five buildings around is:

1. Get rid of the parking garage on 9th & Farnam.
2. Extend Harney street out to 9th street.
3. Extend 9th street from Harney to Farnam.
4. Open up that square block for development.

In that scenario, that northernmost ConAgra building would make a good apartment building, unless there is a company who would want to take all that space right away.

Also, getting rid of that U-shaped ConAgra Drive thing, and making some sort of path from 10th & Howard over to the lagoon would be a good idea.

RNcyanide · Post by **RNcyanide** » Thu Oct 01, 2015 8:01 am

To be completely realistic, they're not going to clear completely out of any of these buildings. They will most likely rent out their vacant space. We can daydream all we want, but nothing will happen here for a very long time. Maybe that's the sting from ConAgra leaving making me a Debbie Downer, but really.

mr. omaha · Post by **mr. omaha** » Thu Oct 01, 2015 8:33 am

We should change the name of the park to ConAgra Broke Omaha's Heartland of America

RNcyanide · Post by **RNcyanide** » Thu Oct 01, 2015 8:35 am

In the article, Connolley said they liked the open space for collaboration in their new home. I can't foresee a single entity occupying the whole available space for that reason. Those buildings impede large collaboration. He would have liked a building more like UP.

yellowcolumbia · Post by **yellowcolumbia** » Thu Oct 01, 2015 8:37 am

Maybe they could build a downtown ballpark, and Ricketts could relocate the Cubs.

GetUrban · Post by **GetUrban** » Thu Oct 01, 2015 9:01 am

For starters, ditch the name "Heartland" from anything associated with the area. That name is used all over within about a 750 mile radius...mostly east of here.

MTO · Post by **MTO** » Thu Oct 01, 2015 9:49 am

As far as I'm concerned ConAgra owes Omaha and they should hand some of their property over for others to develos it.

mr. omaha · Post by **mr. omaha** » Thu Oct 01, 2015 10:01 am

RNcyanide · Post by **RNcyanide** » Thu Oct 01, 2015 11:04 am

In terms of naming, we should either rename the park to something with Jobber's in the title, or if one of the Omaha philanthropist families donate something to the city, they can get their name on it. Any reconnected streets should be renamed after the buildings that were torn down. Any far, far, future constructions should be named after the building that once stood where the new one now is. ConAgra Drive should obviously be renamed, as soon as possible too. I'm sure there's a historical figure from the city that could use some recognition.

Midwestern · Post by **Midwestern** » Thu Oct 01, 2015 12:32 pm

RNcyanide wrote:To be completely realistic, they're not going to clear completely out of any of these buildings. They will most likely rent out their vacant space. We can daydream all we want, but nothing will happen here for a very long time. Maybe that's the sting from ConAgra leaving making me a Debbie Downer, but really.

If ConAgra doesn't consolidate and let part of their sprawling, low-density campus be put up for re-alignment/re-development, then anyone who likes downtown Omaha has reason to be very upset with ConAgra.

Them basically cutting 1,350 jobs from Omaha yet still maintaining control of that campus and keeping it the same density as it is, but now with 1,350 fewer DT jobs, would be the worst of all worlds for DT Omaha.

That being said, I think you are almost certainly wrong that it's realistic to think they won't clear out at least one or two of the buildings, so I'm not too worried about the above scenario. It would be like a huge slap in the face to Omaha.

RNcyanide · Post by **RNcyanide** » Thu Oct 01, 2015 12:35 pm

Midwestern wrote:
RNcyanide wrote:To be completely realistic, they're not going to clear completely out of any of these buildings. They will most likely rent out their vacant space. We can daydream all we want, but nothing will happen here for a very long time. Maybe that's the sting from ConAgra leaving making me a Debbie Downer, but really.
If ConAgra doesn't consolidate and let part of their sprawling, low-density campus be put up for re-alignment/re-development, then anyone who likes downtown Omaha has reason to be very upset with ConAgra.

Them basically cutting 1,350 jobs from Omaha yet still maintaining control of that campus and keeping it the same density as it is, but now with 1,350 fewer DT jobs, would be the worst of all worlds for DT Omaha.

That being said, I think you are almost certainly wrong that it's realistic to think they won't clear out at least one or two of the buildings, so I'm not too worried about the above scenario. It would be like a huge slap in the face to Omaha.

I think it would be an easy way to make extra money off the place by renting it out and making Chicago richer. I'm also certain that they don't care what they do to our downtown.

Midwestern · Post by **Midwestern** » Thu Oct 01, 2015 12:46 pm

RNcyanide wrote:
Midwestern wrote:
RNcyanide wrote:To be completely realistic, they're not going to clear completely out of any of these buildings. They will most likely rent out their vacant space. We can daydream all we want, but nothing will happen here for a very long time. Maybe that's the sting from ConAgra leaving making me a Debbie Downer, but really.
If ConAgra doesn't consolidate and let part of their sprawling, low-density campus be put up for re-alignment/re-development, then anyone who likes downtown Omaha has reason to be very upset with ConAgra.

Them basically cutting 1,350 jobs from Omaha yet still maintaining control of that campus and keeping it the same density as it is, but now with 1,350 fewer DT jobs, would be the worst of all worlds for DT Omaha.

That being said, I think you are almost certainly wrong that it's realistic to think they won't clear out at least one or two of the buildings, so I'm not too worried about the above scenario. It would be like a huge slap in the face to Omaha.
I think it would be an easy way to make extra money off the place by renting it out and making Chicago richer. I'm also certain that they don't care what they do to our downtown.

To all the people that can't fathom demolishing any of the ConAgra buildings:

That area was built as an inter-connected campus. It is also connected by underground tunnels. But it's a campus. It isn't really just five individual buildings that don't conform to the streetgrid. This is exactly why it was a terrible idea to build it this way from the very beginning. Why would you allow/want/accept a super low density sprawling campus where the former main tenant is mostly leaving to become a mish-mash of any and everyone you can get to rent there? How do you even fix it for security reasons so that one company doesn't have physical access to another? Etc.

The best thing Jean Stothert could do for DT Omaha is to get them to sell-off as much of their campus as possible, preferably the northern end.

RNcyanide · Post by **RNcyanide** » Thu Oct 01, 2015 12:50 pm

I can fathom the demolition of these buildings, in fact, I would like it. I just think realistically, financially, administratively, environmentally - it would be a disaster. It would be incredibly difficult to pull off.

Midwestern · Post by **Midwestern** » Thu Oct 01, 2015 12:54 pm

RNcyanide wrote:I can fathom the demolition of these buildings, in fact, I would like it. I just think realistically, financially, administratively, environmentally - it would be a disaster. It would be incredibly difficult to pull off.

It will be awhile before any of the buildings would come down. Even I'll admit that.

But a disaster to ever demolish any of those buildings? What??? .....why?

RNcyanide · Post by **RNcyanide** » Thu Oct 01, 2015 12:56 pm

Midwestern wrote:
RNcyanide wrote:I can fathom the demolition of these buildings, in fact, I would like it. I just think realistically, financially, administratively, environmentally - it would be a disaster. It would be incredibly difficult to pull off.
It will be awhile before any of the buildings would come down. Even I'll admit that.

But a disaster to ever demolish any of those buildings? What??? .....why?

Not a disaster as in a mistake. I mean as a logistical |expletive|.

Midwestern · Post by **Midwestern** » Thu Oct 01, 2015 12:58 pm

RNcyanide wrote:
Midwestern wrote:
RNcyanide wrote:I can fathom the demolition of these buildings, in fact, I would like it. I just think realistically, financially, administratively, environmentally - it would be a disaster. It would be incredibly difficult to pull off.
It will be awhile before any of the buildings would come down. Even I'll admit that.

But a disaster to ever demolish any of those buildings? What??? .....why?
Cost.

If that were even remotely true, we wouldn't have had 100's of downtown buildings demolished over the years. And no, I'm not just talking about JC.

RNcyanide · Post by **RNcyanide** » Thu Oct 01, 2015 1:00 pm

Midwestern wrote:
RNcyanide wrote:
Midwestern wrote:
RNcyanide wrote:I can fathom the demolition of these buildings, in fact, I would like it. I just think realistically, financially, administratively, environmentally - it would be a disaster. It would be incredibly difficult to pull off.
It will be awhile before any of the buildings would come down. Even I'll admit that.

But a disaster to ever demolish any of those buildings? What??? .....why?
Cost.
If that were even remotely true, we wouldn't have had 100's of downtown buildings demolished over the years. And no, I'm not just talking about JC.

See my previous edit to this post. In addition to cost.

GetUrban · Post by **GetUrban** » Thu Oct 01, 2015 1:03 pm

I just had a scary, terrible thought....what if, at the prodding of the mayor and governor, HDR was incentivized to move into the CONagra buildings instead of building their new high-rise? NOOOOO! That would be a nightmare. I think HDR is too cool now to ever do that. I don't think the mayor would want that to happen either. Scratch that thought.

When you think about it, what business stays in their building for more than 30-40 years anyway. I wonder how much of a gut-job you'd have to do the update the late 80s-early 90s decor in those buildings...or maybe they have been remodeled since then. Eventually all businesses either out grow or build something newer. ...just a few random thoughts.

RNcyanide · Post by **RNcyanide** » Thu Oct 01, 2015 1:05 pm

CAG 11 wasn't terribly outdated. I'd say circa 2005.

Joe Bert Canyon · Post by **Joe Bert Canyon** » Thu Oct 01, 2015 1:26 pm

Would anyone be interested in walking the lake trail holding signs saying "REBUILD JOBBERS CANYON"?

Coyote · Post by **Coyote** » Thu Oct 01, 2015 2:03 pm

Joe Bert Canyon wrote:Would anyone be interested in walking the lake trail holding signs saying "REBUILD JOBBERS CANYON"?

No

Midwestern · Post by **Midwestern** » Thu Oct 01, 2015 2:22 pm

Someone who commented on one of the news articles about ConAgra leaving said that there is supposedly a clause in the contract between ConAgra and the city that if they ever left, the city would be able to purchase the lots back.

I wonder if that is true? Hopefully...

MTO · Post by **MTO** » Thu Oct 01, 2015 2:22 pm

iamjacobm · Post by **iamjacobm** » Thu Oct 01, 2015 2:49 pm

Midwestern wrote:Someone who commented on one of the news articles about ConAgra leaving said that there is supposedly a clause in the contract between ConAgra and the city that if they ever left, the city would be able to purchase the lots back.

I wonder if that is true? Hopefully...

I think it would be kind of funny if there was a stronger clause in this deal than there was for the WST deal.

Midwestern · Post by **Midwestern** » Thu Oct 01, 2015 2:51 pm

Someone should write to the Mayor's office and ask about this supposed clause.

GetUrban · Post by **GetUrban** » Thu Oct 01, 2015 2:57 pm

Joe Bert Canyon wrote:Would anyone be interested in walking the lake trail holding signs saying "REBUILD JOBBERS CANYON"?

I'd love to see it happen, but it would never get re-built as good as the original. Not enough old-growth timber left, available laborers, or money in CONagra's coffers.

How about toppling and dragging the Chef Boyardee statue through the streets as an alternative? j/k.

mr. omaha · Post by **mr. omaha** » Thu Oct 01, 2015 3:18 pm

GetUrban wrote:How about toppling and dragging the Chef Boyardee statue through the streets as an alternative? j/k.

That's the best idea I've heard so far!

GRANDPASMUCKER · Post by **GRANDPASMUCKER** » Thu Oct 01, 2015 3:23 pm

Coyote wrote:
Joe Bert Canyon wrote:Would anyone be interested in walking the lake trail holding signs saying "REBUILD JOBBERS CANYON"?
No

NO!

Post by **nebugeater** » Thu Oct 01, 2015 3:41 pm

Post on KFAB's Facebook page

RNcyanide · Post by **RNcyanide** » Thu Oct 01, 2015 5:28 pm

mr. omaha wrote:
GetUrban wrote:How about toppling and dragging the Chef Boyardee statue through the streets as an alternative? j/k.
That's the best idea I've heard so far!

Put concrete around his feet and drop him in Lake Michigan. Tie a note to it that says:

From Omaha,

To Sean.

vvindows10 · Post by **vvindows10** » Thu Oct 01, 2015 9:03 pm

The option to upload an attachment is missing from these threads

Coyote · Post by **Coyote** » Thu Oct 01, 2015 9:06 pm

Is it?

image.jpg

Midwestern · Post by **Midwestern** » Thu Oct 01, 2015 9:30 pm

Quote from Jean Stothert:

"The City of Omaha does not own the property. ConAgra owns some of the parcels and others are leased from OPUS (out of Minneapolis). ConAgra CEO told me that over 1200 employees will remain on the current campus - so at this time - we do not know if they intend to sell some of the property or keep it. It is a decision that they will have to make before anyone can start dividing up the property"

Midwestern · Post by **Midwestern** » Thu Oct 01, 2015 10:01 pm

Just for fun, here's a few properties Opus Group has built or proposed:

That first one would be perfect for 10th & Farnam.

PotatoeEatsFish · Post by **PotatoeEatsFish** » Thu Oct 01, 2015 10:04 pm

Bye Conagra have fun in the gigantic ghetto of Chicago.

GetUrban · Post by **GetUrban** » Thu Oct 01, 2015 11:31 pm

Looking at that aerial Coyote just posted, it's hard to believe how little of that green space is actually part of Hurtland of America Park. Must be about 15%-20% at most. The rest is just private lawn space around the buildings. The big lawn Just northeast of the now old HQ building should be incorporated into the park immediately, using eminent domain. (Not that the Parks dept. has the money to keep it up)

Joe_Sovereign · Post by **Joe_Sovereign** » Mon Oct 05, 2015 11:09 am

Midwestern · Post by **Midwestern** » Thu Oct 08, 2015 8:35 pm

The Mayor mentioned the ConAgra campus on the most recent 10 minutes with the mayor.

http://www.omaha.com/news/metro/stother ... 7b912.html

RNcyanide · Post by **RNcyanide** » Fri Oct 09, 2015 7:11 am

The easiest part to redevelop would be the north end with the flag promenade and the squatty parking garage. Shift all workers south into the southern three buildings and tear down the northern one.