Sarpy ballpark a development home run?

In the middle of Ronald Reagan's presidency, two Omaha brothers retired, sold their company and invested in 310 acres of land in western Sarpy County.

By then, the original two-story farmhouse with a wraparound front porch had burned down. Someone already had dismantled the barn to salvage the wood. No outbuildings remained.

Brothers Edward and Irvin Schewe in 1985 paid about $620,000 for the property, according to Sarpy County records.

Now the Schewe cornfield could be the site of one of the largest commercial real estate ventures ever envisioned in Sarpy County.

The Omaha Royals plan to construct a new 6,000-seat minor league baseball stadium on 31 acres donated by the Schewe family, and Sarpy County officials hope that will spark development of a wide area around the ballpark.

The Schewe (pronounced Shee-vee) family stands to profit from the ballpark and related development, with the remaining 279 acres worth much more with a ballpark next door than without it.

But the investors also have had to be very pa-
tient — they have waited years and have seen previous development prospects fall through — and they still have no guarantee that all the plans will become reality. Minor league ballparks around the country have a mixed record of attracting new development.

The investors are gambling, said Trenton Magid, president of Omaha's Coldwell Banker Commercial World Group.

"It is no small gift to the community to donate 31 acres of prime commercial real estate along the Highway 370 corridor," Magid said.

"Certainly, they are taking a big risk. They are trying to make theirs on the back end."

The hilly ballpark site was settled by the Rahn family in the early 1900s, and two generations farmed the land before selling to an investor who later sold to the Schewes.

Though both brothers initially invested in the land, the property has primarily been under the control of Edward Schewe's branch of the family. Patrick Sullivan, a Schewe family attorney, said Irvin Schewe lives in Omaha and owns additional parcels of land in Sarpy County.

According to Roger Langpaul, who is Edward Schewe's son-in-law and the property agent for Schewe Farms, the land "was purchased with the intent at the time of developing it."

In the meantime, U.S. presidents came and went. After Reagan came George H.W. Bush. Two terms of Bill Clinton. Two terms of George W. Bush. Now Barack Obama.

Still the family faced the question: when to sell to make the best return on the investment?

This spring, the county solicited formal requests from area landowners for a potential Royals ballpark. On April 13, Langpaul offered to donate the land at 126th Street and Nebraska Highway 370 as one of 12 proposals received by the county.

Ballpark consultants said the Schewe site was by far the least expensive to develop, and three of the five Sarpy County Board members decided on June 1 that it offered the best chance to spin off new development.

Based on current land values, the donation is worth at least $1.5 million, said County Board member Rich Jansen of rural Gretna.

"We estimate that it will take five to seven years to complete the development of this site and at that time we will have increased . . . (taxable) valuations to over $220 million," Langpaul wrote in May when outlining his proposal to Sarpy County's ballpark consultant.

Langpaul, 55, who is married to Edward Schewe's daughter, Margaret, has managed the family's property for several years. He is an Omaha native, and he graduated from South High School in 1972 and later from the University of Nebraska at Omaha.

He, his wife and their two adult sons have lived in the Des Moines area for the past two decades.

Until now, Langpaul has been a relatively unknown figure in Sarpy County's development circles, said Jansen, who first met Langpaul this spring during ballpark talks.

Longtime Sarpy County Administrator Mark Wayne said he, too, was largely unfamiliar with Langpaul or his development projects.

"I think Roger is more of a doer than a talker," Jansen said. "In Des Moines, he is known as one of the most aggressive developers in that area. I am sure he will be very aggressive in marketing this site. He's a promoter, and he wants to get things going."

Over 20 years, Langpaul worked at Ladco Development in Des Moines as an investment and asset manager. He also has worked for Principal Financial Group and AmerUs Group.

About a year ago, he and two colleagues left Ladco to form a West Des Moines-based commercial real estate company, 360 Real Estate Services Inc. Langpaul's year-old commercial real estate firm will retain control over the family's remaining acres around the ballpark.

Langpaul said he has developed a 400-acre business park in West Des Moines. He has managed mall properties and a number of apartment projects, according to Des Moines news reports.

Langpaul and his wife also own and manage Robin's Resort, a year-round group of 36 condominiums and cabins at Lake of the Ozarks in Osage Beach, Mo.

Meeting minutes show that in 2004, Schewe Farms Inc. went before the Sarpy County Board and received approval to develop the Palisades housing subdivision at 168th Street and Cornhusker Road. The Boyer Young company later carried out the development.

During the stadium selection process, Omaha-area developer Jerry Torczon submitted a letter vouching for Langpaul. Torczon has developed 14 subdivisions in the Omaha area since the 1980s and has sold more than 3,000 lots.

He said he knew Langpaul because they have abutting properties along Highway 370.

"I think Roger has the capability to bring his plans to fruition," Torczon said. "He knows what he is doing."

For his family's remaining land around the ballpark, Langpaul hopes to attract an ice rink, a fitness center, an indoor water park and hotel, restaurants and a shopping center. Later he envisions professional offices and homes.

Separately, the Papio-Missouri River Natural Resources District plans two flood-control lakes in the area within the next five years, according to general manager John Winkler.

Langpaul has told Sarpy County officials that he has a letter of understanding from another developer who wants to build the ice arena with 4,500 seats and two sheets of indoor ice.

Last week, Langpaul said it may be a few weeks before he can finalize the contracts and announce details about the ice arena.

"We are also talking with other developers about different pieces of property," Langpaul said. "Our goal is to bring something that is not in Omaha and be a destination."

Langpaul said he also hopes to develop another of a handful of family-owned sites, roughly 110 acres near 204th and Harrison Streets, within the next few years as a mix of houses and commercial space.

In some ways, the ballpark project has a bittersweet feel for the Schewe family. Langpaul said his father-in-law, Edward, is 82 and has Alzheimer's disease, and he isn't able to share in the family's joy or see the fruits of his land investment.

Edward and Irvin Schewe had a personal connection to Rosenblatt Stadium, the home the Royals are leaving for Sarpy County. The business they sold, Standard Iron Works, installed the original seating inside that ballpark, Langpaul said.

"My father-in-law was really proud of that."

• Contact the writer: 444-1056, john.ferak@owh.com

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