Bank to open office at 50th and Ames

First National Bank will build a new office, with suburban trimmings such as a coffee bar and Internet cafe, at 50th Street and Ames Avenue to replace a location nearby that was wedged into a former McDonald's restaurant in 1992.

The 5,000-square-foot building, to open in June, will be one of the first new commercial construction projects in years along that section of Ames, a north Omaha thoroughfare with commercial and retail potential that is the focus of intense redevelopment efforts.

The bank's official announcement was to come this morning, but already civic boosters are praising it as a catalyst for commercial activity in north Omaha.

“This is exactly the kind of project that we envisioned,” said David Brown, president and CEO of the Greater Omaha Chamber of Commerce. “This could be the lever that drives enough people to this site that a retailer could make a decision to open another retail opportunity there.”

Ed Cochran, director of the chamber's North Omaha Development Project, said First National has been a partner in the development effort from the beginning.

“It sends a very positive message to other businesses that expansion in the north Omaha community is viable financially and a wise decision,” Cochran said. “Once you have an investment from one organization, it tends to beget investment from others.”

He said it's significant that the new office will have the state-of-the-art features that First National has at its newest offices, such as those at Shadow Lake shopping center in Papillion and at 168th Street and Giles Road.

“It makes a statement that's not just from an economic development standpoint,” Cochran said. “It makes almost a cultural statement as well.”

Dennis O'Neal, chairman of First National of Nebraska Community Development Corp. and co-chairman of the North Omaha Development Project, said he is “thrilled that our company has decided to support this effort in such a meaningful way.”

Employees from the old office at 48th Street and Ames Avenue will move to the new building. The new branch will have safe deposit boxes with iris-scan security.

City Councilman Ben Gray, whose district includes the property, said officials are working to bring other commercial projects to the area.

“I think it's going to attract people for sure, but I'm hoping that it will attract businesses, ultimately, to come back and take another look at that corridor and see if there are some opportunities.”

In 2006 the Benson-Ames Alliance unveiled long-term redevelopment plans for the stretch from 48th to 60th Streets, including new retail and residential construction. The chamber-led project promotes development along the street east of 52nd Street.

Aldi Inc. broke ground this summer for a supermarket at 30th and Ames, but the 50th and Ames site has had vacancies since 2006.

Baker's Supermarkets, the main retailer there for decades, bought the property in 1986, renamed it Baker Place and then remodeled and expanded its store in 1988. That store closed in November 2004 when Baker's opened a new supermarket at 72nd and Ames.

Super Saver opened a store at the site in February 2005 but closed it less than two years later, citing low profits. It has been vacant since then.

Baker Place has a SAC Federal Credit Union office, a beauty parlor and a Family Dollar store.

First National plans to build the new office at the southeast corner of the property, razing a former Blockbuster video store building, which is vacant.

First National didn't provide an estimated cost of the new building, but a free-standing bank typically costs more than $1 million to build and equip.

“A lot of it is, how do you have enough activity happen in that neighborhood that people start going back there as a great spot for retail?” Brown said. “We think this is a great investment on First National's part to prove that north Omaha is still a viable market. It will be nice to see their suburban model work here.”

Contact the writer:

444-1080, steve.jordon@owh.com

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