Building use still focuses on creativity

After years of sitting vacant, a sprawling north downtown building has fresh tenants and plans for more.

What Cheer, an Omaha-based Web design studio, moved in December into a 2,400-square-foot space it's leasing in the 130,000-square-foot Mastercraft Furniture building at 1111 N. 13th St., just north of the Hot Shops Art Center.

The company, which builds Web sites, plans an open house at 7 p.m. Saturday.

It's the first tenant in the building, which previously had been targeted as a potential headquarters and creative campus for the Omaha Creative Institute.

Susan Thomas, executive director of the institute, an initiative of the Hot Shops Art Foundation, said the group started looking at other properties when Bellevue University decided not to move its arts program to north downtown and when it became apparent that the purchase of the building by a nonprofit was not consistent with the owner's goals for the property.

She said the institute is considering other north downtown properties for a creative center with studio, classroom, retail and performance space.

Bob Grinnell, who bought the Mastercraft building in 2005, said that while he liked the idea of a creative campus, he had negotiated with the group exclusively for months and wanted to pursue developing the building.

Grinnell, who as owner of Surplus Sales of Nebraska has used part of the building for storage, had completed improvements to the infrastructure in July 2006. When talks with Omaha Creative Institute ceased, he constructed models in several spaces in the one-story building's south end to show how the post-and-beam structure, concrete floors, skylights and high ceilings can be used as “office lofts.”

Grinnell hired an architect to design the space for What Cheer and built several other models with finishes to demonstrate the building's potential.

Secret Penguin, an Omaha-based youth brand strategy and design agency that previously had shared an office with What Cheer, is finalizing a lease for 1,250 square feet next to What Cheer.

That leaves two finished models — Grinnell hopes to lease one and keep one as a model. Construction started this week on more loft offices on the same side of the building, and Grinnell plans to continue finishing spaces, leasing as he goes.

He envisions professionals in the spirit of What Cheer and Secret Penguin, companies run by young, creative types whose clients range from professional skateboarders to celebrities and who are active in promoting north downtown. Other tenants could include artists, architects, lawyers and other professionals, Grinnell said.

“At the end of the day, it's turning out better than I ever hoped,” he said.

What Cheer owner John Henry Muller and Secret Penguin owner Dave Nelson said they decided to move their companies from storefront space at 13th and Webster Streets in the Saddle Creek Records complex because they were outgrowing the shared space and didn't need storefronts.

In the past two years, What Cheer has grown from one employee to four, and Secret Penguin has grown from two to four employees.

Secret Penguin plans to move into the Mastercraft building by Feb. 15.

In early January, Inclosed Studio, an invitation design studio run by Lesley Peterson, opened in the storefront previously occupied by What Cheer and Secret Penguin.

With that tenant, the retail space in the Saddle Creek complex is fully leased, said Jason Kulbel, one of two record label executives who developed the complex.

Contact the writer:

444-1183, christine.laue@owh.com

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