The Blackstone District has revealed plans for a streetscape makeover expected to boost pedestrian safety and commerce by widening sidewalks and narrowing driving lanes along the trendy midtown Omaha strip.
A proposed 131-unit apartment project in midtown's Gold Coast historic district got a green light from the Omaha Planning Board, despite numerous objections from people who testified or wrote letters.
Complaints centered on the planned demolition of three vintage residential structures southeast of 38th Avenue and Dodge Streets to make way for what opponents described as a high-rent and nondescript building.
Opponents took issue with razing what they said were 21 existing affordable rental units within those structures. They also objected to the developer's request for $3.8 million in tax-increment financing.
"Use it (TIF) in areas that are actually blighted," Kristen DuPree told the board. A dozen people testified last week against the project; more submitted letters of opposition.
Planning Board member Michael Pate said he was conflicted over the loss of affordable rental buildings that also have architectural character. But after a lengthy hearing, he joined a 6-0 vote favoring the TIF request for the project, whose overall cost is now estimated at $28 million.
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The City Council has yet to vote.
Developer Skylark LLC plans a seven-level building with two floors of parking, a workout facility, office space and a public coffee shop.
Apartments would range in size from studio to two-bedroom units and in rent from about $825 to $1,700. About 10 of the units would be offered at an "affordable" rate yet to be determined, said Skylark's Stephen Sykes.
TIF is designed to spur economic activity in areas designated as blighted. Under the program, a developer obtains a loan to help cover eligible costs approved by the city. The loan is paid back, generally over 15 years, with the increase in taxes generated from the new development. Normally, property tax payments go to support schools and other local tax-reliant governments.
At a glance: 11 key developments around the Omaha metro area
Heartwood Preserve
ONYX Automotive in January became the first business to launch operations on the 500-acre redevelopment site poised to become a mecca of office, housing and entertainment venues. Under construction are office campuses for local business biggies including Applied Underwriters, Valmont Industries and The Carson Group. Developers expect the property value of the overall site, bounded generally by 144th, 153rd and Pine Streets and West Dodge Road, to rise by more than $1 billion when completed over 15 or so years.
192 Street & West Dodge Road
Underway are huge projects by two separate real estate developers that will transform some 250 acres around 192nd Street and West Dodge Road. The work, estimated to top $1.5 billion, includes office, commercial and residential venues on the southwest and southeast corners of the intersection. Developer Curt Hofer is leading the Avenue One project, and R&R Realty of West Des Moines is behind two office parks.
Downtown ‘districts’
Helping to change the downtown Omaha landscape north of Dodge Street are three districts. The $300 million Millwork Commons launched with the (ongoing) restoration of the Ashton warehouse at 12th and Nicholas Streets into a new home for tech company Flywheel. The Builder’s District centers on the rising new worldwide headquarters for Kiewit Corp. near 16th and Burt Streets. The Capitol District entertainment area began years ago but in 2020 is to finish construction of an office and retail building that is the last major structural piece at the site near 10th Street and Capitol Avenue.
Blackstone area of midtown Omaha
A food hall, a resurrected historic hotel and an upscale condo project are poised to be the latest newcomers to the hip and growing Blackstone area that’s anchored along the Farnam corridor near 40th Street. Millions of dollars have been invested in an area buoyed by increased building and growth of the nearby University of Nebraska Medical Center.
La Vista City Centre
Construction continues at the $235 million City Centre campus — a mix of residential, commercial and entertainment uses along the 84th Street corridor in La Vista. Another phase of apartments is to open this summer, and multiple businesses are preparing their spaces. An indoor-outdoor music venue is to break ground as soon as the ground thaws.
Data center central
Sarpy County, in the area of Highway 370 and Highway 50, continues its rise as the state’s data center hub. Google announced its multimillion-dollar facility most recently, making that the county’s eighth data center. Facebook is expanding its data center construction. A recent study by University of Nebraska-Lincoln researchers found that operation of the county’s largest four data centers (at the time Fidelity, Travelers, Yahoo-turned-Oath and Facebook) had an annual statewide economic impact of $522 million, with an employment impact of nearly 1,900 direct and indirect jobs.
Riverfront
Omaha is in the midst of a nearly $300 million transformation of three downtown parks into The RiverFront, an effort aimed in part at revving up recruitment and retention of workforce talent. Major construction on the Gene Leahy Mall is expected to finish up in late 2021, with work on some amenities stretching into 2024. Work on nearby Lewis & Clark Landing near the foot of the Bob Kerrey Pedestrian Bridge is set to begin in late summer to early fall 2020. Work on Heartland of America Park, which sits between the Conagra campus and the Missouri River, east of Eighth and Douglas Streets, carries into 2024.
Children’s Hospital & Medical Center
Nearly tripling its footprint over the past few years, Children’s has acquired several buildings near 84th Street and West Dodge Road, including the former HDR office campus along Indian Hills Drive. Currently under construction is the nine-story Hubbard Center for Children that’s scheduled to open in 2021 on the northern side of the hospital. Neighboring pockets are seeing their own development bursts, including an office strip to the west. On the north side of West Dodge and Children’s, two mixed-use developments anchored by bank branches have risen.
Topgolf pocket
A corridor near Westroads Mall is seeing a dramatic shift from a car dealership row to a family entertainment zone. Change is led by the new and rising 10-acre Topgolf venue estimated to cost about $23 million and poised to open in late March. Other commercial structures are set to rise, one with a Chipotle restaurant. Joe Ricketts, father of Nebraska’s governor and patriarch of the family that owns the Chicago Cubs, also has purchased about 8 acres along that stretch but hasn’t disclosed his plans.
South Omaha
The Omaha Housing Authority’s Southside Terrace complex near 29th and T Streets.
Ames Plaza
A decaying North Omaha shopping hub near 56th Street and Ames Avenue has been resuscitated with about $18 million in a redevelopment effort led by Omaha’s White Lotus Group. Much of the commercial space on the 14-acre site that dates back 60 years had been condemned before a couple of key structures were revamped and a new row house project built. The latest phase is the former 44,000-square-foot Ames Bowling Center structure that has been re-purposed into the Ames Innovation Center.
cindy.gonzalez@owh.com, 402-444-1224
Cindy Gonzalez
Reporter - Money
Cindy covers housing, commercial real estate development and more for The World-Herald. Follow her on Twitter @cgonzalez_owh. Phone: 402-444-1224.
