My Future Omaha: Suggestions

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Back in March, the Omaha Chamber of Commerce released a huge vision of what Omaha could become, the Urban Core Strategic Plan. 

(I'll analyze that much later.)

The Omaha World-Herald reported on this, and I replied with some ideas and insights. 

Here are my comments, which are still accessible at their website linked above.

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1. The Union Pacific railroad runs a single-track behind the convention center. It is a moat to pedestrian traffic. If you are at the ballpark and want to access the Kerrey Bridge, you must either walk UP to Sixth and Abbott and then back down, or all the way down to the Arena parking and back up. 25 minutes either way. Build a train tunnel and fortify it against flooding if necessary, so that it's much easier for visitors to access the Landing.

2. 20th Street is Omaha's cultural core, from St. Mary's to Creighton University:

• Liberty Elementary
• The Children's Museum
• YMCA
• Rose Theater
• Scottish Rite Masonic Center
• Central High
• Creighton
• Joslyn Art Museum

Market that spine like Museum Mile in Manhattan. This encourages other creatives to move nearby, and eventually, you get Chelsea and Clinton instead of Hell's Kitchen. 

3. I applaud the removal of the 19th Street ramp. It's not required, as Exit 3A and the Tangle at 28th offer access. THIS is where I would place a new downtown branch for the Omaha Public Library, directly east of Omaha Central, and near Creighton University. Also opposite the Civic superblock... 

4. The Civic Auditorium Superblock: Look south. What do you see? The Federal Courthouse. City Hall. The Douglas County Courthouse.

18th Street becomes the government spine of downtown. Since the City is demolishing a brutalist building on The Mall, why not raze the other two brutalist buildings on 16th Street: the firehouse and the Omaha Police Department headquarters? That land on Jackson and Howard has lots of potential! And the City doesn't need to buy new land for the Public Safety headquarters, because it can be placed on 18th and Capitol! Given how narrow the City building is, perhaps this new building could also house other city departments as well. The presence also helps mitigate any safety concerns in the area. 

5. Years ago, I got kicked out of an Omaha planning chatroom because I was crazy enough to suggest that Mutual of Omaha build a platform over I-480 at Farnam. (Yes, even after I used the example of I-395 which runs underneath the Capitol in DC.) Placing I-480 below grade and building a platform, either for public space or development, is an excellent idea, along all of I-480. Dodge Street to Leavenworth could be easily "lidded", perhaps with a new soccer stadium for Union Omaha, creating an eastern anchor to the Blackstone District.  Make an agreement with the Nebraska DOT that they will sell the air rights in exchange for investing any monies earned back into Omaha's NEDOT infrastructure. 

Examples of similar development include I-5 in downtown Seattle and Hudson Yards in Manhattan. 

6. Extend 10th Street across Abbott Drive and have it connect with 11th Street. Make 11th Street the Main Street of the innovation districts all the way north to Levi Carter Park. This creates another north-south connector, similar to 16th Street. (If the railroad line can be adjusted, the land east of 11th is ripe for development! 

7. Cumming Street is a gateway to Omaha, due to Abbott Drive and Eppley Airport. Creighton University should lead on the landscaping and design of this street, which would center on the stretch from 10th to Saddle Creek. 

8. Likewise, Ames Avenue is the Main Street of North Omaha, and the City should encourage mixed-use high-density development on this street, in anticipation of streetcar expansion. 

9. TIF financing should be a carrot and a stick for development. The City should set minimum requirements for TIF approval. Underground parking. A minimum Floor-to-Area Ratio of at least five storeys, with extra incentives for taller buildings. Street-level retail. A minimum percentage of low and middle income housing in each building, with income levels set by the City. 

10. Eppley Airport is well-sited, within easy reach of Downtown. Expansion is currently being constructed with a single concourse to improve circulation and security. This concourse can easily be expanded south to Locust and north to Lindbergh, although runway capacity is unknown. At a minimum, there should be a Metro shuttle bus running on a frequent schedule to the airport. It can charge a premium ($4) for the service, which exists in most metropolitan airports. (See: M60 bus to LaGuardia) 

11. Union Pacific and Burlington Northern should place their tracks near Pacific underground, and develop the air rights above it, in much the same way that Vanderbilt placed the tracks below Grand Central Terminal and created Park Avenue. As this area becomes developed, the railroads can continue building more onward to I-80 just south of Vinton.

12. Eventually, UNMC, Douglas County Health, and the VA should interconnect along 42nd Street. (There are only three blocks separating UNMC from its neighbors.) What synergies can be maximized with partnerships between local, state, and national health organizations? 

13. The two blocks of land of the Main Post Office at 11th and Pacific sits 100 feet above Downtown and would be an excellent pedestal for a corporate skyscraper, visible from the interstate and downtown. USPS could move most of their processing to their facility at the northern edge of Eppley Airfield, and place a small retail post office on the ground floor of the replacement skyscraper, or elsewhere in the 68108 zip code.

14. Howard, St. Mary's, and Jackson streets make a "Z". This zone, call it "The Zed" has the Children's Museum and the 20th Street cultural spine on the west, and the Orpheum and 16th Street on the east. If the OFD and OPD headquarters are moved to the Civic site at 18th and Capitol, then those lots east of The Zed can be redeveloped, and connect 20th Street to the Old Market!

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