Omaha’s movers and shakers, with more than half the funds pledged privately, are forging ahead with a $290 million proposal to breathe new life into the city’s downtown riverfront.
A conceptual master plan calls for adding spacious lawns for events, a Farnam Street walking promenade that stretches past Eighth Street to the river, a ribbon-shaped rink for ice skating and rollerblading, a water plaza where kids can play and splash, and a dog park.
That would be accomplished by raising most of Gene Leahy Mall to street level and downsizing existing water features to create an open, continuous park leading all the way to the Missouri River.
Real estate experts and civic leaders raved Tuesday over the $290 million, largely privately funded plan they say should draw more people to the Omaha riverfront and eventually more commerce to the city’s core.
The ambitious plan would add dozens of new amenities and activities to a roughly 90-acre area along the mall and river, from the marina near the Bob Kerrey Pedestrian Bridge south to The Breakers apartment complex at Leavenworth Street.
The mall’s popular slides will remain, and a third slide is planned.
Ken Stinson and Mogens Bay, two Omaha businessmen and Heritage Services board members spearheading the effort, said they want to reconnect people to the river and transform the area into a vibrant and iconic destination that’s more inviting.
“We’ve all worked on lots of projects in Omaha,” Stinson told The World-Herald, “but this is one of the more significant opportunities to do something that, I think, is a game changer in the community.”
Details of the $290 million riverfront plan
Scroll through these images to learn more about the changes planned.
Changes to the Gene Leahy Mall
The park would start at 13th Street, instead of 14th Street like the Gene Leahy Mall does today. A new downtown library could rise at 14th and Farnam Streets or stay in its current spot. (Mayor Jean Stothert previously dedicated $25 million in the capital improvement plan for a new downtown library.)
Along the mall between 11th and 13th Streets, a street-level sculpture garden across from the Holland Performing Arts Center, dog park, children’s play area and restaurant would surround a 65,000-square-foot lawn and pavilion for events and concerts.
A kid’s splash park would sit along an 11th Street walking promenade. That pass through, which doesn’t exist today, would allow people to walk from the Old Market to the Capitol District and north downtown. The promenade wouldn’t be open to traffic, other than for food trucks to park and serve food.
At 11th Street, a smaller water feature about one-third of the size of today’s lagoon would ripple down stairs and run to the east side of the Greenhouse Apartments. The area around the Burlington Place building would not rise to street level; it would slope downward.
The historic slides and arch at 11th and Farnam Streets would remain, as would the Burlington and Greenhouse Apartments buildings. And the area from the Greenhouse Apartments to 8th Street would be at the same level as Douglas Street.
Planned changes to Heartland of America Park
A smooth transition into Heartland of America Park would make that area less intimidating and more accessible. “We want to make this flow,” said Ken Stinson, an Omaha businessman and philanthropist co-chairman said of the committee’s work.
The size of Conagra Lake at Heartland of America Park would be reduced to allow for an Eighth Street plaza gathering place, another event lawn and a multiuse, ribbon-shaped rink for wintertime ice skating and summertime rollerblading.
The smaller lake would also allow for Farnam Street to continue east past Eighth Street; today, it dead ends. Farnam at that point would become a tree-lined pedestrian promenade leading to a raised walking and biking path that runs along the river.
The committee said its plan complements a $500 million redevelopment proposal that would add housing, restaurants, offices and green space to the Conagra campus. Stinson said the two plans are “very in sync” now.
The Riverfront Revitalization Planning Committee will present the master plan at a public meeting from 5 to 7 p.m. Tuesday at Gallup, 1001 Gallup Drive. A presentation with videos will begin at 5:30 p.m.
The committee has met for about a year and a half dreaming up ideas for the Omaha and Council Bluffs waterfronts. The group has finished its vision for the Omaha side; Council Bluffs leaders are still working to complete their side’s master plan.
Based on conceptual drawings, Stinson said, the Omaha project is estimated to cost between $260 million and $290 million. That would include construction, engineering and other planning in the park areas. It doesn’t consider private residential and office development that the committee believes would follow.
Omaha Mayor Jean Stothert said the city would issue $50 million in lease-purchase bonds. She wants to add that incentive to the city’s capital improvement plan over three years. She can do so without raising taxes, she said.
The rest of the project’s funding would come from the city’s philanthropic community, which Stinson said has already verbally committed more than $150 million.
Members of the riverfront revitalization committee
» Mayor Jean Stothert, City of Omaha
» Mayor Matt Walsh, City of Council Bluffs
» Ken Stinson, Peter Kiewit Sons’ Inc. (committee co-chair)
» Mogens Bay, Valmont (committee co-chair)
» Steve Jensen, Steven Jensen Consulting
» Doug Bisson, HDR
» Brook Bench, City of Omaha Parks and Recreation Director
» Michael Alley, Alley Poyner Macchietto Architecture
» Gary Gates, Omaha Public Power District
» Bob Schlott, Warren Distribution
» Pete Tulipana, Iowa West Foundation
» Mark Warner, Conagra Brands
» Rhonda Ferguson, Union Pacific
» Jack Koraleski, Union Pacific
» Jane Miller, Gallup
» David Brown, Greater Omaha Chamber of Commerce
Other projects by OJB Landscape Architecture
» Klyde Warren Park. Dallas
» Levy Park. Houston
» Lebauer Park. Greensboro, North Carolina
» Myriad Gardens. Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
» Park at Lakeshore East. Chicago
» Playa Vista Central Park. Los Angeles
Donors have covered the cost of the committee’s work to date. That includes hiring a consulting team led by the OJB Landscape Architecture firm, which has designed urban parks in Dallas and Oklahoma City. OJB has offices in San Diego, Houston and Boston.
The Omaha committee expects to spend $4.6 million in private funds by the end of the year. “Not a penny” of taxpayer dollars has been spent to date, Stothert said, though city officials have dedicated time toward planning.
“It speaks to not only the size of philanthropic opportunities in Omaha but also the enthusiasm (for this project) from the philanthropic community,” Bay said.
Under the committee’s vision, the areas would remain public spaces. The Metropolitan Entertainment and Convention Authority would oversee their construction, operation, activation and maintenance, like it has for the CenturyLink Center and TD Ameritrade Park.
Stinson said that Stothert and MECA’s board agree and that attorneys are drafting an agreement to add the area to MECA’s responsibilities.
Dirt could move as soon as the middle of next year, with the project wrapping up in 2022. Stinson said that depends on permitting and approvals from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality and the Omaha City Council. The council has been briefed on the plan.
Stothert said she believes that the undertaking would raise property values, spark other development and draw more people and jobs downtown. And the existing park areas, she said, will become even better.
“I think everybody understands that this will be just transformational,” she said.
The committee acknowledged that there may be detractors, but Stinson said he strongly believes that opponents will be in the minority. The committee said it’s still soliciting public input. (The committee said about 700 people have attended three previous public meetings. Two were held last fall in Omaha, and one took place last month in Council Bluffs. The committee also has a website, riverfrontrevitalization.com)
How to learn more
What: The public is invited to learn about the conceptual master plan for the Omaha side of the riverfront at a community meeting.
When: Open house from 5 to 7 tonight, June 12, with a presentation at 5:30 p.m.
Where: Gallup, 1001 Gallup Drive. Free parking will be available in the Gallup parking lot. Enter through the most northern door on the west side of the building.
For more information: Visit riverfrontrevitalization.com.
The Gene Leahy Mall underwent a major renovation in 2013. The city spent $1.8 million to overhaul the lagoon and add new trails and lighting. The Nebraska Environmental Trust provided $600,000 of that.
The committee’s next steps are to finish up the “initialization” phase of surveying and collecting data. They hope to move on to the next phase of design next month.
Ultimately, the committee wants to see results like those at Klyde Warren Park, the urban park in Dallas, where 1,300 events take place a year, from fitness classes and lectures to children’s activities and movie nights.
Bay said the project is “all about making the community a better place for everybody.”
“If you fast forward five years, what a kick we can get out of maybe watching thousands of families having a wonderful time in something we had a small part in getting created,” he said.
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(18) comments
For what it’s worth.... I was a member of the original Riverfront Development Committee chaired by Mike Yanney and Gene Leah’s in the early 70’s. Our justification for the project was the same then as it is now. It worked then, it will work now. With MECA’s constant attention and vigilance, timely maintenance and promotion of its use, it will work better.
What a great idea for downtown Omaha. The portrayal looks like a perfect fit for Omaha. Great job! I hope it continues
Adding city owned permanent vending space for offering various foods and beverages in the space- which would be leased to local private venders- would add ongoing funding for park maintenance but would also first and foremost add an amenity for people to enjoy in the park. If we are going to make this riverfront part of the soul of Omaha, let's encourage social mixing through foods and drinks representing the subcultures of this immigrant town. Make it more than pretty space.
With portions of our infrastructure all over the city, streets and sewers, why don’t the movers and shakers focus on that instead of fluff? Who will be responsible for maintenance in the future decades? Basic services, baby.
I agree, now is not the time to spend more money when the city is falling apart.
I don't think the movers and shakers are going to donate money to fix streets and sewers.
Let's use this money to pay from the sewer/CSO project and leave the Mall as it is.
More work = more money for Kiewit, plus possible tax write-offs for some wealthy people. The work in the 70's was to clean up/out undesireables, whose 'offsprinng' are still there.
Wow!
This is an ambitious and visionary plan. It really could be a game changer for downtown and riverfront activities. Great job!
Where's the giant ferris wheel and merry-go-round?
Really all we are doing is filling in our mud puddle and building a bunch of useless fluff no body will have anything to do with in five years. How about we spend some money and build a public pool west of 108th street so our kids have something to do in the summer time. the drawings are nice to look at but are not reality.
People will go there once and realize it is not convenient or that great and never go back.
Yes, include a "children's park" to melt peoples hearts so that they support this monstrosity. This is the ugliest proposal I've ever seen. At least what we have now is serenic and has eye appeal. I enjoy walking around the lagoon and watching the ducks and birds. But, with the submissive City Council we have, the "movers and shakers" will surely get their way again, and they will get a giant tax break for their philanthropic deads. Labeling us as "detractors" is there to let us know that the people of Omaha really have no say. I see nothing is mentioned about the library, which means that is going away as well. How sad...all of this.
So I guess my Central Park Mall poster from the 80s will show how things used to be someday? Sad that the city just spent a bunch of money fixing it up and now is going to start all over again. As long as there are places to park near all the events, and people feel safe down there, it should be ok. I think downtown Omaha is great and it is sad so much has been lost there such as the Civic Center, and sports teams moving elsewhere. Need to find a use for the baseball stadium too other than just two weeks a year.
Thank you to the City and all of the visionary funders for bringing this plan forward. We're lucky to live in a city where people are willing to donate for the benefit of others.
I would think one would concentrate on things to draw people downtown -ie: something to do. How about an "Omaha Beach" water park, or overhead zip line like in old town Las Vegas. People love to do things, not just walk around.
Fabulous! The Riverfront Project in the 70's was great and a god send to reviving the downtown ... thanks to visionaries like Mike Yanney and Gene Leahy!! It's been 45 years+ since we first "Returned to the Riverfront". It is now time go all the way to the rivers edge. Raising the Mall to street level is needed .. it was dangerous with the murder about a month ago to search the mall for the criminals as well as possible victims. Dark ... too many places to hid. Raising the mall to street level will increase the number of people and activities. How great to have people willing to donate close to $100 million + .... the city will reap millions of $$ of revenue from increased business in the area. This will be a win win for all.
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