Everything's up to date in ... Omaha
By Kevin Collison/The Kansas City Star
Anyone who thinks Kansas City has gone about as far as it can go when it comes to revitalizing downtown should take a little trip upriver to Omaha.
This is a city that doesn't rest on its laurels. Just last week it was announced that a 24,000-seat ballpark would be built downtown as part of a 25-year deal to keep the College World Series.
The $127 million ballpark, likely to be designed by HOK Sport of Kansas City, will be next to the 4 1/2 -year-old Qwest Center, one of the country's more successful arenas. The Qwest Center was a major element in the ongoing revitalization of the Omaha downtown riverfront.
Later this year, a $17 million pedestrian bridge spanning the Missouri River between Nebraska and Iowa is scheduled to open linking the downtown riverfront with 150 miles of trails. The graceful bridge is next to a new 12-story condominium building, and a twin tower is about to start construction.
Those condo towers are part of a huge investment in downtown housing that has not only renovated many older buildings, but also generated plenty of new construction. The biggest project on tap is a 32-story condo and hotel tower planned by Jason Townsend, a Kansas City developer, on the site of the old Union Pacific building.
Union Pacific built a new 19-story headquarters across the street in 2004. It's not far from the $102 million Holland Performing Arts Center that was completed in 2005. The performing arts center is across from the urban park Omaha began building in the 1970s with the ultimate goal of reconnecting the downtown core with the river.
This brings us back to the ballpark, arena, pedestrian bridge, riverfront condos, etc.
Whew. Now that I've caught my breath, there's more.
Mutual of Omaha is building a $300 million mixed-use development on the west edge of downtown that will include 600 apartments and condos, and 220,000 square feet of retail, including a movie complex. The Midtown Crossing at Turner Park is scheduled to be completed late next year.And get this, Kansas City: The next big thing being planned is a streetcar route that will link major downtown attractions including the Qwest Center; the Old Market -- a funky historic district of shops, restaurants and bars -- the central business district, and Creighton University.Plans call for this starter line to be locally funded with an eye toward attracting federal funding for expansions down the track. Sound familiar?
There have been several mayors who've consistently pushed Omaha's downtown revitalization, but the latest is a son of Kansas City. Mayor Mike Fahey is a 1961 graduate of Bishop Lillis High School and his old home was razed to make way for Penn Valley Community College.Fahey, like his predecessors, has benefited mightily from an almost hyperactive corporate community that continues to cooperatively push the Omaha development envelope. Remember, this is a metro area of 815,000 residents versus about 2 million in Greater Kansas City.
Civic leaders have established what's called Heritage Services to channel private donations for projects including the ballpark, performing arts center and the arena.And by the way, Omaha has used what's unfortunately become almost a dirty phrase around here -- tax increment financing -- to assist the redevelopment boom, including the new housing projects. That's made a critical difference.
Kansas City has had success converting old buildings to housing, but constructing new condos has been tough, primarily because developers can't make the numbers work. The TIF assistance in Omaha has allowed developers to build new projects and sell units at competitive prices, and still make a profit.
To Fahey, who said the city's finances are just fine, the idea that a community can ever relax when it comes to keeping its downtown vibrant is foolish."You don't want to lose your momentum," he said. "From my perspective, a city that loses momentum is like having a pacifier put in your mouth."
