The City of Omaha has entered a new era in urban design with the recent unveiling of two developments that will revolutionize how local residents live, work and play.

“Midtown Crossing at Turner Park and Aksarben Village are stellar examples of the Urban Design Element philosophy at work,” said Connie Spellman, director of Omaha by Design. “Each development will transform an older section of Omaha into a vibrant, distinctive and connected area that will serve as a destination point for people from throughout the city.”

Midtown Crossing
at Turner Park
Midtown Crossing at Turner Park, a $250 million mixed-use urban development, was unveiled Oct. 19  by Mutual of Omaha and ECI Investment Advisors Inc. It represents the first major initiative tied to the Destination Midtown project.

Anchored by an expanded and revitalized Turner Park, Midtown Crossing will consist of seven buildings with approximately 200,000 square feet of leasable space for restaurants, retailers and entertainment venues, along with 600 condominium and apartment units.  Plans also call for additional parking for approximately 2,200 vehicles.

Work to prepare the site – bordered by 31^st to 33rd streets and Dodge to Harney streets – will begin this fall. Construction is slated to begin this spring with the project ready for occupancy in the summer of 2009.

ECI Investment Advisors is the project’s developer. Based in Chicago, the ECI team has extensive experience with urban mixed-use, pedestrian-oriented developments. ECI Executive Vice President Keith Bawolek will lead the Midtown Crossing development team from the firm's newly established Omaha office.

The development site, owned by Mutual of Omaha, is currently made up primarily of vacant office buildings and underused parking lots. Midtown Crossing represents a massive transformation, with a pedestrian-oriented retail and entertainment environment on the ground level, residential units above and underground, and adjoining ramp parking.

Plans call for Midtown Crossing to include an urban grocery store, a multiple-screen movie theater, a health club, a variety of retailers, and a mix of destination and casual dining establishments. It also will include approximately 300 condominium units, and 300 apartment and corporate extended stay residences. In all, the seven buildings in the development will total more than a million square feet.

Cope Linder Architects, a Philadelphia-based firm with extensive experience in similar redevelopment projects, and the Omaha firm of Holland Basham Architects are collaborating on the project.

Aksarben Village
The goal of Aksarben Village – a groundbreaking, mixed-use development in the heart of Omaha – is to create a 24/7 pedestrian-friendly environment that connects academics and research with commercial and residential activity.

It will include approximately 750,000 square feet of space dedicated to office and research, 250,000 square feet dedicated to retail and entertainment uses, a Courtyard by Marriott consisting of 135 rooms, and nearly 500 housing units, including both multi-family and condominium options.

Noddle Development Co. is the project’s overall manager. The development’s Master Plan allows for flexibility in building types and land uses in order to respond to the market conditions for commercial use and the evolving missions of institutional stakeholders such as the University of Nebraska at Omaha, the University of Nebraska Peter Kiewit Institute, the Scott Technology Center and the University of Nebraska Medical Center.

One of the village’s critical objectives is to create a “gateway identity” that enhances the institutional missions of the stakeholders. Aksarben Square, a 4-1/2 acre public space with its signature tower at the corner of 67^th and Center streets, will be a gathering place for public use and will be viewed as the project’s primary landmark. The design of the entire development will be sustainable, technologically intensive and innovative.

For more information about Aksarben Village, visit the web at http://www.aksarbenvillage.com.