A new study launched by the Benson-Ames Alliance will focus on identifying the type of businesses and development that will augment the entrepreneurial growth taking place in downtown Benson.

Benson Housing and Retail
Market Analysis Under Way

Editor’s Note: The Benson-Ames Alliance was formed in September 2005 to plan for and implement the revitalization of the Benson-Ames area. It is bordered by Western Avenue on the south, Sorensen Parkway on the north, Saddle Creek Road/Fontenelle Boulevard on the east and 72nd Street on the west. The alliance has identified the Maple Street Corridor as its first priority area. For more information, visit www.benson-ames.org.

Metro area diners in search of a new culinary experience will soon have another option in downtown Benson. Mia’s Bongo Room is the latest in a series of businesses to put down stakes along the Maple Street Corridor.

A housing and retail market analysis under way in Benson will augment this entrepreneurial growth. The study, launched by the Benson-Ames Alliance, is part of a larger effort to reinvigorate the Maple Street Corridor from Radial Highway to 63rd Street.

The Maple Street Corridor Project – a partnership of Omaha by Design, the Benson-Ames Alliance Steering Council, the Benson Business Association, the Benson Neighborhood Association and the City of Omaha Departments of Planning and Public Works – seeks to create a consistent, attractive and unique appearance for downtown Benson. The streetscape component of the project, launched earlier this fall by RDG Planning and Design in conjunction with the Robert Peters Company and Ehrhardt Griffin & Associates, includes the development of a thematic design for landscaping, pedestrian-scale streetlights, signage, pavement and traffic control.

“It’s critical that our vision for the Maple Street Corridor is supported by real market information that can be identified through a feasibility study,” said Christian Christensen, president of Bluestone Development and a member of the Benson-Ames Alliance Steering Council. “We can’t go blind into the market and miss opportunities that we are currently not aware of. This study is the final piece needed to awake the sleeping giant in downtown Benson.”

Houseal Lavigne Associates of Naperville, Ill., has been retained to conduct the market analysis. One of its principals, Dan Gardner, has worked on several projects in the Omaha metro area, including the former Dodge Park Playland amusement park in Council Bluffs, which now functions as a city park, and the North Downtown (NODO) Redevelopment Plan.

The analysis will build upon the research conducted by faculty, staff and graduate students in the Urban Studies Program and the Center for Public Affairs Research at the University of Nebraska at Omaha during the development of the Benson-Ames Alliance plan in 2005, said Connie Spellman, director of Omaha by Design.

“We need to develop a clear understanding of the types of businesses and housing that the local market will support,” Spellman said. “We want the Maple Street Corridor to be viable during the day as well as the evening. It’s all about matching the partnership’s vision with the existing environment so we can recruit the right businesses and developers for optimum success.”

The study will include an analysis of existing conditions and the development potential for all uses, including residential, retail, restaurants, entertainment, office and civic/institutional.

Houseal Lavigne Associates will be conducting interviews with stakeholders from the Benson area during the last week of November. Its final report and recommendations will be issued in late January.

Partial funding for the Maple Street Corridor Project is made possible by Mayor Mike Fahey and the City of Omaha. The project is also the recipient of a $25,000 grant from the Adah and Leon Millard Foundation and a $15,000 grant from the Gifford Foundation Inc.

For more information about the study, contact Spellman at 402.342.3458 or connie@omahabydesign.org.