What is Omaha by Design?
The City You Always Wanted

All the building in Omaha’s downtown means more entertainment, tourists, dining and events of all kinds. The nearly $2 billion in projects including the Holland Performing Arts Center, Qwest Center Omaha, and remodeled Orpheum Theater make it hard to say there’s nothing to do in Omaha.

A little west of downtown, the Destination Midtown project has identified historic architecture, a diverse community, strong neighborhoods and committed residents that are working together to form a new vision for the district.

Further west, the Millard Town Center
Community Foundation has developed a vision for a new main street district in downtown Millard. The plan includes an arts center, row houses lining a decorative canal, a town square, shops, offices and apartments in a mixed-use district.

Not all the new projects in Omaha are as well planned as visionary as these. The city still faces “big box retailers” who build plain label stores in a sea of concrete. Because Omaha lacks enforceable design standards for new building we are often obliged to take what we are given. Randy Anderson of BRR Architects, longtime designers of Wal-Mart stores says,”We build to the ordinance, and the politics”

That’s one of the reasons Lively Omaha, the Mayor’s office and the Omaha Planning Department have joined forces to form Omaha By Design. The goal is to develop a comprehensive urban design plan for the city, demonstrating that planned developments can incorporate more consistent natural environment and beauty throughout our community.

Omaha By Design’s Objectives

The Omaha By Design project has set four major objectives:

• Make Omaha a national first-choice city for work and life-style
• Set priorities for public improvements
• Set priorities for privately-funded civic projects
• Revise regulations and guidelines for private real-estate development

The objects will be addressed in three categories, Green Omaha, Civic Omaha and Neighborhood Omaha.

Green Omaha will:

Realize the design potential of Omaha’s topography

Use natural systems for flood and erosion control, and to enhance the park and open space plan

Extend the historic boulevard system to the new parts of the city

Establish green guidelines for new development

Civic Omaha will

Identify locations of critical public concern that need special regulation

Develop design guidelines and other policies to enhance locations critical to the City’s image

Set-up priorities for civic improvements that are both publicly and privately-funded

Neighborhood Omaha will:

Identify clusters of neighborhoods as planning units

Enhance existing neighborhoods in the eastern portion of Omaha.

Reinforce neighborhood character in western portion of Omaha.

Create standards for neighborhood plans

Implementation

Omaha By Design will take the components of the City’s existing Master Plan and with the assistance of a nationally recognized consultant, a volunteer citizen review committee and extensive public input, will seek to build consensus for codes, standards and guidelines. In addition, the project will set priorities for public, private and philanthropic investment, and demonstrate how planned development will benefit Omaha’s natural environment, civic spaces and neighborhoods.

The Team

A volunteer citizen group will oversee the project and serve as the consultants Board of Directors. They represent various segments of the community including arts & culture, attorneys, architects, banking, chamber of commerce, city council, construction, developers, community volunteers, economic development, finances, labor, land development, landscape architects, Lively Omaha, the Mayor’s office, neighborhoods, planning board, signage, and urban planning.

Jonathan Barnett has been hired to manage Omaha By Design. Jonathan is an architect, planner, educator and author on theory and practice of city design. He practices urban design with Wallace Roberts & Todd (WRT) in Philadelphia and is a professor of city and regional planning at the University of Pennsylvania.

Funding

The Omaha Community Foundation will oversee the funding for the project, which will be done without city tax dollars. The initial three-year funding for Lively Omaha is from the Peter Kiewit Sons’, Inc., First National Bank of Omaha, and by John and Carmen Gottschalk. Ken Stinson, Bruce Lauritzen and John Gottschalk have also agreed to take the lead in raising additional private funds to support the project.

How You Can Get Involved

The general public will have the opportunity to participate at numerous public meetings and presentations planned across the city. There will also be opportunities for citizens to volunteer on various committees that will be created during the project.

For more information, please contact Connie Spellman, Director, Lively Omaha at (402) 342-3458 or lively@livelyomaha.org.

Special Thanks

Lively Omaha greatly appreciates the creative talent of Redstone Communication for the wonderful new Omaha By Design logo.

Working Review Committee

Co-Chairmen

Robert Peters, Planning Department             Del Weber, Lively Omaha

Committee Members

Deidra Andrews, Neighborhood Center for Greater Omaha
John Burcaw, Local 109 – Painters Union
Larry Ferguson, Public Art Commission
John Fullenkamp, Fullenkamp, Doyle & Jobeun
Ann Goldstein, Community Volunteer
Martin Janousek, AIA President, Nebraska Chapter
Pat Gorup and Jim Landen, Greater Omaha Chamber of Commerce
Jerry Kelley, Vice-Chairman, City Planning Board
David Kuehl, Kuehl Capital Corporation
Randy Lenhoff, Seldin Company
Ken Lyons, First National Bank
Jennifer Mahlendorf, Office of the Mayor
Mike McMeekin, Lamp, Rynearson & Associates
Hillary Nather, President, All About Omaha
Jay Noddle, Grubb & Ellis/Pacific Realty
Dorsey Olson, Neon Products Company, Inc.
John Royster, Big Muddy Workshop
Steve Seline, Waitt Media, Inc.
Martin Shukert, RDG Crose Gardner Shukert
Chuck Sigersen, City of Omaha
L. B. “Red” Thomas, Lively Omaha Advisory Committee
Jerry Torczon, BHI
Beverly Traub, League of Women Voters
Rebecca Valdez, Chicano Awareness Center

Consultants

Jonathan Barnett, Consultant, Wallace, Roberts & Todd
Peter Festersen, Office of the Mayor
Barbara Haggart, Lively Omaha Advisory Committee
Kathleen Jeffries, Chairman, City Planning Board
Steve Jensen, City Planning Department
Lynn Meyer, City Planning Department
Connie Spellman, Director, Lively Omaha