Grow Omaha 9-27-2025

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
This is Grow Omaha, the only radio show that talks
about economic development, construction, business expansion, and all of those
things that make Omaha a great place to live or visit.
Grow Omaha on News Radio eleven ten KFFAB.

Speaker 2 (00:15):
Well, good morning and welcome to the show. Jeff Beal's
here at your service. Thank you for joining us. This
is the only show in the Omaha area that talks
about the growth and development of your favorite city. I
want to thank our sponsors. They are as always Cheer Athletics,
Nation's number one all Star Cheer Jim located near Highways

(00:35):
fifty and three seventy and Beautiful Papillion along with Dingman's
Collision Center with four metro area locations. My co host,
Trenton Maggot has the weekend off, but in his stead
we have one of our colleagues, one of our outstanding
brokers from nai NP Dodge Commercial Real Estate, Brian Thomas. Brian,
welcome to the show. Hey, it is always good to

(00:56):
be here with you.

Speaker 3 (00:57):
Jeff. It's been a while since you've guest hosted.

Speaker 4 (01:00):
It has I mean, I'm proud to say that I
did have to. I did call Trenton yesterday. He made
me practice today's episode in front of him. Yeah, on
the telephone.

Speaker 3 (01:08):
So he said something like, all right, tell me what
you're going to say.

Speaker 4 (01:10):
Yeah, he was quite concerned actually, but we can't say
where he's at, but I'll just say he's in like
a fun place right now. But I think I've officially hit.
I've done exactly like one percent of all the Grown
Omaha episodes.

Speaker 2 (01:20):
Now that's actually pretty impressive when you consider we've been
on the air for twenty one and a half years.

Speaker 3 (01:23):
Yeah.

Speaker 4 (01:24):
So I was telling my wife this morning having a
cup of coffee.

Speaker 3 (01:26):
Well, I do have some good news.

Speaker 2 (01:27):
It is one of those weeks where we have a
Grow Omaha Eats restaurant review written as always by our
friend Chris Corey, our reviewer, and this week Chris takes
a look at is these Pizza. Now, this is the
place that came to Omaha from Las Vegas. They moved
here and they had this pizza bus in Las Vegas.

(01:48):
They not a food truck, it was a food bus
and it was very very popular there, so they moved here.
Some people in Vegas were devastated when it happened.

Speaker 4 (01:55):
But pretty much the Circasilea cast I think probably collectively
shared it here when he leve.

Speaker 2 (02:00):
Bed after the show, they probably swung by the bus
and picked up some pizza.

Speaker 3 (02:04):
We were happy here though, gosh are we ever? Is?

Speaker 2 (02:06):
Stuff is so good? But they now dropped the bus.
But they have a brick and mortar location. The address
is five twenty two South twenty fourth Street, So if
you're in downtown Omaha, just a little bit south of Farnham,
it's right by one of those really cool new apartment
buildings that were completed in downtown lately, so you might

(02:27):
want to check it out if you've never had Izzy's Pizza.
But you can read about it and every one of
our Growhama Eats restaurant reviews by Chris Corey simply by
going to grow Omaha dot com clicking on reviews on
the navigation bar and they're all right there. And we
want to thank All Makes Office Equipment and Technology for

(02:48):
being our sponsor. All Makes is a legend here in
the Omaha business community. Located, interestingly enough, not that far
from Izzy's Pizza. All Makes is at twenty fifth and Farnham.
They also have plantations. Coincidence, I think not.

Speaker 3 (03:00):
Now, is it? Well?

Speaker 2 (03:01):
They were there first so is He's probably chose the
neighborhood because it All Makes And in addition to the
flagship store in Omaha, All Makes also has locations in Lincoln,
Des Moines, Iowa, and several other places. All right, Brian,
let's get let's talk about something really important, and that
is the thing that goes better with pizza than just
about anything else, and that is that.

Speaker 3 (03:21):
Is definitely beer.

Speaker 4 (03:22):
So my wife and I and some other friends of
ours last night had the unique opportunity to pop over
to the new Big Grove Brewing which is actually opened
the other day, and let me tell you it is amazing.
As a person that frequents a lot of our breweries
and tap rooms and tap houses like around the metro,
we were very excited to see this one open because
it's a whole unique in that number one. It is

(03:44):
super large in there. I mean tons of seating, really
cool like round oval type bars, private rooms. But I'll
give a shout out to the brew masters and to
the owners. We did the European Study Hall Beer, so
if you're listening and you're looking like a good darker beer,
that's very good. The IPAs were rock solid and then

(04:04):
their Hefaviisen was was just top notch. So if you
are into beer, and we all are into beer, I
like to assume yeah, so I would encourage everybody to
rush out and check out Big Grow.

Speaker 3 (04:17):
It's very good.

Speaker 2 (04:17):
It's located inside the new Catalyst building on the west
side of the University of Nebraska Medical Center campus. That's
the building that at one time was the old steel mill,
built I think in the early nineteen hundreds, and in
addition to Big Grove Brewery, most of the building is
for the med Center. A lot of their technology transfer.

Speaker 3 (04:37):
The cool vibe in there.

Speaker 4 (04:39):
Yeah, I will say one thing on Izzie's is they
have that the notable fame of being nationally you know,
on television with Dinners, drives in and dives with Guy Fieri.
I mean, along with Block sixteen and a couple of
our other great restaurants down in the midtown downtown area.
But Izzies was like one of their focus just I
think it was like nighte a year ago. They're very

(05:00):
disease is really good to choicell pizza.

Speaker 2 (05:02):
Well, let's go into our News of the week, which
is brought to you by our friends at Eagle Mortgage.
Egle Mortgage Company dot com. If you are looking to
buy a new house, one of the first steps is
to get a hold of Holly Schneidewind or one of
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(05:24):
is they're not a bank. They actually shop the banks
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you and your unique situation. Talk to Eagle Mortgage. They'll
take good care of you. You can see them in
person at the Eagle Mortgage office at one hundred and
fourteenth in Dodge, or online at Eagle Mortgage Company dot com.
All right, We've got a lot of news items this week.

(05:46):
This is really exciting because it's more trails, it's more
alternative transportation, and it's a way to revive part of
the North Side. The Papio, Missouri in our d celebrated
the completion of the Beltline trailhead this week at fourteen
twenty one Military Avenue that's really right by kind of
Military Avenue and Hamilton in North oh We've reported on

(06:10):
the fact that it's been under construction for a while.
But also right there next to it is a twenty
eight home town home development at fortieth and Franklin led
by Holy Name Housing. And then also the redevelopment of
the Johnson Sash and Door historic building right next to
this trailhead. That's a an incommon housing development project right

(06:30):
there in that area. So Brian, that's that's an area
that has a lot of potential if people have ever
been there with historic buildings, but has been neglected for
a while. Good to see this happening, and also a
lot of good connectivity.

Speaker 3 (06:41):
Well, definitely good to have that.

Speaker 4 (06:42):
You know, as someone who does a lot of biking
around the Metro, you know you can, well I live
over in Papillion, but you know it's so easy to
jump on trails, and now that we have that open
I just think it further connects, you know, the trail
system the city to different you know, user groups that
might not necessarily live in that area but love to ride.
And I believe that they're going to be adding some

(07:02):
other offerings along with that for writers and walkers.

Speaker 2 (07:05):
Yeah, so encouraging move there on the north side. And
then if we go downtown, we've got some encouraging news
at eighth and Douglas Street. That is where the Omaha
Children's Museum will build its four story building. There's also
going to be about a sixteen seventeen story apartment building
developed by New Style development called the Beam. And then

(07:28):
the news is a city owned parking garage will be
the third building in that area, and it will soon
go vertical. Based on a recent building permit going through
the City Planning Department, the garage will be four stories
with ground floor retail. I did not know that until
just recently. So the garage, the Children's Museum, and the

(07:49):
Beam all moving forward. If you've been in that eighth
and Douglas Street area lately, it's been all torn up.
Partly that is some sewer work to accommodate these new
buildings and also some utility work for the street car
wh will actually have a stop right there. So Brian,
that that whole area, and I should say, technically there's
a fourth building in the area. The vehicle maintenance facility
is under construction.

Speaker 4 (08:09):
Yeah, it's going to be once that is realized, you know,
and certainly we're going to talk about it later in
the show.

Speaker 3 (08:14):
So like spoilers or anything.

Speaker 4 (08:15):
But when you start looking at as they wrap up
phase one construction and get into phase two, like it's
exciting to think, like what that is going to be
here in the next couple of years.

Speaker 2 (08:25):
Also downtown, we've got some progress on the Mueller, which
is a ten million dollar four story apartment building under
construction at twenty two to twenty six Howard Street, which
means it's only a block or less than a block
away from Izzy's Pizza. But this building will occupy just
a quarter acre site. They'll have thirty four apartment units

(08:47):
twenty seven to one bedroom, seven to two bedroom. Completion
is planned for next year. The Mueller is part of
a very dense little pocket there. Recently completed five story
building is right there, a lot of history renovations. Earlier
this year, you may have caught the show in which
Brian and Lee Mueller, the developers of that building, were
with us. They're the couple that moved from Boston loves

(09:10):
Omah and planned to do all sorts of things here.
So that's coming along nicely well.

Speaker 4 (09:14):
And I think we talked about it last week with
the Barmeter report. But you know, one of the areas
that we really have to continue to think about and
improve on is you know, various styles of housing, mixed use,
mixed income, and I feel like, at least with the
Mueller family, like they're really trying to get after that.

Speaker 2 (09:29):
Going a little bit further west, we go out to
the Blackstone area and that is where the former WWT
television building thirty fifth and Farnham is now completely gone,
and its place will be the five story Blackstone Building
plans call for, actually the Blackstone Plaza building is the

(09:51):
fifteen story building where a key what used to be.
It's famous for having Warren Buffett's office, but plans call
for a forty five million dollars five story, multifilil family
building with one hundred and eighty apartment units. Construction on
that should start soon, and that's coming along really nicely.
More and more exciting construction along the streetcar line, And
as Brian teased a moment ago in our third segment, today,

(10:14):
we're going to dig into what's going on with businesses
that are kind of have to suffering through the construction
of the street car on that Farnham Street corridor and elsewhere,
and that'll be a really interesting conversation.

Speaker 3 (10:25):
You don't want to miss.

Speaker 2 (10:26):
But before we get to that, some exciting news. The
I saw vacant building on the southeast corner of seventy
second and Farnham Street, which interestingly enough caught on fire
within the last week or so, is now coming down.
If I drove by today, construction or deconstruction is in
full course demolition. That sucker down, it's being raised, it is. Yeah,

(10:52):
Brad Williams took a really cool photograph of it yesterday
because the demo started earlier this week. You can see
that photo on any of the Gromaha social media pages,
so it just put it up this morning, Facebook, LinkedIn
and x But Brian, it's good to see that momentum
going down south on seventy second Street from Dodge.

Speaker 3 (11:10):
Yeah.

Speaker 4 (11:11):
I mean, once again, not trying to like tease out
too much of our next segment, but when you start
thinking about like cities like Kansas City and things like
what they really did to revitalize the urban core and
like really put a heft of resources and a lot
of you know, thought and a lot of I don't know,
just just a whole lot of a lot of you
know behind totally taking what used to be in this case, like, God,

(11:34):
that building was terrible. But to be able to demo
it build something back that's going to be useful to
the community, useful to the urban core is like makes me,
as as a resident here, pretty excited.

Speaker 2 (11:44):
Well, and a little more detail about that space. It
is controlled by rocket car wash. It's are understanding that
they still do intend to build something there. The problem
is it's a very challenging site. It's long, it's narrow,
and there's a retaining wall.

Speaker 4 (11:59):
I don't I don't know, I'll see it, but well
we'll see what they end up coming up with the Queen,
the Queen mother of retaining walls along the side. And
it's a multimillion dollar Yeah, so we'll have to see
it now.

Speaker 2 (12:09):
And also, just for clarification sake, that that building was
scheduled to come down right now, It really has nothing
to do with that fire. That fire just happened because
of well you know what happens sometimes with fake and buildings.
But it was going to come down regardless, so it's
not related to that. It was related to some intended
redevelopment which we hope to see.

Speaker 3 (12:30):
And that, ladies and gentlemen, is the news of the week.

Speaker 2 (12:32):
Brought to you by Eagle Mortgage Eagle Mortgage Company dot Com.
Going to take our first break of the hour, and
when we come back, we're going to talk with two
of the officers from Omaha's Commercial real Estate Women's chapter.
They are Jim Morris of Great Southern Bank and Sarah Hanke,
a commercial real estate agent with car Real Estate.

Speaker 3 (12:50):
We're going to talk a little bit about.

Speaker 2 (12:51):
What crew does here in Omaha and if you have
anything at all to do with the commercial real estate industry,
and a lot of you do, you're going to thoroughly
enjoy this interview, So stay with us. You're listening to
Jeff Beiles and Brian Thomas substituting for Trenton Maggod on
Grow Omaha. We're brought to you by Cheer Athletics along
with Dingman's Collision Center. Back in a moment on news

(13:12):
Radio eleven ten KFAB and welcome back to the show.
Jeff Beials sitting next to Brian Thomas of NAI NP
Dodge Commercial real Estate, who's substituting for Trenton maggod this week.
Big shout out to our sponsors. They are Cheer Athletics,
the nation's number one All Star Cheerjim along with Dingman's
Collision Center Best of Omaha Award winner for auto body services.

(13:35):
They also have mechanical services too at the one hundred
and twentieth in Maple location. Well, we have with us
today two representatives of the Commercial Real Estate Women Chapter
here in Omaha. They are Jen Morris of Great Southern Bank,
who is the chapter president, and Sarah Hanke, a commercial
real estate broker with Carr. She is a special events chair.

(13:56):
Jen and Sarah, Welcome to the show.

Speaker 3 (13:58):
Welcome to the show.

Speaker 5 (13:58):
Thanks for having us.

Speaker 6 (13:59):
Thanks, you're excited to be here.

Speaker 3 (14:01):
Well, we're excited to have you here.

Speaker 2 (14:02):
Omaha has a very strong Crew chapter, and I know
because I've had the chance to speak to a handful
of Crew chapters around the country, and you guys do.

Speaker 3 (14:11):
A very good job.

Speaker 2 (14:12):
But you did something recently that, to be quite honest,
made me question the Omaha Crew Chapter. And that is
you admitted a new member who's not only a guy,
but he's Trenton Maggot. Now, how on earth did Trenton
Maggot get into Commercial real Estate Women?

Speaker 5 (14:30):
You know, he's been begging and begging and finally this
year we let him no, we we're happy to have
him and all are welcome, men and women. It's not
exclusively women, but yeah, he's a great addition to the
Crew Omaha chapter.

Speaker 2 (14:45):
So tell us a little bit. I'll let I guess
we'll start with a thirty thousand foot view. What exactly
is commercial real Estate women and what do you guys.

Speaker 3 (14:55):
Do as a chapter?

Speaker 6 (14:56):
Yeah, so we are essentially a networking organization. Our whole
new is to improve the women in commercial real estate
and help them with their careers. So we offer networking
in different events, to do leadership training and really just
provide a community for women in what has previously been
a really male dominated space.

Speaker 4 (15:15):
Yeah, can you kind of speak to you? I mean,
how large has the organization become since you, guess coming
on board?

Speaker 6 (15:20):
Yeah, so we are fifteen years old this year, so
we've been around for a while now, which is amazing,
and we've grown to over two hundred members.

Speaker 3 (15:27):
Well, that is a healthy chapter. I know.

Speaker 2 (15:29):
I've worked in commercial real estate here in Omaha for
more than twenty five years now, and I've noticed a
big difference because you said something like, what has traditionally
been a male dominated business When I first got into
the industry. I mean, from the perspective of brokers, it
was probably at least ninety percent men, maybe a lot

(15:51):
more than that if I remember. That's definitely changed. I
mean it's still my guess is there's still more men
involved in development and brokerage. But I do know a
lot of women and a lot of women who have
significant leadership positions in this and.

Speaker 4 (16:06):
Jeff, I think it's probably noteworthy, and you know, you
guys can talk to it. But I mean, it is
really an ecosystem that you've created with Crew, because you know,
it's not just commercial real estate brokers. I mean you
really are represented by a wide, varying range of industries.

Speaker 5 (16:20):
Correct, Yes, really, anyone that is related to commercial real
estate is part of our group. So that could be engineers, architects,
construction broker j obviously, but there's other aspects that go
into a commercial real estate deal and we welcome those
people as well.

Speaker 4 (16:39):
Awesome, and you guys are super active and doing events too, right, Yes.

Speaker 5 (16:42):
Yeah, that's my world. Yeah. So last week we just
had our annual Art of the Deal where that one
actually is open to non members as well, and we
had a great turnout for that. It allows us to
dig deep into focus on a certain aspect of a
commercial real estate deal, and we change up what the

(17:06):
topic is every year, and this was about RFPs or
requests four proposals and what goes into all of that.
Super interesting. And then we have some other things coming
up we'd like to balance between networking education getting behind
the scenes with new developments. But coming up we have
our annual Marketplace, which this year we're going to get

(17:28):
Ali the trolley and go around to a handful of
local women owned businesses and support them and have a
lot of fun while doing that.

Speaker 4 (17:36):
And you kind of somewhat alluded to it, but you're
super active on college campuses too, right, Yes.

Speaker 6 (17:41):
Yeah, So actually on October first, a group of us
are going to be going down to UNO and speaking
to a couple of students and doing a panel to
really talk about all of the different jobs you can
have in commercial real estate and then kind of going
back to what we were just talking about. I think
that's how we've done a good job of growing in
the industry as well, is getting these young women out
of college. We offer scholarships through the Crew National Organization

(18:03):
and just giving them an idea of what their career
path could look like.

Speaker 4 (18:07):
Yeah, I know, at least I'll speak with Nai and
a couple of the other local brokerages. On the commercial side,
is a lot of our young, hungry, new driven agents
number one are women, and number two come from these
colleges that you know, either did some kind of apprenticeship,
you know, and being able to marry that up with
a professional organization I think is a pretty powerful combination.

Speaker 6 (18:26):
Oh yeah, definitely. And then Crewe Network offers scholarships around
the country to women from Stanford and MIT and actually
UNO's real estate program has received scholarships to women for
i think three out of the past five years through
Crew Omaha supporting them.

Speaker 4 (18:40):
So, you know, if somebody were interested in becoming a
member of Crew, you know, and they were trying to
wonder like, what are you guys all about, kind of
like what's your purpose? You know, I think Malcolm Gladwell
would say something like, what's your why?

Speaker 6 (18:52):
Yeah, our purpose and why is to really grow Omaha
in or sorry, grow women in commercial real estate in
Omaha and nationally, and to really provide a community and
safe space to you know, bounce ideas off each other
and you know, really kind of trust each other and
learn how to work through.

Speaker 5 (19:10):
Deals and feel supported and have someone to reach out
to when you need help.

Speaker 2 (19:16):
Well, let's say we have a listener out there who
works in some profession related to commercial real estate and
she might want to get involved, or even a fellow
like Trenton Maggott who wants to get involved in commercial
real state women.

Speaker 3 (19:28):
How do people go about doing that?

Speaker 6 (19:30):
Yeah, So we have a website. It's Omaha dot crewnetwork
dot org and you can look at our special events
on that website and register to join and look at
all of the dues and sponsorship opportunities.

Speaker 4 (19:42):
Wow, I guess I'll have good news. I think you
just gained a new member today, So I want to
check in. I will be going and checking out and
signing out to become a member of Crew.

Speaker 3 (19:51):
Yeah. It is a great organization.

Speaker 2 (19:54):
And there have been several times over the years where
Trenton and I had the chance to come to one
of the lunch meetings and talk a little bit about
grow Omaha happenings, and we always really enjoyed that. And
I will say, as a guy who works in and
around commercial real estate and Omaha, I also really appreciate
everything you're doing with those students at Creighton and you
and O and you and L and other colleges too.

(20:17):
So thank you for your contributions to the community and
to the industry. And thanks also to the two of
you for joining us this morning.

Speaker 5 (20:24):
Yeah, thank you, ladies, thank you, thank you for having
Thank you so much.

Speaker 2 (20:27):
So that is Jen Morris of Great Southern Bank Crew
Chapter President, along with Sarah Hanke from car real Estate
Special Events Chair. We're going to take our middle of
the hour break for the news and when we come back,
Brian and I will have your commercial real estate development
Spotlight brought to you by Nodel Companies. We're going to
talk about a project happening in Papillion there we have

(20:48):
a special deal that Brian was involved in, and we're
also going to talk about how businesses are surviving during
streetcar construction. So much to come stay with us. You're
listening to Grow Omaha brought to you by Cheer Athletic
along with Dingman's Collision Center on news Radio eleven ten
KFAB and welcome back.

Speaker 3 (21:05):
To the show. I want to thank our sponsors.

Speaker 2 (21:07):
They are Dingman's Collision Center with four metro area locations
along with Cheer Athletics, the nation's number one all star
chaer gym. My name is Jeff Bials. I am sitting
here with Brian Thomas, who is one of our brokers
at NAIMP Dodge. He is kind enough to substitute for
Trenton Maggott, who is taking the weekend off. And it

(21:28):
is time for your NODL Companies Commercial real Estate Development
Spotlight of the Week, brought to you by not All Companies.
We love NODL Companies because not only do they do
amazing developments here in Omaha, like a Sarbon Village and
the Builders District downtown. Not only do they build cool
corporate headquarters buildings like Valmont's world headquarters and hdr's world

(21:50):
headquarters here in Omaha, they're also really good to the community.

Speaker 3 (21:53):
They take care of this place.

Speaker 2 (21:55):
If you go to a function, there's a good chance
that Nodel Companies is involved, and Jay and his team
there just really are committed domas. We appreciate that. During
this segment, we always talk about things happening in or
near one of the Nodel Company's many developments around town,
and today we go to Steel Ridge. Steel Ridge I

(22:17):
love that name. It's a mixed use but heavily industrial
area on both sides of Highway three seventy at the
Interstate eighty exit in Papillion, and the news of this
week's novel company's report comes from there. Omaha Steaks broke
ground this week on a twenty million dollar product safety
facility that'll use cold pasteurization technology to ensure the safety

(22:41):
of its ground beef and other protein products. The forty
thousand square foot building will be constructed adjacent to Omaha
Steaks current fulfillment center right there in the Steel Ridge
development southeast corner of the Interstate and Highway three seventy.
The center is expected to be operational by June of
twenty twenty seven, so it'll take a while. It's pretty complex,
and it'll be the first of its kind in America.

(23:04):
You know, Brian, we last week on the show, we
talked about how we were a little bit concerned about
Omaha losing some jobs to some competing cities because we've
got a little bit laxed on business incentives lately. But
kudos to Nodel Companies and Omaha Steaks for doing their
part well.

Speaker 4 (23:19):
I mean, both of those companies are really truthfully titans
in our metropolitan area. You know, Omaha Steaks themselves are
so you know, philanthropic and generous. They just donated thousands
of pounds of meat to one of our local food banks.
They're super involved in the community. And to have them
partner with Nodel to be able to create this kind

(23:40):
of one of a kind, unique facility in our metro
And to your point, I mean, I just remember a
handful of years ago where that was just pasture filled,
like when you would drive like on Highway three seventy
headed down to the ID interchange right there, like it
is like there just wasn't anything there. Now when you
look at I mean still Ridge South and still Ridge
North are almost fully built out.

Speaker 2 (24:00):
Yeah, a lot of jobs and a lot of economic
activity that happened there. And that is your Noel Companies
Commercial real Estate Spotlight of the week. You can learn
more about Nodel Companies by going simply enough to their
website not Alecompanies dot com. Hey, Brian, since you're on
the show and you're a real estate broker, We're going
to actually break a little news here today about a

(24:22):
deal you recently did. A new occupant for a former
Cobalt Credit Union building. Tell us about that a little bit.

Speaker 4 (24:29):
Yeah, so former Cobal Credit Union building in Bellevue, Nebraska,
which you know, I will say that for those who
are unaware, I mean the city of Bellevue is certainly
making an active push through their Chamber of Commerce led
by Dan Bruce who's the president of the Chamber there,
as well as their economic development team Harrison Johnson and
crew including Mayor Hike. But yes, we'd been asked to

(24:53):
come in and basically trying to get what was almost
nearly a completely vacant building which used to be the
Cobalt Credit Union building former Lutheran Family Services occupied. Working
with jess Esh who is a fantastic broker here in
the metro, we were able to consolidate Visiting Angels, which
is a in home senior you know, healthcare focused agency,

(25:18):
along with Adults with Disabilities, which is a personal you know,
like cause to my heart because of the fact that,
as I'm sure all our listeners will know, like getting
health care for your aging parents or your grandparents is
really challenging. But to have a company, you know, like
Visiting Angels come into that, you know, consolidate in the
market be able to expand their capacity, which was part

(25:38):
of them going into that building, increase caregivers that are
going to go into the homes of people that live
in the metro that have you know, that need of service.
Just really both personally and professionally, really made me feel good.

Speaker 2 (25:50):
Yeah, it's cool. It's a nice deal and and and
an even cool story as well.

Speaker 3 (25:54):
Well.

Speaker 2 (25:55):
We're gonna spend the rest of this segment talking about
streetcar construction and its impact on local businesses. Regular readers
of our newsletter or of the news on gromaha dot
com know that we have a lot of people who
write for us. We have fourteen contributors here on grow Omaha,
and one of them is Eric Miller. He is the

(26:17):
streetcar operations manager for the City of Omaha, longtime expert
in transportation planning, and we are so fortunate to have
Eric as someone who writes for us because nobody knows
what's going on with the streetcar as much as Eric does.

Speaker 3 (26:30):
So he has a.

Speaker 2 (26:31):
Regular column on gromha dot com, and the most recent
one he writes about the effects of construction streetcar construction
on business and he makes a very interesting point, He says,
the very thing that makes streetcars so beneficial to their neighborhoods,
which is how they're intimately integrated. That's whether such a

(26:52):
good transportation system for urban pockets, because they integrate so
intimately with the neighborhood and the buildings there. That very
thing makes the construction of them highly disruptive to businesses
that are already there. And it's one of those cases
where you've got some immediate pain for long term gain.
The problem is it takes several years to build a

(27:12):
streetcar system. Right now, we're doing the infrastructure underneath the street.
Then you've got to build the tracks, you've got to
build the stations, the power sources, everything.

Speaker 3 (27:21):
It's a big deal.

Speaker 2 (27:23):
And so in this column, Eric looks at two systems
that are just about to open. One of them is
the Extension in Kansas City, and the other one is
Santa Anna in Orange County, California. Now, the Santa Ana
one took a long time, and we all know that
the state of California has all these obnoxious regulations and

(27:45):
that has caused it to be predictably delayed. All sorts
of stuff that makes it so hard to build things
in California, but they have a plan because it took
so long where they're doing some business grants very similar
to the Greater Omaha Chambers business resiliency grants for the
Omaha street car line. And then he talks about the
Kansas City line Brian and in Kansas City they're more

(28:08):
than doubling they built their original system back in twenty fourteen.
It's done so well that they're more than doubling it.
And he talks a lot about how they're working with
their businesses, what's helpful with the extension. When they did
their first one, it was very urban like Omaha's is.
Their extension is not quite as urban, and they're trying
to use it to create more urbanity and density along

(28:30):
that extension. So it hasn't been as disruptive here in Omaha.
We've got the plan that Chamber recently announced to provide
some grants for people.

Speaker 3 (28:39):
But there's no doubt about it.

Speaker 2 (28:40):
Even though it's going to cause a lot of businesses
to make a lot more money and have a lot
and a lot of those businesses to exist in the
future new ones, it's hard for the short term.

Speaker 4 (28:49):
It really is hard for the short term, you know,
and I certainly would never want to marginalize the concerns
of our great business owners that are going to be
along the street car because you know, I would say,
while the City of Omaha and the street car Authority
has tried to do a really good job of not
completely shutting down the streets to allow pedestrian traffic, They've
even invested in some like signage and marketing and things
like that. I mean, there's just no doubt that, you know,

(29:11):
foot traffic is down. You know, I found an interesting
thing that in the article that I talked about, you know,
and once again as a person who's used the streetcar
in Kansas City, I can tell you it is great.
But you know, ten years after, like I think everybody
understands that this is an investment in the long term.
You know, population density in that urban core in Kansas

(29:32):
City increased by like forty four percent.

Speaker 3 (29:35):
Right.

Speaker 4 (29:35):
Some of these businesses sell record profits, you know, like
over sixty percent return you know in terms of margin
expansion and things like that. But you know, certainly, having
you know, represented businesses that are on the streetcar line,
I know that many of them are very curious to say, Okay,
how's this grant going to work, you know, like it might.
Is it going to be this long bureaucratic process, which

(29:55):
I have faith, you know, having listened to the mayor
and streetcar Authority, that they're really trying to streamline that
approval process.

Speaker 2 (30:02):
Absolutely, And just for a little bit of perspective, Eric
mentions in his article that since twenty fourteen, more than
four billion dollars of new development projects have been completed
along the original Kansas City streetcar line, with another one
point two billion already under construction here in Omaha. Ours

(30:23):
isn't even open yet, but we already have related to
the streetcar more than half about two thirds of what
we need in order for our unique financing system to
pay for it. And we've got another fifteen years to
make that happen. So we're in great, great shape. The
other thing you mentioned the growth of residents in the area.
Brian vendors along the Kansas City streetcar line have noted

(30:46):
a twenty percent increase in sales the first year after
it opened. So we need to hang in there. And
if you care about the businesses that are located along
that route Farnham Harney Street Corridor, frequent those businesses they
could use you in the short term. Well, I'll tell
you know, a couple of years ago, my wife and
I and some friends went down to Kansas City for

(31:07):
the draft. We stayed downtown, and I just simply don't
believe that a city can pull off an event of
that magnitude without having this type of infrastructure from a
public transport. So it gets me excited when I think
about a lot of the entertainment options and things that
could be in the future potentially hosted in Omaha because

(31:28):
you have this robust, you know, transit system to be
able to get people, you know, ideally someday from the
airport all the way down to where they need to
go and they don't even have to jump on kind
of like how Minneapolis is. Yeah, very exciting things in
our future. This is only the beginning of how much
better transportation will get in our city, and we're coming
up to the end. So it's time for the moment

(31:50):
you've all been waiting for the Perkins Chritiser construction lightning
around to talk about a lot of things very very fast.
Stay with us. That's coming up next on News Radio
eleven ten Kfabe and welcome back to the show ladies
and gentlemen, brought to you by Dingman's Collision Center along
with Chair Athletics. Another sponsor is Perkins Chritzer Construction and

(32:10):
they bring you this the Lightning Round. We've got a
lot of quick little announcements about retail and restaurant coming up.
Perkins Kretzer Construction makes this possible. They are under the
steady hand of leadership of one Dave Kreittzer, good friend
of the show. And Dave and his team are so experienced.
They've got project managers, managers, superintendent's, carpenters, you name it,

(32:34):
all sorts of people. Many of these folks have been
in the industry for thirty years. Perkins Chretzer Construction does
outstanding projects, on budget, on time. You can use Perkins
Chritzer Construction for your project anywhere in this kfab listening
area out to North Platte into western Iowa up to

(32:55):
the Sioux City area. They really really can do it all.
Whether you're doing a built from the ground up structure
or you're renovating building out existing space, Perkins Chritzer Construction
will take care of you. All right, Let's get into it, Brian,
we now know who the mystery thirty one thousand square
foot retailer is who will be taking the former Forever

(33:19):
twenty one space which is in the basement, plus a
little bit of the first full or space two story store.

Speaker 3 (33:24):
It is going to be toys. R Us tell us
about that.

Speaker 4 (33:27):
Which is absolutely amazing for somewhat of our generation who
grew up in malls, you know, and we were talking
before the show in that you know, to have what
was once you know, old is now new again with
this whole new generation that are my kids Gen Alpha,
who are that twenty ten to twenty twenty four age group,

(33:49):
like in this need for connection and how just talking
to my own three sons that they want to hang
out and they want a place to hang out. I
don't think you and I have discussed it. You've always
long held at least for the five years right that
malls were going to make a comeback. They will, you know,
and I know you know him personally, but like kudos
to west Roads, like general manager and like like they're

(34:10):
going to be like ninety eight percent occupied, which a
mall in today twenty twenty, Like what day is it?
Like September twenty seventh, twenty twenty five that we have
an indoor mall in America that is ninety eight percent
occupied is noteworthy.

Speaker 3 (34:23):
I mean, what do you think.

Speaker 2 (34:25):
Yeah, I think it's fantastic. I think the west Roads
has a bright future. I think, like I've been saying
for years, the indoor mall will stage a comeback someday.
We won't have as many as we had at their peak,
but people will love them when when they're up and running,
and west Roads will stay strong. Like you said, ninety
eight percent occupancy rate, that's fascinating. A little bit of
negative news. Starbucks Coffee plans to close four stores in Omaha.

(34:49):
The locations are ninetieth and fort ninetieth in Maple, seventy
second in Dodge, and seventy second and l Three of
those four stores were built within the last three years.

Speaker 4 (35:01):
Yeah, and you'll know so. I mean, I've shared it
with you, my wife and I in terms of investing
in the buildings in Starbucks, and we've got friends that
you know, obviously own some of these buildings. It was
pretty tough to like see some of the especially like
nine Ethan Maple to close up, like, but I'm hopeful
they'll come back to market. But hey, I'm also know
that we have a great coffee scene in the Omaha
metro with a lot of smaller users and of course scooters.

Speaker 3 (35:23):
Like we'll be all right.

Speaker 2 (35:24):
Yeah, Starbucks is closing hundreds of toffee coffee stores across
the country. One other closure to tell you, Countryside Cones,
really nice family owned ice cream shop, unfortunately, is closing
for good on October twenty fifth. Wish the family that
owns that the best of success. Good good people. I
met them when they opened. Vasa Fitness has opened nine

(35:47):
oh nine Fort Crook Road in Bellevue once again.

Speaker 4 (35:50):
I mean, I kind of like trying to beat a
dead horse here, but you know, people are sleeping on Bellevue. Yeah,
Belleview has a lot of potential to you has really
I feel like got there. Everybody's rowing in the same direction.
Everybody from the mayor down city council like they are
actively trying to expand businesses in Bellevue. So look at
Bellvue if you haven't. And some people.

Speaker 2 (36:11):
Forget that it is the third biggest city in Nebraska.
Hammer and Nails and upscale hair and grooming business for
men has opened at Greyhawk Point near one hundred and
forty fourth in West Maple Road. That is the first
Nebraska location. This is a national organization with locations in

(36:32):
about twenty states, but that's the first one in either
Nebraska or Iowa. And then Brian, We've got Chateau Vin
Wine and Spirit Bar coming soon to Midtown Crossing. It'll
be located right next to pom Moss in Midtown Crossing.
What's cool about this? One hundred Global Wines, a wine club,
cocktail spirits, and supposedly really good food opening soon. Excited

(36:55):
for that? Ah, yeah, you take me. You take me
to a place where I can have wine, cocktails and
good food. I'm all over it. And finally, we have
a new restaurant called Crafted Ramen, which is going in
at seventy four to twenty five Dodge Street. That's in
the former Sakurabana place. People loved Sacurabana. It was one

(37:16):
of Omaha's first sushi places and had a long history
here and they were upset to see it go. But
we have a new company going in there, Crafted Ramen. Yeah,
as long as they have udon noodles, I'm good.

Speaker 3 (37:28):
You're good.

Speaker 2 (37:28):
Well, the music's playing, which means we're done. Brian, thanks
for substituting for Trent. You always do a great job
for us. Thanks Jeff, Brian Thomas from nai NP Dodge
Commercial real Estate substituting for Trent. Hope everyone has a
great week. I'm Jeff Beals. You've been listening to Grow Omaha,
brought to you by Dingman's Collision Center, Cheer Athletics, and
Perkins Chritzer Construction. We'll chat with you next week at

(37:51):
nine right here on news Radio eleven ten KFAB