OmahaNebraska.com Interview with Mayor Jean Stothert
Thank you to the Mayor for the interview for this Omaha event.
There’s been so much amazing development in the area.
Right.
It has to feel great to have so much done.
Yes, it does.
I know there’s too many lists of favorites but what are some things you are hoping people will check out when they come to the College World Series?
You know, since the teams and their families stay in hotels around downtown. First of all, it was devastating a couple of years ago because of COVID when it was canceled, and people didn’t get to come to the College World Series. Last year, we had record breaking crowds, because people were so happy it started up again. Last year, the Gene Leahy Mall looked pretty, but you couldn’t go in it. It wasn’t open yet.
This year, it’s open. Kids can go in there and run around and play and play in the great play structure there. There’s events that are going on in the Gene Leahy Mall every day if they want to go and do some yoga or whatever. They could see what the other parks are going to look like because they’re getting done. They’ll open up in August. We have the new Steelhouse downtown, the music venue where the players are going to be tomorrow night. We have the Luminarium Now it’s open, the new museum that’s down on the riverfront. Just so much has happened in this downtown area within walking distance of the stadium. So, I think people are going to really be – those that are coming back. They’ve been here before are going to see a big change. And I think those that are here for the first time in many years are pretty much going to be astounded at what downtown Omaha looks like.
I can’t even fathom how many things have happened in so short a period of time.
Yes, especially because of COVID. You know, because a lot of cities everything shut down which we shut down a lot. But development shutdown to, but it really didn’t here. And you know, the Gene Leahy Mall just kept on right on track, right on schedule, all during COVID because the money has already been raised you know, and so they were on top of it. So, it was, it’s really good that downtown has progressed so much, so quickly. A lot more housing downtown now than there was before. You know, the first phase of the Mercantile which is down, which is on the old Con Agra campus that’s open now there’s a nice lap out there. People can walk around. So that’s going to be a real fun experience for people to see what’s going on.
What’s next on the horizon for development?
Well, I would say the one that I have been working with for a long time and I’m glad to see that construction will start is number one, that Civic Auditorium site which we own that site, and we had the old Civic Auditorium and you know, it was beyond its usefulness anymore. We had it demoed several years ago.
We do have a development that will start developing this summer, and then Crossroads, which is 72nd Dodge. And that is something we’ve been working on for years and years and years and that is underway too.
So, and then, we have all the way out west on 144th and Dodge. We have Heartwood Preserve. That is a big development that Applied Underwriters is doing, but that’s just like going like gangbusters too. So, we have them all over Omaha. We have a Downtown, Midtown, all the way. And then of course, I can’t wait. We can see it started coming out of the ground, but the new Mutual of Omaha tower downtown, and that’s underway too. So all of that is going on right now.
It’s really amazing.
Yeah, yeah.
Thank you for all your hard work.
Absolutely. It’s a thrill to see it become a reality.
Thank you for the interview.
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Places mentioned:
Gene Leahy Mall
1001 Douglas St.
Omaha, NE 68102
402.599.6565
https://theriverfrontomaha.com
Mercantile
901 Farnam St.
Omaha, NE 68102
https://www.hines.com/properties/the-mercantile-omaha
Crossroads
72nd & Dodge Street
https://www.lockwooddev.com/development-portfolio/the-crossroads
Kiewit Luminarium
345 Riverfront Drive
Omaha, NE 68102
402.502.3366
https://kiewitluminarium.org
Steelhouse Omaha
1100 Dodge St,
Omaha, NE 68102
402.345.0606
https://steelhouseomaha.com
