Tag: Omaha mayor

Omaha Interview: Mayor Jean Stothert

OmahaNebraska.com Interview with Mayor Jean Stothert

Thank you to the Mayor for the interview for this Omaha event.

Mayor Jean Stothert

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

Omaha Interview: College World Series Pre-Game Press Conference, Omaha Mayor

OmahaNebraska.com interviewed Omaha mayor, Jean Stothert, after the College World Series Pre-Game Press Conference.

There have been many changes over the last many years from Rosenblatt to here. What are some of the more noticeable changes and what were your favorite changes?

Well, I mean we built a brand-new stadium, a brand-new state of the art stadium to keep the College World Series for 25 years. And so there’s been just a multitude of changes. But I think the most important thing is working with the CWS and the NCAA and MECA that we were able to create a state of the art stadium that will keep the College World Series here for years.

What my parts are my favorite? I would say I love this out here [motions to the entire stadium] that it gives people a lot more room to walk around. I love the big screen. I love how the seating is.  It’s just a beautiful stadium so it all works together.

Do you have any favorite baseball memories? I am sure that it’s hard to pick just one or two.

I can’t say that I have one favorite memory. I enjoyed coming in College World Series when it was at Rosenblatt.

I was here for the first game in the new stadium. I think from Omahan perspective, I think one of my favorite memories would have to be sitting in this stadium for the first time.

That’s wonderful. I know that it contributes quite a bit to the economic development of Omaha.

It’s estimated that the College World Series brings in between 75 and 80 million dollars.

And so you know, those years that we didn’t have it because of the pandemic . . . the trickle down was enormous because the hotels weren’t filled, the restaurants weren’t filled, bars weren’t filled. It made a big impact. I thought last year showed that because the first year was back in person we had record breaking crowds, and everybody just wanted to get out and be outside and enjoy some activity. And so, it really just encouraged people to be out again, and the College World Series is something that I think Omahans love and can’t wait for every year.

 It’s been wonderful to watch all these things grow and develop and now Gene Leahy Mall is getting its refresh. Can you tell us a little about what is coming up please?

Sure, there’s 90 acres of city owned property. It’s the Gene Leahy Mall. Go east Heartland of America Park and then you go north to Lewis and Clark Park Landing. That whole area. We are working in cooperation with the private sector. And when it’s all done, it’s going to be about a $400 million project and the city put in $50 million and the rest is private.  And so that just really shows that the good public private partnerships that we have in Omaha and the investment that is going on in Omaha right now.

The Gene Leahy Mall will open the first of July, and it’s fantastic. We’ve raised it up to the street level so it’s usable. It’s usable for events. The old mall was pretty, but you couldn’t use it for anything. I think when people get in it, they are going to love it.

I toured it the other day and it’s gorgeous. It has something for everybody. And then it will go on down to Heartland of America Park which will connect us right to the river. That’s our most important geographic feature we have. We live on the river, so that park will go all the way down to the river and then north to Lewis and Clark Landing where a beautiful new STEM museum will be down there that Kiewit is the major funder. That portion of it, Heartland and Lewis and Clark Landing, should be open by August of next year. So everything is moving along. They are right on schedule. They’re keeping it within budget. And it will be done. And it’s going to just spur development downtown and it already has. With Mutual of Omaha coming downtown now and there’s a new hotel in the Landmark. There’s a lot of other investors looking at downtown because of what we are building downtown. We are pretty much building a new downtown.

 It looks so different, but then a lot of the favorite features are still there.

Yes.

 Everyone is so happy that you kept the arch and the slides.

Oh, yeah. Yeah, we wanted to incorporate everything in there and it will remain the Gene Leahy Mall.

Thank you.