A good kid coming to your neighborhood !

PRESS RELEASE

Restore Omaha Conference
Nicole Malone - Chair, Omaha, Nebraska
For Immediate Release

RESTORE OMAHA ANNOUNCES 2010 CONFERENCE KEYNOTE WILL BE DONOVAN RYPKEMA

Restore Omaha is pleased to announce the keynote speaker for its 5th annual Restore Omaha Conference, March 5-6, 2010, will be Donovan Rypkema, an industry leader in the economics of downtown and neighborhood commercial revitalization and reuse. The annual Conference provides information and resources to help property owners and others revitalize their residences, commercial properties, and neighborhood districts.

Donovan Rypkema, principal of Washington, D.C.-based real estate and economic development-consulting firm PlaceEconomics, specializes in services to public and non-profit sector clients who are dealing with downtown and neighborhood commercial district revitalization and the reuse of historic structures.

Restore Omaha committee leaders Nicole Malone and Martin Janousek have chosen Mr. Rypkema for this year’s conference to bring economic and revitalization answers to Omaha’s residential and commercial older districts.

He has performed real estate and economic development consulting across the United States for state and local governments and non-profit organizations including feasibility analyses for real estate development; training in community-based development; economic revitalization of downtowns and neighborhood commercial centers; and the rehabilitation of historic structures.

Mr. Rypkema is recognized as an industry leader in the economics of preserving historic structures providing ongoing consulting services to the National Trust for Historic Preservation and its National Main Street Center. He has completed work in 49 states and the District of Columbia with hundreds of er international, national, statewide, and local organizations. He has conducted statewide studies of the economic impact of historic preservation in Virginia, Kentucky, North Carolina, Indiana, New York, and Maryland as well as a citywide study in Philadelphia.

Rypkema teaches courses and workshops for architects, bankers, developers, preservationists, planners, and downtown managers and is author of several publications including Community Initiated Development, The Economics of Rehabilitation, and the Downtown Real Estate Development Series. His articles have appeared in the Journal of the American Planning Association, Architectural Record, The Journal of Commercial Bank Lending, The Responsive Community, and Urban Land.

To see an interview with Mr. Rypkema, visit:
http://www.smartcityconsulting.com/smartcityradio/past_shows.cfm?showsmartcityID=214&PageNum_getsmartshows=1

For further information about the Restore Omaha Conference or Mr. Rypkema’s keynote contact Chairperson Nicole Malone nmalone@thearchitecturaloffices.com or Martin Janousek mjjanousek@leoadaly.com

Participants needed - South 24th Street tour

Coming up are beta tours or test tours to fine tune our tour :

Saturday October 3 11:00 AM – 12:30 PM ( tour )
12:30 – 1:30 ( lunch and focus group)

Thursday October 15 4:30 PM – 6:00 PM ( tour )
6:00 – 7:00 ( dinner and focus group )

WE INVITE YOU TO BE A PARTICIPANT IN THE TOUR AND RELATED FOCUS GROUP.

Feel free to bring a friend or two.
There will be no cost and a complimentary meal will be provided.

Please RSVP to:
Vince Furlong 709-2586 vfurlong@cox.net

Volunteers needed - help with tour

Omaha Main Streets continues its planning for a permanent walking tour and an online tour of the historic 24th Street commercial district in Omaha. As it appears now, the tour will officially kick off in early 2010.

Currently, the sites on the tour will be:
US Post Office El Museo Latino murals at 24th and N Cabana d’Franko
World of Pottery Plaza Latina City Hall International Bakery

As we walk from place to place during the 90-minute walking tour, a tour guide will discuss with our attendees the history of the stockyards, notable buildings on the street, the historic business district, South Omaha as a separate town, and more.

Coming up are beta tours or test tours to evaluate how good our tour looks:
Saturday October 3 11:00 AM – 12:30 PM ( tour )
12:30 – 1:30 ( lunch and focus group)

Thursday October 15 4:30 PM – 6:00 PM ( tour )
6:00 – 7:00 ( dinner and focus group )

We need volunteers to help us on each of the dates above. Volunteers needed are:
1. A Spanish/English interpreter to assist on the tour and in the focus group
2. A facilitator to conduct the focus group
3. A note-taker to record focus group participants
4. Person to assist with meal at a restaurant site

Please contact me to volunteer for these positions. Pay is a complimentary meal 

Vince Furlong 709-2586 vfurlong@cox.net

Policy request to Omaha mayoral and council candidates

April 2009

Mayoral and City Council Candidates,

Congratulations on your ongoing effort to become a political leader in Omaha!

The local communities within the city are looking to strengthen themselves around several general areas – safety, investment, sustainability, and image. A “main street” approach to these communities and key areas can offer a comprehensive solution.

Conserving and enhancing centers of positive events, socialization, economic activity, attractive looks, and local organization in our neighborhood business districts can restore pride and build community in sections of town that have lost their centers.

I urge you and your fellow candidates to adopt a “main street” policy going forward the next four years. Then, work with neighbors, small businesses, nonprofits, corporations, foundations, and others to create the mechanisms needed to enact the policy.

This proactive approach focusing on revitalizing a center around the local commercial district – whether larger (Benson or South 24th Street), or smaller (33rd/California or 40th/Farnam) – whether east (South 13th Street or Vinton Street), or west (Millard Avenue or Main Street-Elkhorn) – will bring results that will radiate into the surrounding neighborhoods.

We can no longer just react to news stories – a murder, a business closing, an annoying bar, an inappropriate development, multi-year vacancies. We need sustainable leadership from our larger institutions down through our local districts.

All of us are preaching support of neighborhoods in keeping Omaha either stable or moving forward. But, many of our commitments to neighborhoods are cosmetic and rhetorical only. Let’s get to the heart of many of our neighborhoods – its commercial center- with a new approach.

I look forward to listening to your campaigns and voting.

Thanks for you attention to this message,




Vince Furlong

Enclosure - Omaha Main Streets fact sheet

Graffiti Wipeout

A group of 15 or so young Latinos and 3 older white guys set out to erase graffiti in southeast Omaha today. Four media types joined us at the beginning.

WEATHER REPORT - Winds 20 mph plus and temps in the low 20s and partly cloudy
(layman's report) I'm cold!!!

Our team of 5 - including 2 of those aging guys and 3 Latinas - was assigned to work in Mandan Park. Arrving in this hidden gem of Omaha parks overlooking the Missouri River and western Iowa, we saw a major task in front of us. Light poles, speed limit signs, concrete abutments, restrooms, playground equipment, a defenseless tree, park signage, pavilions, and water fountains were covered with tagging and gang imprints.

The tools of our trade today were gray spray paint, gray latex paint, graffiti wipes. brushes and rollers. The results were job completed by our team in about 90 minutes at the park.

Alma, a UNO student and member of a Latino association at the school, had persuaded her sister and a friend, Magda and Marcela, to participate. The main comments from the ladies about graffiti was "I wish it would stop". They noted that graffiti also exists in Mexico and suggested mural programs as a way to create "positive graffiti".

Today's assignments for our team and the other two teams was to work on cleaning graffiti from public sites only. In driving through other parts of South Omaha the size and amount of graffiti can be staggering. I found the cleaning to be quite labor intensive with it appearing on many parts of a building or other built environment. An area near 27th and N was especially hard-hit.

I wish graffiti would stop.

Park Avenue Development Study meeting - Feb. 5, 2009

I was able to attend the first 2/3 of this session. The audience was primarily potential developers and investors, politicians, real estate persons, Destination Midtown (DM) boosters, and the local homeowners/renters - a large and energetic group, too.

First, DM and a rep from RDG Planning and Design gave an overview of the project by identifying the major areas for development. For all the details go to :

http://www.destinationmidtown.org//lims/_siteSpecific/destinationmidtown/libraries/dynamicallyUpdatedContent/lib_16/cat_94/scat_103/item_592/pdf/328490.pdf

The leaders of the session primarily highlighted the housing achievements and plans for the area which are apartments and condos. A mix of market-rate and affordable housing is being presented - which is good, because we need that mix.

Here are the opportunities for Park Ave - Leavenworth communities as presented by the session leaders and myself:

1. People need to acquire properties. At this session investors were offered the chance to see what the area might offer. Another approach is to form an organization in the area which can acquire property, such as a community development corporation (CDC). The CDC approach was first suggested back in 2003 when the DM plan was being developed, but nobody has followed through on this advice.

Further, the development project hopes to offer more commercial opportunities at Park/Woolworth, Park/Leavenworth, and St.Mary's/Leavenworth. It would be great if we could offer more rehabilitation assistance to owners of older commercial properties. This could invite new investment.

2. People need to see VISIBLE progress in the area prior to making their investment. True, but here the large project was emphasized by the session leaders.
Cities grow organically, bit-by-bit, property-by-property, and person-by-person. Small is beautiful, too. The artist studio, colorful planting, interesting business signage, clean and crisp property frontage, sandwich stand, cop walking the beat, historic marker, Arbor Day tree tour, and entrepreneur kickoff can all be VISIBLE.

Sometimes in Omaha we are looking too hard for the big magic bullet - one development - that will change the whole neighborhood. This only leaves room for the big developer, and the neighborhood guy receives little encouragement.

3. Park Avenue is a pedestrian area which needs better connections to downtown, the rest of Midtown, and the new Midtown Crossing.

First, we hope to see a streetcar line running on Farnam and/or Harney in the next three years. With the dense residential Park Ave. district only several blocks away from the line, the streetcar amenity would be a drawing card for local residents.

Secondly, the Midtown Crossing (MC) project offers an opportunity to develop a Midtown shuttle transportation option. MC is seeking Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification for its project. One recommendation from LEED for a mixed-use project like MC is to offer shuttle services to nearby large employers and local destinations. If this shuttle service could be extended a bit to the Park Ave. area, another transportation amenity is available. And, I hear that there will be a shuttle service between MC and the Med Center.

Finally, the City and bike/walk enthusiasts need to work together to provide good connections via Park, 31st, and Turner Blvd. from the district to MC.

4. How do we create a positive, unique image for the Park Avenue district?

At the meeting I visited briefly with a real estate agent who was working with the Jamison Condos - a rehab project in the district. He extolled the kitchen, bath, and flooring in the redone areas, and it sounded great, maybe I would want to reside there. Then, I asked him how he presented the Park Avenue area to his potential buyers. He said, "Now, that is our problem."

So, let's work on the problem. Session leaders emphasized the history and "grandeur' of the neighborhood - so, we must accent that.

When you walk out of that condo, you need something interesting to see, to walk to, to take care of your daily need for exercise, to meet an errand need, to complete one-day or two-day food needs. to be educated, and to meet your friends/co-workers.
The commercial corners mentioned above offer us an opportunity to create that "main street" feel. WE NEED MORE THAN JUST HOUSING IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD.

For your spring schedule, please include the Park Avenue tour on May 9 presented by Landmarks, Inc.

An Open Letter to the North Omaha Development Project

TO: North Omaha Development Project

FROM: Vince Furlong, Omaha Main Streets

I am sending this letter to all of you currently sitting on the Steering Committee for ProjectNorthOmaha. My previous two emails to info@projectnorthomaha were not answered, so I am trying to figure out a better way to communicate to the Committee and others involved.

First, I applaud you for taking the time, making the effort, and fighting the fight to improve a number of neighborhoods and the lives of their residents. I have attended your community sessions at Salem Baptist, North High School, and Augustana Lutheran.

First, some general thoughts:

LEADERSHIP

As this is a long-term effort and as the current local leadership is made up of many who have been in their positions for some time, it begs the question “who will be the new leaders to help implement this program in the next ten years and take it beyond for the succeeding twenty years?”

Recommendation: Each member of the steering committee and each consultant working on the project select or be assigned a person with a vested interest in North Omaha and in the 25-35 age range to shadow their work on ProjectNorthOmaha.

STRATEGY OF USING SURROUNDING RESOURCES

I have heard the committee and have seen in the implementation plan the identification of the downtown, the Qwest Center, Creighton University, Eppley Airfield, and Metro Community College as immediate area institutions that can be leveraged. This is an opportunity that cannot be missed as time passes. These places have thousands of employees, hire vendors to large and ongoing contracts, create new jobs and entrepreneurial units, and carry a positive image. How much is North Omaha part of their mix?

Recommendations: 1) Large vendors doing business (maybe $250,000/yearly) with any of the above surrounding resources be asked to establish satellite offices/locations in North Omaha and hire 1-2 locals for these locations. 2)As new programs are established in these surrounding resources, i.e., a research project at Creighton or a construction project downtown, these locations are placed nearby in the North Omaha boundary. 3) Further, these new locations fill up vacant commercial space on N24th, N16th, east Lake St. etc.

TIMELINES AND MEASURES

Rather than emoting that “this is a marathon, not a sprint”, it may be wise to set some timelines – be they 3-year, 5-year, 10-year in length – to allow for more efficient planning and community buy-in to the specifics of the plan. Further, adding specific measures or steps that must be achieved for plans to be achieved would be helpful.

SAFETY, CRIME AND VIOLENCE

Obviously, ProjectNorthOmaha must tie its goals to reducing the reality and perception of the above.

COMMUNICATION, INFORMATION AND TRANSPERENCY

As seen in my opening paragraph, I already view communication difficulties. I know that communicating a complex process such as this is inherently difficult, but it must be an open process.

Recommendations: 1) Make the website interactive and open. 2) Hold monthly independently-facilitated sessions between the consultants/leaders and the public in each of the target areas of the project. 3) Find ways to keep the local residential and business community engage regularly over the “marathon”.

Second, thoughts on specific areas:

24^TH AND LAKE AND ENVIRONS

There are many assets in this area – mostly historical buildings, some remaining and some gone, and events of historical nature. But, there seems to be little emphasis in the plan to use these as leverage for improvement – instead I see a rush to build something new.

Recommendations: 1) Create a multi-property National Register and/ or local historic district in this area. 2)Develop a business plan which engenders cultural and heritage tourism and local visitation to this area of North Omaha. 3) Create a specific organization or sub-unit of an existing organization which manages this historic center of North Omaha.

40^TH STREET COMMERCIAL DISTRICTS

On a personal note I have been advocating a “main street” approach (www.mainstreet.org) to revitalizing small commercial districts in older parts of the city of Omaha. This approach emphasizes several ways to do this:

• The preservation of existing buildings as much as possible
• The sustaining of existing businesses and creating of new investment
• The improvement of the attractiveness and physical design of the area
• The organization of stakeholders in the district
• The safety of the environment
• A public relations effort, event development, and image building

To this end we have been visiting with stakeholders in the 40^th/Hamilton and 40^th/Cuming corners in the southwest corner of ProjectNorthOmaha.

You can see that many of the bullet points above fit the ProjectNorthOmaha plan. Please identify the persons in ProjectNorthOmaha who can lend their help to this effort.

Best of luck and hope to hear from you,

Vince Furlong

Omaha Main Streets (volunteer)

vfurlong@cox.net

402-553-5644

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