Has anyone heard that the old UP HQ is being torn down for a 32 story condo?
Allan.
Yeah - in the Omaha Weird Herald yesterday. It is sad - can’t they convert the building into condos w/o tearing down and rebuilding? Maybe Omaha has too much $ and should share with Lincoln, which never seems to have enough!
Moo
The “Omaha Weird Herald”?[(-D][(-D][(-D]
I would live in the UP HQ, lol, the ghosts of fallen flag railroads running around and all, lol.
I agree with all of you. That Building goes back years and I just can’t understand why there just gona tear it down. Can you just see yourself walking in that Building right about now relizing that there are no longer people walking in it. That Building is way over a 100 years old. Allan.
Photos, we need before and after photos, and just where is this building located? State? City?
According to the article in the News Wire, the original part of the building dates to 1912. Probably has all manner of asbestos and other stuff that’s expensive/time consuming/difficult to deal with. Also, the developer plans to build a 32-story building there, probably much taller than the existing building, that will provide much more revenue than converting the existing building. Finally, it doesn’t take too radical a change to the interior of a building to make the changes cost more than pulling down the old building and starting new. Renovating an existing building is a massive pain in the butt for a contractor, and he prices his work accordingly.
Actually, Alan, the information in the releases says it was built in 1912.
For tatans, this is the old brown building in the skyline of Omaha.
Here’s the story, off yesterday’s Trains Newswire:
[quote]
QUOTE:
High-end condo project chosen for old UP HQ site in Omaha
OMAHA, Neb. - A Kansas City-area developer known for developing downtown condominiums with striking views was selected today by Omaha Mayor Mike Fahey to redevelop the former Union Pacific headquarters site, according to a story in the Omaha World-Herald.
The developer, one of two bidding for the property at 14th and Dodge Streets downtown, plans to build WallStreet Tower Omaha, a 32-story, 373-foot-tall, predominantly glass building. The structure will have 35,000 square feet of retail space and 282 condos. That height would make it Omaha’s third-tallest building, behind First National Tower and Woodmen Tower.
The other proposal, from an Omaha-based team led by America First Real Estate Group, called for an office building that would be custom-designed for an anchor tenant with 1000 to 1500 employees who would be sought over the next six months. The group said the site was more suitable for office use, particularly given the number of condos already planned downtown.
But Fahey and a committee of representatives of various city departments preferred Townsend’s more concrete proposal.
“This is not something that may happen,” Fahey said. “This WILL happen. That weighed heavily in the decision.”
Each proposal called for the city to sell the UP site, which it owns as the result of an agreement that kept the railroad’s headquarters in Omaha, as-is, and for $1. One proposal said the estimated demolition costs would total more than the building’s appraised value.
The site, vacated when the railroad moved into a new headquarters, is considered prime property. Although the original part of the building dates to 1912 an
How old are we talking?
The whole Old Market in Omaha is old, old buildings. They didn’t tear them down and rebuild - they just opened up a whole lot of businesses and apartments/condos there.
They now market them as “charming”. I guess the old UP didn’t have enough “charm” for the owners. Only for Alan and me.
Mook
I belive I heard the price for the new condo’s will be $200,000 and up.
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Wow UP is letting a part of their “heritage” to be torn down, usually UP has been very aggressive in removing any trace of the railroads they acquire and still keep any of the UP proper in use despite being old and outdated. If the boys from Omaha don’t mind demolishing ex SP or CNW coaling towers then can I help in tearing down the classic wooden coaling tower in Cheyyene?
Craig