Midtown Crossing/Blackstone- Some of Omaha’s Most Dynamic Urban Districts

This Midtown + neighborhood was developed during the turn of the 20th century and includes some of Omaha’s best urbanity. Farnam district is arguably Omaha’s best urban biz district and includes the modern Midtown Crossing’s district (Omaha’s New Urbanist town center), plenty of great urban in-fill, and the historic Blackstone biz district hosts some of Omaha’s best nightlife. Blackstone also host some great turn of the century mansions and there are several other decent mixed-use districts along Leavenworth and Grand Avenue. Medical Center anchors the western edge of the neighborhood and integrates pretty well into the rest of the district.

While this is a top Omaha urban district there is still plenty of room for improvement. Grand and Leavenworth host plenty of semi-autocentric stretches that need renewal and densification. There is also a lack of locally owned boutique businesses and a walkable post office or public library.

Click the links to view my Blackstone, Midtown Crossings, and Leavenworth Albums on Flickr

URBAN STREGNTHS:

* Decent urban density
* Solid ADA and sidewalk infrastructure.
* Excellent public transit access and good access to Dwtn across all modes. Decent bike infrastructure including many dedicated bike stations and a couple bike lanes with one that connected to Dwtn from the eastern edge of the neighborhood.
* Excellent diversity metrics.
* Good for sale diversity but overall product is a bit limited especially housing selling for 300K-500K.  Plenty of 1-bed condos selling anywhere btwn 100K-400K. 2-beds sell btwn range from 150K-500K depending on size and age. 3 & 4 beds sell btwn 150K-900K. Lots of larger condos and townhouses.
* Excellent array of rental product ranging anywhere from $700- the high 1Ks. 2-beds from $900-1.8K. 3-beds  anywhere in the 1Ks.
* Midtown is overall a pretty safe area with limited amounts of blight.
* Decent pedestrian activity. Better than most Omaha neighborhoods.
* Several decent medium sized parks with good amenities including Dewey Park, Turner Park, Leavenworth Park, and UNMC plaza space which includes an ice rink in the winter.
* Excellent food & beverage amenities in Midtown. Other cultural amenities include several art galleries & lots of night clubs, and a comedy club. Night life is concentrated on Farnam in Blackstone.
* Great array of housing styles from historic apartment buildings to modern infill along Farnam to smaller single family homes to large mansions.
* Excellent urban infill and urban form at Mid-town crossing and along Farnam in Blackstone.
* Good retail amenities including a couple supermarkets & grocerias, several drug stores, several banks, a couple dessert joints, a handful of clothing & boutiques., plenty of gyms, several salons, great access to University of Nebraska Hospital and plenty of doctor’s offices, and several churches.

URBAN WEAKNESSES:

• Tree canopy is good in residential areas but limited in more commercial and hospital districts.
• Only one poorly rated public school located within the neighborhood’s geography. Any other school is located at least a 1/2 from the neighborhood’s boundaries.
• Urban form is hit or miss along Leavenworth and Dodge St.
• Missing some key retail amenities including a post office, public library and much less boutiques and independent shops that one would expect for such a dynamic urban district.”