Saw this posted on Trainorders.com, thought you all would be interested.
Regards from Palmyra, Missouri
John Lewis
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Published Tuesday
June 14, 2005
Omaha landmark to come back to life
BY DEBORAH SHANAHAN
WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITER
Work to convert a long-vacant downtown Omaha train station into condominiums,
shops, restaurants and a spa is scheduled to begin late next month.
Muriel Boes, whose Ontrack Development LLC bought the Burlington depot at 1001
S. 10th St. late last year for $650,000, said she has selected the Weitz Co. as
the contractor to carry out plans drawn by Alley Poyner Architecture.
Twelve of the 14 condos remain to be sold, Boes said. Ranging from 850 to 2,800
square feet, they sell for $200 to $250 a square foot, for a price range of
about $180,000 to $700,000. The plan is to build the condos to "white box"
stage and leave the finishes cabinets, flooring, counters and trim to buyers.
Plans also include construction of a restaurant that extends over the tracks; a
grand staircase to the track level; lush gardens with outdoor kitchens; a spa
and gym with a resistance pool; and a lobby like that of a fine hotel.
Boes, an interior designer who recently worked on the models of the Rows at
SoMA condos, refers to Chicago's W Hotel on Adams Street when describing the
ambiance she wants to create.
The hotel is in a 1920s building that, one reviewer wrote, has been "restored
impeccably and married with an edgy urban appeal."
Its lobby, called the Living Room, features a gilded dome ceiling, cushy
couches, a DJ and board games combining, the reviewer said, the energy of a
sophisticated nightclub with the mellowness of a coffeehouse. It serves as an
after-work gathering place, not only for guests but also for local executives.
The Burlington's lobby, Boes said, will feature an atrium, a replica of a
curving double staircase removed during a 1930s remodel and a restored, 10-foot
art deco light fixture.
The fixture is among those removed when the building was gutted in the 1980s.
The Burlington operated as a train station until 1974. Warren Distribution
officials, who bought the building in 1989, located some of the fixtures and
put them in storage and, after last year's sale, passed them on in pieces.
Boes has teamed with Dave and Brad Underwood as developing partners for the
project. At Alley Poyner, Albert Macchietto is the principal in charge and Mike
Thompson is the project architect.
Alley Poyner has a history not only of working with downtown buildings
including the Securities, Ford Warehouse, Butternut, Bull Durham and Tip Top
buildings but also of studying the Burlington's potential for various clients,
Thompson said.
"Now we've got another person who's very, very serious about working on it,
about bringing it back to life," he said.
The schedule calls for construction to be complete in about a year, he said.
Boes said her goal for the Burlington is for residents and visitors to have
access through the lobby to restaurants and bars and smaller shops, such as a
gift shop, newsstand and flower shop. She expects the gift shop to offer
train-related items. Also on her wish list: a gourmet market.
"I want to keep the architecture pure and bring in fun, modern features so it's
the hot place for everyone to stop and have a cocktail, a place that attracts
all ages," Boes said.
The track-level spa, she said, would be "very deluxe" with a Zen-like décor and
two waterfalls. She said it would include a gym, resistance pool, steam room,
massage rooms and a juice bar. She envisions having a system that projects
changing images onto the walls for people to view as they work out.
The street level of the depot would be divided to create a third level
overlooking the lobby. That's possible, Thompson said, because of the tall
ceiling and large volume inside; even after being divided, the street level
would have 22-foot ceilings.
The spa is the only commercial space that Boes has secured an operator for,
whom she declined to name. She said she is pursuing operators for the other
commercial spaces, including the main-floor restaurant, which she said could be
combined with a bar and would have an outdoor terrace. Thompson said the
restaurant would be where a previous passenger area extended over the tracks.
All that remains is a metal frame.
A separate, 2,200-square-foot outbuilding with its original gargoyles "would
make a wonderful coffee shop or jazz club," Boes said.
"I'm trying to provide for all the needs that the condo people have," she said.
Although the lobby would attract the public, the gardens are expected to be
private getaways for residents, she said. She said gardens will feature
fountains, private dining areas and an outdoor kitchen and seating areas.
Balconies and French doors will be installed in some of the windows, and all of
the large existing windows will be replaced with working windows. Underground,
secure parking will provide two stalls for each condo unit. A street-level
parking lot would accommodate 130 cars for visitors and customers.
Boes plans to install an oversized elevator and have some condos designed on
one level with sliding pocket doors to accommodate long-term living.
"The building will always be accessible for all ages," she said.
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
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