Developers hope to model Playland
Park
site in Bluffs after Omaha's
Aksarben Village
By Cindy Gonzalez
WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITER
The
lead developer of midtown Omaha's Aksarben Village wants to help replicate that
mix of residential, office and entertainment space in the Playland Park area of
Council Bluffs.
Noddle
Development Cos., along with Waitt Real Estate LLC, is interested in leading an
effort to redevelop the 25-acre site on the Iowa side of the Missouri River.
Omaha-based HDR also would be involved, as well as other Bluffs entities, said
Jay Noddle of Noddle Development.
The
Council Bluffs City Council on Monday night gave its formal go-ahead to Mayor
Tom Hanafan to begin laying out responsibilities and details with Noddle and
Waitt for the estimated $60 million venture.
Approval
from various city government departments still lies ahead.
The
settings and sizes are different, but Noddle said the Playland Park property
near 41st Street and Interstate 480 would be modeled after the thriving and
growing Aksarben Village.
“We
think the Playland site is spectacular,” Noddle told the council during its
Monday afternoon study session. “We'll push to dream big.”
The
70-acre Aksarben Village, built on a former horse-racing track, has shops,
restaurants, offices, a park, hotels and residential areas.
Documents
submitted to the Bluffs City Council said the planning process also would look
at how to position the Playland area so further development can occur in the
I-480 and West Broadway vicinity.
Ideally,
Noddle said, the redeveloped Playland Park would create momentum to bring more
jobs and business opportunities to the West Broadway corridor.
Hanafan
has called the redevelopment of the riverfront and Playland Park area a top
priority for the city, saying he wants it to be a site that residents are proud
of.
Noddle
said he hopes other developers will participate in the planning because his
firm focuses on commercial and retail projects, not residential. The
redevelopment could take six to nine months, Noddle said.
“This
is the first step in taking a new look at Playland Park,” council member Sharon
White said.
The
Noddle-Waitt involvement comes after officials announced last year that bids
were being sought for the redevelopment of the city-owned Playland property. A
previously adopted master plan for the area would be used as a guide, city
planners said, but re-examined and likely modified.
Playland
Park is just east of the $7 million River's Edge Park that recently was
developed at the Bluffs landing of the Bob Kerrey Pedestrian Bridge, which
spans the Missouri River.
WHNS
staff writer Tim Rohrer contributed to this report.
Contact
the writer:
402-444-1224,
cindy.gonzalez@owh.com
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