Thread by @asanderford

Today I’ll live tweet the press conference Mayor @Jean_Stothert is holding to announce a new downtown development. @NE_Examiner

Mayor is up front with the CEO of @mutualofomaha, James Blackledge, for the announcement. Mayor leads off that city is going to build a street car. On one end, the riverfront park on 10th, all the way to @UNMC.

Stothert: Says paying for the streetcar will not require a tax increase. I had said we couldn't build a streetcar when the streets were full of potholes. We fulfilled that promise. That bond issue began work.

Stothert: I think you can see those projects all over Omaha and we are indeed fixing problems all over Omaha. Says study of transit projects shows value of ORBT and other transit-related projects.

Stothert: Every community that has a streetcar, based on estimates we have, has outperformed what they originally projected.

Here’s the streetcar map.

Mutual CEO: Mutual of Omaha will be building a new headquarters tower in downtown Omaha. We are excited to be in downtown Omaha. We recognize the vital importance of a vibrant urban core.

Mutual CEO: It will be on the scale of FNBO tower. We've called midtown home since 1940, and we are invested in its future. We plan additional redevelopment along that corridor, including our former building.

Mutual CEO: Stothert's willingness to adopt the streetcar was part of why we're moving downtown.

Here’s a look at the building design.

Stothert: The development of this building downtown is contingent on the streetcar. A number of developments are depending on the streetcar. But this is not the Mutual of Omaha's streetcar. It is Omaha's.

Stothert: The Total Mobility System will pay for the operation of the streetcar. Spent last decade planning for this.

Stothert: We analyzed the road, utilities. Shows it can be built on that route, 3-mile route, 10th between Harney and Cass, and Harney and Cass, around 42nd St. We will look at plans immediately to expand it north and south.

Stothert: Plan has been submitted. Based on TIF. Does not require sales tax increase, property tax increase. Projected cost of streetcar: $306 million, which includes a very large 35%. TIF is expected to generate $354 million.

Stothert: Change in state law makes this possible to pay TIF note back over 20 years instead of 15, because area is considered extremely blighted.

Stothert: New projects planned within blocks of streetcar line have told us they are contributing 25 percent of TIF proceeds to the streetcar, $218 million.

Stothert: Other TIF-eligible expenses, like bike lanes, etc., could get funds if extra TIF available. Will look at that. Question is where we get the money now? Combo of special revenue bonds, private placement bonds and private funds. City is not at risk on this, bondholder is.

Stothert: Parking garage and parking meters will essentially cover the $6.4 million operating costs of the streetcar. Start work in 2022.

Stothert: City will create seven-member board to run streetcar. City 3, Metro Transit 3, urban core, 1. If goes as planned, have vote by City Council on May 10.

Stothert: Lack of parking is choking development downtown. And a lot of underutilized parking that can be accessed. Streetcar is the solution to accessing available parking.

Stothert: You can see now why the conversations were about how important it is to have the Dale Clark library out of that site. They should be out by September.

Media Q: Mayor you you'd do a vote if a streetcar? Stothert: The public is not being asked to pay. This is not a citywide tax increase. I said there would be a vote if a streetcar would require a tax increase.

Q: Why streetcar?

A: That big building would not occur without a streetcar, and neither would a lot of other buildings. Mutual could build anywhere. It's just so important that they're keeping their 4k employees downtown.

Q: Is this contingent on moving the library, the vote by City Council on moving?

Stothert: "We will be moving the Dale Clark Library." There really isn't another site we can find downtown that works like this one does.

Stothert: At 1401 Jones St, three bus lines come to site. We are working for more.

Q: A lot of questions about commercial real estate, why are you so confident?

Mutual CEO: We've embraced a flexible model. We have a number of people who want to work together, a number who want to work hybrid and some who like to work from home. We are modeling it out.

Metro CEO: Our current facility is considerably larger. This new facility will be appropriate for our workforce. We do plan on redeveloping our building, right along the streetcar line. Will bring a lot of housing, really changing the whole neighborhood for the better.

Not Metro CEO, Mutual. Sorry.

Stothert: No other tenants in new building. It will be theirs. When they built Midtown Crossing, there was a lot of crime there. They took a risk, a $300 million investment in that area.

Mutual CEO: Anxious to get started in January. It'll be about a three-year process. The building image is conceptual.

Mutual CEO: Their tower FNBO might be the same height as ours. I think it'll be that scale.

Stothert: The first site Mutual looked at was the old UP site. One problem was parking. We discussed whether it was possible to do a loop to include the streetcar there. But it made more sense to do it where the library is.

Stothert: We will do a land swap. UP site will get appraised. Think both will be the same in value. City will get the old UP site. Mutual will get the library site.

Q: Critics of this and the library say that this was a big done deal. Were they right?

Stothert: A lot of development is going on. Yeah, it has to go through a certain process. It's never a done deal until it's a done deal.

Stothert: I anticipate that these things will be approved.

Q: Did you consider leaving Omaha?

Mutual CEO: We did not seriously consider leaving. We want people to be attracted to come live in Nebraska. We think there's a lot of value in bringing people together.

Stothert: This is nothing that just came about because of Mutual or any other business. It's been working since 2009. It's just all coming together right now.

Q: What will you do with your property in midtown?

Mutual CEO: We will likely sell it. (It was unclear whether that's just their building.)

Q: What about TIF affecting other local governments?

Stothert: Everybody with TIF knows you can't take something away you don't have. The school districts will get the base amount from the streetcar that they do now. I spoke with Dr. Logan.

Stothert: From years 15-20, the school districts will get 2% more per year of increased TIF during that five year period. And the end they will get more.

Q: Any chance this gets derailed?

Stothert: There's always a chance. We have a finance plan that's very solid. 42 cities either have a streetcar or are building one, and their revenue estimates exceeded what they projected. "Streetcars do work."

Omaha won't charge for rides on streetcar.

Q: Will you sell just your building or all your properties at Midtown Crossing?

Mutual CEO: We will sell what we have at Midtown Crossing (to developers).

Stothert: Since Gene Leahy Mall is being expanded all the way to Heartland of America Park, we have a lot of land that will have some value along there, a lot of green space.

Q: Was this part of your vision for downtown?

A: I talked about wanting to revitalize the riverfront. I wanted something that would bring people down there every part of the year. Now we're going to see a lot of development down here.

Q: What attracts you about a streetcar?

Stothert: Labor, young people look at public transportation, entertainment, residential areas. And business. They're very interested in the urban core.

Stothert: What really makes it attractive to me is that we can pay for it.

Q: What's the value of securing the commitment of a Fortune 500 company to stay in Omaha?

Stothert: It's of huge value to the city to have them. And to have them downtown is even more important.

Mutual CEO: The real issue for me was our commitment to Midtown and to make sure we had something that would help continue to grow and develop Midtown. If we would move out of Midtown without a development town, you would have a vacant lot and no development.

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