OMAHA, Neb. (KMTV) — New from the City of Omaha, Monday --- the Crossroads redevelopment project will now take longer to complete and cost more money.
Van Harman lives near 72nd and Dodge where neighbors have seen work to redevelop Crossroads slow drastically after the building was demolished and ground, cleared, and leveled a few years ago.
Monday, the city delivering the news that the project, originally slated to be complete in 2024, won't be done for at least two more years.
"I guess I welcome it getting done," Harman said. "The change is something you just have to live with."
According to a statement from the city, the total cost of the development will increase to over $860 million. That's an over $300 million jump from $553 million. The proposed plan will also increase the tax increment financing for public infrastructure improvements.
"Well, I guess I'd rather have it done right than done too quickly," Harman said.
Larry Leeds has lived in the neighborhood near Crossroads since 1975.
"When I moved here, this was west Omaha," Leeds said. "Anything else was country. Now it's practically mid-Omaha. We'll be having a new structure with retail spaces. That's a wonderful idea. As long as it doesn't turn out to be something like the Oak View mall, where it was a classic idea... And then it just died."
Major updates to the plan include reducing the amount of office space and increasing the amount of parking. The updated plans show there will be more garages, including an underground parking structure owned and operated by the city.
The existing garage on the northeast corner near 72nd and Cass will be demolished.
This new plan is not official yet. It has to be approved by the city planning board at its meeting, Wednesday.
