[yman97]

More than anything, I think its just a sign of the times. Most people, myself included, prefer the outdoor lifestyle centers like Village Pointe and Shadow Lake. I think that indoor malls are outdated and many of them will shut down. I'm not sure about Westroads. They've done a lot of development and places like Cheesecake Factory, Dick's Sporting Goods, Granite City, Brickhouse Tavern (it will occupy what was formerly the Macaroni Grill), and the movie theatre make it viable.

[sakuda]

Originally Posted by yman97

More than anything, I think its just a sign of the times. Most people, myself included, prefer the outdoor lifestyle centers like Village Pointe and Shadow Lake. I think that indoor malls are outdated and many of them will shut down. I'm not sure about Westroads. They've done a lot of development and places like Cheesecake Factory, Dick's Sporting Goods, Granite City, Brickhouse Tavern (it will occupy what was formerly the Macaroni Grill), and the movie theatre make it viable.

"Outdoor lifestyle centers"? Oh, Westies.

It's somewhere to buy things, but I guess that is part of the lifestyle out there.

[Michael Weston]

*shrug* Maybe it's just because I'm a man, but I don't care if the place is inside or outside. I need something...what's closest? Where can I get the best deal? That's where I go. I don't care what the place looks like or that it's in some fancy new urban design.

[IsThisOneTaken?]

I'm old... I remember the Center Mall. And Southroads! And the Midlands Mall.

Look across our state at towns like Grand Island, Hastings, and Scottsbluff where their malls are ghost towns. (GI's Conestoga mall is doing OK, I'm talking about the other one whose name escapes me now).

[todd00]

i think the smaller strip malls that clutter the west omaha landscape are also cutting into the larger traditional malls take. posh shops in new smaller strips serve the label conscious types well, they can park closer and get the added benefit of showing off their overpriced vehicles. poor old crossroads, just aint hip and cool. what will become of it?

i agree with ya, michael, i dont care for malls, though im not fond of chinamart either.

[McBain II]

Found this old picture of Midlands Mall aka Omni Center.


Midlands Mall - Council Bluffs, IA. (http://www.flickr.com/photos/cbpl/5054414052/ - broken link) by Council Bluffs Public Library Special Collections (http://www.flickr.com/people/cbpl/ - broken link), on Flickr

[a1sspiked]

UNO should buy Crossroads, or rent out spaces. Theres nothing left, so they could turn old stores into reasonably sized classrooms. Theres TONS of parking, so get a bus/shuttle that runs from crossroads to the main UNO campus to transport students and teachers. The stores that are still there could use the added business, and it may encourage more people to come back. Bring the "customers" back, and some stores, and food places would come back as well. Just needs to be used in a different way.

[Giesela]

I loved Omaha when I was there 2004-2007 but I did not understand why "they" were making all the same mistakes other older cities had made with regard to sprawl, hollowing out the middle and allowing urban decay to set in, downtown to fail.
Plenty of good examples out there now of what not to do and what to do but they seemed like they never examined anything and were just allowing things to happen with zero foresight.
Really sad. Ruining the city.

[McBain II]

Originally Posted by a1sspiked

UNO should buy Crossroads, or rent out spaces. Theres nothing left, so they could turn old stores into reasonably sized classrooms. Theres TONS of parking, so get a bus/shuttle that runs from crossroads to the main UNO campus to transport students and teachers. The stores that are still there could use the added business, and it may encourage more people to come back. Bring the "customers" back, and some stores, and food places would come back as well. Just needs to be used in a different way.

That's way more space than UNO needs, not to mention that dropping a school on such prime real estate would be a total waste.

Since it appears that rehabbing Crossroads into a legitimate mall is out of the question, it should be torn down and have a truly legitimate mixed use facility built from the ground up.

Originally Posted by Giesela

I loved Omaha when I was there 2004-2007 but I did not understand why "they" were making all the same mistakes other older cities had made with regard to sprawl, hollowing out the middle and allowing urban decay to set in, downtown to fail.
Plenty of good examples out there now of what not to do and what to do but they seemed like they never examined anything and were just allowing things to happen with zero foresight.

Really sad. Ruining the city.

Actually, Omaha has made significant investment in rehabbing it's urban core, with about $10 billion being invested in Downtown alone.

[iamjacobm]

Bosco55David is right on both accounts. Crossroads is a lost cause and needs to be torn down and rebuilt with mixed use Aksarben Village meets Midtown Crossing.

And Omaha has been moving back towards the city center over the past decade and looks to continue that way for the for seeable future.