OMAHA, Neb. (WOWT) – There’s a new kind of urban garden being constructed in the Old Market area.
That garden will also include a piece of Omaha’s history.
“It’s going to have walking trails, open play space, there’s going to be fire pits, there’s going to be seating areas, there’s going to be a kind of a stage area for community-based performances,” Fanslau said.
Omaha Planning Director Dave Fanslau is looking over plans for the Old Market Gardens, a privately-owned, privately-operated park close to the Old Market area near 12th and Jones.
“It’s pretty unique, where somebody will take this ground in this location and put private dollars into it and open it up to the public. It’s kind of special,” Fanslau said.
The building in the middle of the park makes it eve more special.
“It’s really the only building we have left in that particular style,” McCaffrey said.
Shelly McCaffrey is with the Historic Preservation Unit of the Omaha Planning Department.
McCaffrey told First Alert 6 the building that stands alone is the Anheuser-Busch Beer Depot Office, built in 1887.
“It went out of use in 1917 when Nebraska adopted prohibition, so at that it was no longer in use, the beer depot,” she said.
“Nebraska adopted prohibition in 1917, two years prior to the national adoption of prohibition. Yeah, we were early on this one.”
The Anheuser-Busch Office Building was on in a series of four that once stood on Jones Street.
All of them were on the National Register of Historic Places, but the other three buildings were knocked down in the early 1980’s.
“The Historic Register doesn’t offer any protection, its more of an honorary designation, and it also allows you to get some tax credits and tax incentives,” McCaffrey said.
Work is still underway on the park that may include a café, a green garden, and a place for outdoor movies.
All the changes will enhance this historic building, and make it the focal point of the project.
Lauritzen Gardens owns the property where the park is being developed.
Currently, there is no timeline on when the project will be complete.
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