The latest version of the Crossroads redevelopment includes a public plaza surrounded by retailers and office space, shown here in a rendering. (Courtesy of Holland Basham Architects)
OMAHA — It’s been 15 years since an Omaha developer bought the dying Crossroads Mall with expectations to create a bigger and better commercial centerpiece for Nebraska’s largest city.
Plans came and went. Then four years ago, with city approvals and public incentives in hand, that developer led a team in demolishing most of the stores on the 42-acre site to make way for a proposed multimillion-dollar live, work and play area northwest of 72nd and Dodge Streets.
But the mostly vacant corner lately has sat largely idle. A fire that broke out last week in an abandoned structure on the site again stirred questions about the project’s progress.
Tuesday, Omaha’s mayor and a new development team announced an update on what they describe as a $900 million, mixed-use campus buoyed by $105 million in city-approved public tax-increment financing.