Omaha Riverfront Revitalization
Omaha
BEST PROJECT
Sent by: HDR
Owner: Metropolitan Entertainment and Convention Authority
Main design company: HDR
General contractor: Kiewit Infrastructure Group
Landscape architect: OJB Landscape Architecture
Bridge design: HNTB
Geotechnical engineering/Special inspections: Terracon
Survey and plate: Lamp Rynearson Associates
Parking consultant: Walker Advisors
A transformative $325 million program has turned three longtime, underutilized downtown Omaha parks into amenity-rich open space anchored by the Missouri River.
Photo courtesy of HDR © Jeff Durkin
This 72-acre park includes a raised lagoon that was once a sunken space. It also includes lawns and performance pavilions, playgrounds, a skating rink, an urban beach, public art and other amenities. The project was developed by and for the community with flexibility to adapt programming to future needs.
Photo courtesy of HDR © Jeff Durkin
Among the multiple obstacles were centuries of buried infrastructure and the project’s location atop a Superfund site that sits next to the river. To preserve undeveloped land, 100% of the project is located in a previously developed area. The Lewis & Clark Landing area, which comprises 41% of the footprint, is located on an abandoned site where a lead smelter and refinery operated for more than 140 years.
Photo courtesy of HDR © Jeff Durkin
After the plant was shut down, a remediation effort contained contaminants at the 23-acre site and covered it with a geosynthetic clay liner (GCL), drainage, and 6 feet of clean soil. To avoid adversely affecting the GCL and its protective cover, design features, including trees, buildings, light poles, structures and foundations, limit the amount of weight of the GCL and prevent it from penetrating.
Photo courtesy of HDR © Jeff Durkin
