HistoricOmaha

Omaha World Herald

Published August 19, 2006
BY DEBORAH SHANAHAN

An Omaha homebuilder known for his gated communities and cul-de-sac street layouts plans to build a rowhouse-style town house development in midtown along Dodge Street.

Dundee Ridge - three rows of nine town houses each - would be between 48th and 49th Streets, Dodge to Douglas.

Sullivan Homes’ Charlie Sullivan said the preliminary plan is to build two-bedroom, two-and-a-half-bath homes of 1,600 to 1,800 square feet costing $275,000 to $300,000. Each home would have a rooftop deck and a two-car garage underneath as well as a two-car driveway.

The rows would run north to south with the sides of the end units facing Dodge and Douglas. On the Douglas Street side, the town houses would be set back 35 feet, the same distance existing houses are from the street.

The plan has been endorsed by the Omaha Planning Board and has a Tuesday public hearing scheduled before the Omaha City Council.

Sullivan said he, like many homebuilders in a slowing market, was looking for a chance to diversify. The chance to do a high-density, infill project arose because eight parcels had been put together and offered for sale, he said.

If approved by the City Council, he said, the sale would close in the next 30 days and demolition would start in 30 to 45 days. In the path of the project are some offices, houses that had been converted to multifamily or office use and a parking lot.

Sullivan said he’s excited to bring new construction to midtown, an area that’s seeing some condo conversions but little in new condo construction. One 12-unit project, Dundee Place, is about sold out, said Cindy Crawley, the CBSHome agent who represents the owner.

“I’m a big fan of everything happening downtown,” Sullivan said, “but I think there’s big potential among people who want an urban lifestyle and don’t want to be downtown.”

Midtown redevelopment plans and the Dodge Street location have prompted city planners to be more stringent in their architectural requirements for Dundee Ridge, Sullivan said. His firm is the Dundee-based Architectural Offices.

Sullivan mostly has built single-family homes since moving from Dallas, where he worked with international developer Trammel Crow Co., to Omaha to start his business in 1995.

But he said from the occasional tear-down to build a custom home in District 66 to Charleston Woods - a gated enclave of 10 homes at 97th Street and West Center Road where prices start at $650,000 - he has liked finding spots in existing neighborhoods to build new residences.

Some of his other projects include Residences on the Green at Pacific Springs, which is 28 lots overlooking Pacific Springs Golf Club, and Estates of Huntington Park with 22 home sites at 156th Street and a block south of West Maple Road.

Howard Weiner of Century 21 Dundee Realty, who represented the owner of the property sold for the Dundee Ridge project, said he believes it will be a nice, upscale addition to the neighborhood.

“The neighbors I’ve talked to seem pretty happy,” he said.

Omaha.com: Dundee to be home for a town house project