Omaha’s planned $80M public market sprouts from old roots

OMAHA — The $80 million indoor public market being built along downtown Omaha’s riverfront is envisioned as a year-round draw for tourists as well as statewide farmers and locals seeking to sell and buy specialty and Nebraska-centric goods.

The three-level glass structure will span 50,000 square feet featuring an upper mezzanine and a main market floor that holds dozens of vendors and spills into a courtyard and lawn suited for community events.

Expected to open in summer 2028, organizers say the market is funded entirely by private funds raised by Heritage Omaha and structured as a nonprofit. 

 To Vic Gutman —  who advised Heritage after spending decades shaping the modern landscape of seasonal farmers and arts markets — the venture is the fruition of a 40-year dream.

“Finally it’s now going to happen,” said Gutman, who soon turns 75. “I’ve worked on a lot of projects over the years, and this is going to make a great community gathering place. I’m very excited.”

Fizzled efforts of past

Gutman, in an interview with the Nebraska Examiner, reflected on past efforts to establish a public marketplace in the state’s most populous city.

He said his idea was grand and he started smaller: He founded a summer farmers market in 1994 that expanded to Aksarben Village in 2012.

In 2015, a key donor helped buy a cavernous postal annex, which previously stored street cars, just south of downtown Omaha in the resurging Little Italy neighborhood. That “Tenth Street Market” had been anticipated to open in 2017 as a year-round indoor marketplace, but fundraising fell short. Gutman, who spearheaded it, said some philanthropic doubters wanted the market to be in downtown. 

“In many ways it was a blessing in disguise that it didn’t work out then,” Gutman said. He said the COVID-19 pandemic would have set back the operation and vulnerable small businesses and vendors.

While Gutman had envisioned a public market in a retrofitted vintage warehouse, he said he sees an advantage in the custom-made structure that Heritage is building new into a hill overlooking The RiverFront’s Heartland of America Park near Eighth and Farnam streets.

The design provides space for about 30 permanent vendors, he said. Those locally owned and operated small businesses are yet to be selected, but Gutman said a sampling of staple tenants would include a butcher, a fishmonger, bakers, beer and wine makers and an ice cream shop. Prepared food will be offered.

He said outdoor entrance areas will allow for a couple of dozen additional pop-up vendor booths, including flowers and crafts. Fresh foods, fruit and produce are integral as a stated goal is to expand access to nourishing food and community experiences while uplifting local producers.

Spaces will be rented for weddings, conferences and other events. There will be a teaching and demonstration kitchen, flexible programming areas, outdoor seating. 

Prior to the fizzled Tenth Street Market, the nearby Burlington Station had been eyed as a market site by a different entity. That plan, which was publicized in 1994 but never materialized, envisioned artists, musicians, craftsmen, merchants and others populating two outdoor levels and part of the former train station’s rotunda on the weekends. The structure now is the headquarters of KETV.

Hark back to 1903

Even farther back — around 1903 — an Omaha “market house” was built and opened downtown near Capital Avenue and 14th Street. Gutman said his research reflects that the building’s use as a public market was only fleeting.

Morning World-Herald coverage of that era said vendor stalls in the new building were nearly full for a few weeks, following “insistent demand” for an indoor public market.

“But an organization of grocers proceeded to choke the life out of the new project in its infancy and succeeded,” the newspaper reported. 

The structure was leased for a time, then Mayor Jim Dahlman sought to shift its use to public baths, but it was ultimately torn down. 

Tourism and Heritage officials believe the modern-day Heritage-led project will be Nebraska’s first to rival public markets such as Seattle’s iconic Pike Place, Philadelphia’s Reading Terminal or Milwaukee’s Public Market.

Overseeing the local operation is the nonprofit Omaha Market Trust, which has a board of directors. The group hired Jerrica Marshall as the market’s inaugural executive director. She is former manager of the Downtown Des Moines Farmer Market and has 10 years of community development and public markets experience.

Heritage representatives introduced Marshall and unveiled site renderings during an event earlier this month.

They said that while Gutman laid the groundwork with earlier ventures, Mogens Bay, board chair of Valmont Industries and vice chair of the Heritage board, propelled this public market forward. The global Project for Public Spaces is a partner in planning and design.

‘Different type of energy’

Tina Cherica, Heritage president, told the Examiner that public markets usher a “different type of energy” into a community and draw people from all parts to “experience something uniquely Omaha and uniquely Nebraska.”

Cherica, who has a family farm background, said a goal is to engage producers and farmers from across the state to showcase their goods, incubate their businesses and engage entrepreneurial skills. She said the $80 million investment and campaign goal is covered by philanthropic donations. That amount includes a cushion to help sustain market operations as the project launches. 

Eventually, founders expect the market to be self-sustaining through fees and rental agreements.

Those interviewed touted the anticipated tourism boost.

Jenn Gjerde, executive director of the Nebraska Tourism Commission, said the added attraction to a developing downtown strengthens Omaha’s position as a competitive market for business conferences, sporting and other events.

“It further activates the riverfront, which already is a huge draw for out-of-town visitors,” said Jasmyn Goodwin, executive director of Visit Omaha, which promotes tourism for Douglas County.

Dramatic changes to the downtown riverfront area have occurred in recent years, including a roughly $400 million overhaul of parks and amenities, collectively called “The RiverFront.” Other developments include various new apartments, the $600 million Mutual of Omaha office tower and the controversial streetcar project that tops $400 million.

The latest countywide figures showed 14.8 million annual visitors directly spending $1.6 billion on food, lodging, entertainment and merchandise in the county, Goodwin said.

She said travelers want to experience a “taste of the local area” they are in, and that is an allure of a public market. Meanwhile, locals can showcase goods in front of a larger audience.

Plans for the market were informed by thousands of metro-area residents, food entrepreneurs, farmers and makers, organizers said. Gutman said on-site parking for about 75 cars is to be supplemented with a city parking structure across the street.

“I just want to see it happen,” Gutman said. “It’s in good hands.”