“La Vista” described the scenic panorama of the Big Papio Creek Basin that was enjoyed by the City’s first residents. It is located southwest of the Omaha metropolitan area contiguous to the cities of Bellevue, Ralston, Papillion and Omaha. As a major arterial road through the center of the community, 84th Street has been the primary commuter route for residents travelling through La Vista, providing connections to Interstate 80. Significant shopping centers such as Brentwood Square and Brentwood Crossing once created a thriving retail hub for the community and the surrounding area. City Hall, the Community Center, La Vista Falls Golf Course and the City Swimming Pool, are all found along the 84th Street corridor.
When major retail anchors vacated the area, the corridor deteriorated as a viable employment center. Smaller businesses, which relied on the foot traffic of anchors such as Wal-Mart, Gordman’s and Baker’s Supermarket, had difficulty sustaining themselves, forcing relocation or closure. Redevelopment was necessary to restore the once vibrant corridor.
The vision for 84th Street is the creation of a downtown for the community with a memorable and distinct identity, a vibrant mix of land uses, a sense of community and a high quality of life for residents. A finer grain street network creates new connections to existing neighborhoods and creates walkable pedestrian ways between these neighborhoods and 84th Street. Within this network, a mix of uses including residential, retail, and office ensures that the downtown is flexible and sustainable, can be phased appropriately, and can transition as different uses evolve over time. The existing golf course was transformed into La Vista Civic Center Park, the signature park for the community.
The project included extensive community outreach, involving a working group of local business leaders, residents, city staff and the community at large. Open houses were regularly held to solicit input and feedback from residents. Quarterly newsletters were distributed throughout the community, providing updates on the project. A survey was mailed to residents to gather input on preferences along the 84th Street corridor. The entire process for creating the vision plan took approximately one year.
Office: AECOM
Client: City of La Vista
Contributions: Project manager, master planning, design, document narrative, community outreach
Awards
2011 Colorado Chapter American Society of Landscape Architects, Merit Award for Planning & Design
