RDG in the Media: South Omaha Redevelopment Project Aims to Create Unified Image

March 02, 2023
Landscape Architecture Urban Planning Community & Regional Planning Public Art Urban Design

RDG’s Marty Shukert, FAICP recently joined community leaders in sharing about the impact of redeveloping the 24th Street corridor of South Omaha, Nebraska.

Plaza de la Raza sits at the heart of the business district in South Omaha, Nebraska. The area, best known for hosting Omaha’s annual Cinco de Mayo festival and Mexican Independence Day celebration, was set to receive a portion of federal pandemic recovery funds, which would in part help fund the completion of a nearly 20-year-old proposal to transform Plaza de la Raza from a worn-out parking lot into a vibrant festival and community gathering space. Throughout the last several months, RDG Planning & Design has been working with community representatives on plans for a phased approach to the renovated plaza, which will blend with the existing streetscape from L to Q Streets and emphasize Latino culture while also reflecting historic diversity.

RDG previously worked with the South Omaha community on the Historic South Omaha Streetscape Renovation, which expanded accessibility and safety along the streetscape, creating diagonal parking on both sides of the street, a single touch-lane in each direction and four-way stops at internal intersections. Photo by IRIS22 Productions.

In recent conversations with multiple local media outlets, RDG’s Marty Shukert, FAICP joined community leaders in discussing the impact of the project in an effort to move funding efforts forward, and said that “what happens here will enrich the rest of the Omaha community, and provide a real destination for people from all over the city to enjoy.”

Read more about plans for the improved Plaza de la Raza in features from local media outlets KMTV 3 News Now and the Nebraska Examiner.

Written by Erin Van Zee, Communications Director