The RiverFront by OJB Landscape Architecture

Built in 2023 / 2025 Built Landscapes / 2025 Entries / 2025 Public Projects / USA /
ojb.com

For nearly 60 years, three existing parks in this Midwest city served as open spaces near the downtown core. Despite their long history, these neighboring parks had grown stagnant, with disjointed access leading to dwindling utilization. Complicating matters further, one park was surrounded by a metropolitan backdrop, while the other two parks faced challenges as remediated brownfields.

The revitalized riverfront plan transforms the trio of parks into a unified, amenity-rich open space, anchored by the Missouri River, creating a dynamic 72-acre urban composition. The redesigned parks restore street access at the downtown core and add spacious lawns, performance pavilions, play areas, a skate ribbon, an urban beach, public art and other destinations. Street improvements include new pedestrian sidewalks, crosswalks, bridges, walking paths, and dedicated bike lanes, ensuring protected access to the parks and open space along the river.

Each park’s attractions are planned as a gradient across the sites, with higher density near downtown streets, providing spaces for activity, rest, exploration, and connection. Previously, visitors had to descend steep edges to enter the park from downtown. A sunken lagoon with concrete edges further restricted access and circulation. The solution was to raise the western half of the site to street level, welcoming pedestrians at all points, and replan the interior as a series of outdoor rooms linked by water features. Key spaces include a spacious green lawn, performance pavilion, sculpture garden, play areas, dog park, interactive water features, public plazas, promenades, restrooms, food truck spots, a pond, and gathering spaces.

The center park connects to the east end of the downtown park. It is the mediating space between the busy urban core and the Missouri River, with connections to a larger trail network and spaces for large civic gatherings. The program includes a reconfigured lake, botanical gardens, event lawn, four-season skate ribbon, skate rental and food kiosks, restrooms, bocce ball courts, play areas, horseshoe pits, and a pier overlooking the river.

The third site, located almost a mile from downtown, is an active destination for families, featuring a new children’s museum, adventure playgrounds, urban beach, event plaza, sand volleyball courts, and ancillary facilities.

The landscape is fully restorative, with over 1,500 new trees and 100,000 plants reflecting native diversity and restored prairie grassland. Sustainable systems and plants showcase the beauty of the ecoregion while reducing maintenance costs. Native species support pollinators, require no fertilizer or pesticides, and need minimal watering after establishment. They also improve soil health by sequestering carbon, enhancing moisture retention, and reducing runoff through improved infiltration.

In the first 18 months of operation, the parks welcomed more than 2,000,000 visitors with three-tiers of activation across six programming categories. This revitalization has greatly benefited the downtown core, bringing people and businesses together in a hub of entertainment and culture, reconnecting the community with the river. The RiverFront activates the city, surrounding community, and downtown. It brings together people, events, activities, excitement and an energy long missing from Omaha’s urban core.

• Project typology, in your own words (a couple of examples: square or plaza, park, residential, infrastructure, schools and playgrounds, hospitality, corporate, campus, temporary installation etc.):

Revitalized public park that connects the downtown core with the Missouri River featuring active and passive spaces, restored prairie habitat, and four season amenities including children’s play areas, adventure playgrounds, amphitheatre, skate ribbon, boat cove and water features, art installations, volleyball courts, interior and waterfront promenades and destination pier overlooking the River.

• All landscape architecture offices involved in the design of landscape:

OJB Landscape Architecture, Master Plan, Landscape Architecture, Park Design

• Other credits:

HDR: Civil, Environmental, Architectural, Structural, Bridge Engineering; Public Involvement, Transportation, Permitting;
Alvine Engineering: MEP Engineering;
Gensler: Architecture for Pavilions and Performance Shell;
Atelier Ten: Lighting Design;
Safdie Rabines Architects: Bridge/Pier Design;
MR Global (Specialty Lighting);
RSM (Environmental Graphic Design);
Studio Ludo (Play Consultant);
Pine and Swallow (Soil Science);
ADBC Architecture & Engineering (Shade Structures and Trellises);
Terrracon (Geotechnical Engineering and Special Inspections);
RES (Restoration Ecologist);
Walker Consultant (Parking Consultant);
Lamp Rynearson Associates (Survey and Platting);
Marx | Okubo (ADA Consultant)

• Year Completed (last built phase):

2022, Phase 1, 2023, Phase 2