Gifford Park Is Liveable AF

All Giff, no curse

Just admit it. You have a neighborhood crush on Gifford Park. Well, that’s if you’ve heard of it which suprisingly many in Omaha have not. Gifford Park is the neighborhood just west of Creighton which is bounded by 30th to 37th and from Dodge to Cuming.

A lot of people have a vague appreciation of how awesome Gifford Park is but let’s put it in perspective by taking a look at this neighborhood newsletter email from Chris Foster (aka the benevolent landlord and patron of Gifford Park). Here’s the screenshot:

S O — M A N Y — Q U E S T I O N S

I don’t care where you live, this is an impressive lineup of things going on in a single neighborhood. So many questions come to mind when I look at this list such as what is an Adventure Playground? What other things do they do there besides movie night and why didn’t this exist when I was a kid? Who are these Tibetan monks and how’d they find their way to Omaha? Who thought up all these events and where is the signup form for the slip ’n’ slide?

What I Like About The Neighborhood

What I do know is that the events on the email newsletter above are only a fraction of the cool things that are taking place in Gifford Park. Below is a list of some other awesome things the neighborhood can boast about:

• New coffeeshop: Gifford Park finally got its own coffee shop! It’s called Myrtle & Cypress and it’s located inside of a house that was rezoned commercial. It’s set to open any day now (August 2018) and from the looks of the interior design it’s going to be a place where many gather and lots of work gets done!
• Brand new elementary school: After fighting the fight to save Yates Elementary the neighborhood successfully petitioned for a new elementary school to be built in the east part of the neighborhood near OPS headquarters. This will go a long way in attracting families to the neighborhood.
• Omaha Community Bike Project: This is a gem of an organization that employs at-risk youth and gives them jobs repairing bicycles. OCBP is a huge driver of the bike culture in the neighborhood.
• Connective tissue: In Gifford Park neighbors know one another a surprisingly high percentage of the time. I recently went to a wedding reception and over 150 residents of Gifford Park were there — Gifford Park is that kind of neighborhood.
• The coolest convenience store owner/clerk in the history of life: If you’ve ever been to the K-N-J convenience store on the southwest corner of 33rd and California then you’ve probably met and joked with Danny. The first time I met him I was buying some paper towels in his store and he snatched the roll out of my hand and said “go long” so I ran a wide receiver route and he threw the paper towel roll to me across the store!
• The park(s): The neighborhood gets its name from the massive park that sits in the middle of the neighborhood. The park has soccer, tennis, a basketball court and then the park continues across the street with playground equipment for children and a gazebo with a picnic table for outdoor gatherings. In addition to Gifford Park you’ve got the Sallie Foster Adventure Playground in the community garden which allows kids to engage in unstructured play with donated materials.
• Being crowned the greenest neighborhood in Omaha: The neighborhood has done a good job of doing things the green way with parks, trees, biking, rainwater catchments and urban gardens. The city recognized the neighborhood for the job well done. I’d only expect this trend to continue and for the neighborhood to become more green.
• Cali Taco: If you haven’t had their fish taco you are missing out…unless you’re a vegetarian! This Omaha staple that was featured on Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives is located in the heart of Gifford Park’s commercial district. Having such an iconic and tasty spot to dine within the neighborhood makes it easy to not leave the neighborhood for days on end.
• Big Muddy Urban Farms: This urban farm was originally founded several years ago by a bunch of up-start urban farmers who lived together. They now mostly live in the Gifford Park area. Their fearless leader, Brent Lubbert, has sustained and grown the organization for the past few years. In 2016 they launched their aspiring farmers residency program which is probably the coolest thing happening in all of urban agriculture, anywhere. Big Muddy remodeled a couple houses and use them to house aspiring farmers and they provide them each with a lot to garden or use to start another agricultural related business.
• Intergenerational: When you’re in Gifford Park you see the old and the young and everyone in between all at the same events. This is what I imagine neighborhoods of yesteryear must have been like.
• Cultural diversity: In Gifford Park you’ve got everything from wealthier families, to young professionals who work in Midtown, to young granola families, college students and refugee families.
• Yates Community Center: A few years ago the neighborhood banded together to save Yates, a former OPS elementary school, from being torn down. The building is now used as a community center to serve the neighborhood’s immigrant population. At Yates you can: take ESL classes, sewing classes, gain computer literacy, and take your children to the early childhood center to assist in school readiness.
• Gifford Park Neighborhood Market: Besides the Aksarben and Downtown Farmers Markets the Gifford Park Neighborhood Market might just be the best. It has dozens of vendors and live music. The venue serves as a way for neighborhood residents to strengthen bonds and exchange.

How Did It Get So Dope?

I don’t blame you for getting a little bit of neighborhood envy when looking at this list. Envy away but just know that Gifford Park wasn’t built in a day. Not only has the neighborhood’s success been an all hands on deck effort by passionate residents for years (starting with the neighborhood association) but it has also benefited from three competitive advantages:

1. The Location Advantage:

This neighborhood has the tremendous advantage of bordering Blackstone, Midtown Crossing, and Creighton. This makes the neighborhood close to several large employers including OPS headquarters. Additionally, Gifford Park is just a short walk under the overpass to Bemis Park which is one of my top five favorite parks in all of Omaha. The auspicious location makes Gifford Park unbelievably well served by transit (by Omaha standards). Within a 5–10 minute walk you can access 6 bus routes; 4/14, 3, 35, 30, 2, and 15/55. A prime location like this is sure to attract the best and brightest of Omaha.

2. The Business District Infrastructure Advantage:

Gifford Park was blessed with what every urban core neighborhood deserves: a business district. By my count there are about 14 individual buildings/bays for businesses located on the main strip in Gifford Park along 33rd and California Street. Not only does Gifford Park have a nice little business district but it also has the capacity to expand somewhat through rezoning homes alongs the commercial strip. Two homes along the business district have already been rezoned (including the property that is now Myrtle & Cypress coffeeshop) and it’s possible that more homes to the immediate north of the business district could come online as rezoned from residential to commercial which would only add to the charm of Gifford Park. The awesome establishments along the commercial strip go a long way in creating a sense of place and pride in the neighborhood. The neighborhood market each friday night is hosted in a parking lot on the main strip. The market probably triples the amount of businesses in the district — in many ways the farmers market is like an incubator that will spin out successful concepts into standalone/permanent locations in the neighborhood.

3. The Chris Foster Advantage:

Photo Credit: Omaha World Herald

You know you’re a legend when the Omaha World Herald literally writes an article just about your truck as they did in this article. Chris Foster is like the Mr. Rogers of Gifford Park only if Mr. Rogers talked less and did more. Chris Foster and his associates have bought up run down properties in the neighborhood and fixed them up (with tremendous care) and either let families move in or helped businesses get started by providing deep discounts from time to time. Chris Foster is the resident patron of all of the twentysomething creatives in the neighborhood. It’s not often that a neighborhood is gifted with someone like Chris Foster who both has the benevolence and the wherewithal. If that’s not an advantage I don’t know what is.

Gifford Park is as close as it gets to a perfect neighborhood

Here is a link to homes for sale in Gifford Park. You’re welcome!