Cross Farnam from the east side these days and you'll probably use the bridge. It sits directly across from Early Bird, a plank walkway the city dropped in so pedestrians can get from the south sidewalk to the north side without stepping into an active construction zone. From there it's maybe forty feet to Cunningham's front door, past barricades, a completely closed north lane, and the collapsed foundation of the building next door that's been sitting under a tarp since June.
If you only look at that one block, between 38th Street and 38th Avenue, Blackstone looks like a disaster. It's also the single messiest stretch on the entire 3.2-mile streetcar route connecting the Old Market to the University of Nebraska Medical Center. But the reason it's a mess isn't one project. It's three, running on three different clocks, and most of Blackstone isn't touched by any of them right now.
The Hole That Has Nothing to Do With the Streetcar
On June 21, a foundation collapsed near 38th and Farnam, opening a sidewalk-swallowing void and forcing the evacuation of a couple of buildings. The structure involved was the vacant former Brothers Lounge, at 3810 and 3812 Farnam. Nearly three months later, nobody has determined why it happened. City officials have said repeatedly that the investigation into what contributed to the collapse, including whether streetcar work played a role, is still open.
What we do know is the timeline that led up to it. The building's co-owner told local reporters he alerted the city and its engineers about water pooling in the basement on June 13, eight days before the foundation gave way, and got no response. By mid-August, the city had offered to cover the cost of either repairing or demolishing the structure using streetcar project funds, while stopping short of admitting fault. As of that announcement, appraisal and repair-cost estimates were still underway, and the decision on whether to save or tear down the building sat with the owner. Crews have replaced the tarp over the hole multiple times since, most recently after concerns it wouldn't hold through a round of rain.
None of that is streetcar construction in the way most people mean it. It's a separate, unresolved property dispute that happens to be sitting on the same block as the rail work, which is why the two get blamed on each other.
The Track Work That's Actually Close to Finished Here
The streetcar itself has been tearing up Farnam through Blackstone since early 2026, and as of mid-July crews were moving rail into its final position between 38th and 40th streets, with concrete being poured in multiple stretches. City reporting at the time put that specific stretch of track work past its two-year mark and on pace to wrap by the beginning of next year, meaning early 2027 for the Blackstone segment itself. That's a very different number from the systemwide streetcar opening, which the city has described as roughly two years out from this August, putting a fall 2028 debut for the full line in play.
So there are two clocks even within "the streetcar": Blackstone's own track work closing out around the start of 2027, and the whole line, from the Riverfront to UNMC, not running trains until closer to 2028.
Derek Richards, general manager at Cunningham's Blackstone location next door to the collapse site, put the day-to-day reality plainly to a local TV crew in July. Cunningham's was declared structurally sound after the collapse, but the sidewalk closure still limits how customers reach the door.
"It's been a little confusing for people to try to figure out how to get down here. But it's really not that complicated. You could park at the parking garage and just walk up one block and then circle around. The city put in the temporary bridge, so that's been helpful."
Cunningham's has posted shortened, construction-zone hours while the worst of it passes, open 4 p.m. to close Tuesday through Thursday and full days Friday through Sunday. Jay's, one of the newest bars on the strip, has operated through the entire construction window since opening less than a year ago and describes the summer slowdown as a normal seasonal dip rather than a construction casualty.
The Redesign That Hasn't Broken Ground Yet
The third project is the one people are most likely to confuse with the current mess, because it's also on a street in Blackstone and it's also about construction. It just hasn't started. In June, bidding opened on a redesign of Harney Street, from 41st down to 35th, that will shrink it from three travel lanes to two and add wider sidewalks, protected parking, better pedestrian crossings, and new acorn-style streetlights matching the rest of the district. Construction is expected to run within the 2027 season and wrap by the end of that year, with most of the work staying on the south side of the street to limit disruption for businesses along the way.
Here's a quick way to keep the three straight:
| Project | What's actually happening right now | When it resolves |
|---|---|---|
| Farnam sinkhole (former Brothers Lounge) | Vacant, tarped, awaiting owner's repair-or-demolish decision | Undetermined, city and owner still negotiating |
| Streetcar track work, Farnam 38th-40th | Rail in final position, concrete being poured | Blackstone segment by early 2027; full line running by roughly 2028 |
| Harney Street pedestrian redesign | Just finished bidding, no construction yet | Expected to run through the 2027 season |
What's Actually Open, and Which Door to Use
Koen Japanese BBQ and Izakaya, the tabletop-grill spot that opened in Blackstone in the summer of 2025, built its space with entrances on both the Farnam side and the Harney side. That second door means you can skip the worst of the Farnam barricades entirely and still get a seat.
Fifth House, the vegan restaurant that picked up where Modern Love left off in the same building at 3901 Farnam, is back on September 2 with a new menu after a stretch of retooling, running three-course prix fixe dinners Friday and Saturday nights through the month. If you tried Modern Love before it closed in December 2024 and never got around to the new version, this is the week to go.
Insomnia Cookies and Early Bird are both still open along the same stretch, and the 37 West Farnam parking garage, a 385-stall structure between 37th and 38th at Harney and Farnam, remains the closest legal parking to the worst of the mess. It runs $2.50 an hour with a $25 daily cap.
The Calendar Didn't Stop for Any of This
Blackstone Night Market still runs Wednesdays through September, minus one week, from 5 to 8 p.m. in the lot behind Scriptown Brewing, with local vendors, food trucks, and live music. Scriptown's pub quiz still runs Monday and Thursday nights. The district's annual chili competition between Blackstone businesses is still on the calendar this year, same as it's been for years. None of the three construction stories above have paused any of it.
That's probably the most useful thing to take from all this. A sinkhole, a stretch of near-finished rail work, and a redesign that hasn't started yet are getting blended into one vague sense that Blackstone is closed for business. It isn't. One block is genuinely inconvenient. The rest of the district is running its normal fall.
If you're weighing a move into Blackstone, Midtown, or anywhere else in the Omaha metro and want someone who actually tracks this kind of block-by-block detail rather than a headline summary, Robin Philips has spent more than two decades working these neighborhoods on both sides of the river. Let's Connect.
