Why Bennington's New Storefronts Keep Opening at 156th and State

"We don't have to travel 20 minutes into say Maple Street to get something to eat, to grab a convenience item," a neighbor told KMTV last December. She was talking about the empty storefronts at 156th and State Street, which were waiting on three national chains at the time.

Ten months later, those chains are open. A grocer has bought land across the road, and a child-care center has broken ground near a medical clinic. Over the same stretch, Bennington's historic downtown on South 2nd Street got a new city redevelopment plan, a coffee shop that a longtime neighbor described to KMTV as "packed all the time," and one mixed-use building that is still waiting for crews to move a utility line. Bennington's growth now has two addresses, and they move at very different speeds because the land at each one is at a different stage of readiness.

The Corner That Keeps Filling

Grow Omaha reported in August that Wetzel's Pretzels, Cold Stone Creamery and Planet Smoothie had opened at 15601 Whiting Circle, on the southwest corner of 156th and State. The same retail center already had Papa Johns and Jimmy John's.

North of the intersection, the Hanover Falls development is filling in one lot at a time.

The Hy-Vee row gets the most attention, and it is also the least settled. Grow Omaha's October 5 report said the land was "presumably" for a future grocery store. It added that the purchase does not necessarily mean construction will start soon, since Hy-Vee sometimes buys land years before it builds. A grocery store at 156th and State is a real possibility. It does not have a date.

Why the Edge Moves Faster

Hanover Falls was approved and divided into lots before most of these tenants arrived. A 2023 Omaha Planning Board packet names Walnut Grove, LLC as the applicant for Hanover Falls Center. It notes that the board approved the preliminary plat back in February 2020, covering 45.29 acres split into ten lots and six outlots. Lots 3 through 10 are marked mixed use, and Lots 1 and 2 are marked multifamily. Grow Omaha adds that the development is expected to include several retail pad sites.

So a new business at 156th and State starts with land that has been graded, approved and assigned a use. A clinic, a child-care center or a grocer can buy a lot that is ready to build on.

City leadership is also pushing for commercial growth along this side of town. In the same KMTV report, Mayor Clint Adams said the northwest corner of 156th and Highway 36 would get a baseball and softball training facility and an auto repair shop, with new shops planned across from the fire station. He tied that growth to the city's goal of growing its sales tax base. The report also mentioned talks about filling space near 168th and State.

2nd Street Grows One Small Business at a Time

Downtown Bennington runs on very different terms. Its growth has come from small, owner-run businesses opening in existing buildings, not from approved lots.

Cup & Cone, the family-run coffee and ice cream shop at 15420 South 2nd Street, opened in 2023. By May 2026, a resident of more than 40 years told KMTV that downtown had "a new flower shop" and "a Cup & Cone that is packed all the time." The flower shop is Flora & Fern Design Co., and its owner, Mia Eckhardt, described the demand to the station this way:

"I'm telling you, half the people that come in here want more. They want us to expand more. What else is going to come? They want to support locals."

The biggest project meant to meet that demand is The Haven at Bennington. Developer Josh Hannum plans a four-story mixed-use building on an empty lot next to J Dubs on South Second Street, with two floors of commercial space, one floor of apartments and parking below. It held a ceremonial groundbreaking in June 2025.

Then came the overhead lines. Hannum told KMTV he doubted he could dig out and backfill the lot properly with power lines overhead. Working out the relocations with OPPD and CenturyLink took a full year. As of late May 2026, the project was waiting on Cox Communications to finish its share of the utility work. No updated construction timeline had been announced, and once work can start, the goal is to finish within 18 months.

That year of utility coordination explains the gap between the two parts of town. At Hanover Falls, a builder can start work soon after buying a lot. On a downtown block, a builder may first have to coordinate with three separate utilities before digging can begin.

What the October 13 Plan Sets Up

The city's answer for downtown came this month. At its October 13 meeting, the Bennington City Council unanimously approved an updated downtown redevelopment plan recommended by its Community Development Agency, according to Bennington Buzz. The plan divides the city into four zones: core downtown, industrial, commercial and residential. The core downtown zone runs from 156th Street to Stark Street and from Bennington Road to Warehouse Street, not counting residential properties.

The plan document is a general framework, with plans for specific projects to be added later as they come forward. For the core downtown, it suggests:

• A possible façade and building improvement program
• Sidewalk and beautification work
• Mixed-use redevelopment with retail or boutique shops, cafés or artist studios

That list matches the businesses already doing well on 2nd Street: a café, a design shop and small independent retail. The plan gives the city a way to judge future downtown projects and decide which ones can get redevelopment funding. It does not put a shovel in the ground. During public comment, one resident pointed out that four local buildings date to 1888 and that a home inside the redevelopment district dates to 1864. He asked that developers keep that history in mind, and Mayor Adams encouraged him to take part in the public hearings on those properties.

Where the City's Own Projects Move This Fall

Private builders have put their money at 156th and State. The city's own projects this fall are mostly parks and street repairs, and several have dates:

1. Freaky Fun Friday, Friday, October 30, 4:30 to 5:30 p.m. The Bennington Public Library's annual Halloween event takes place at Centennial Park, and costumes are encouraged.
2. Neumeyer Farm Park Phase 2, starting now. The council approved a $1.623 million contract for four more sodded fields, sidewalks, on-street parking and benches, with completion estimated for July 2027, the Douglas County Post-Gazette reported. The mid-October council recap said grading and other early work could begin before the end of October. Because every field will be sodded instead of seeded, officials expect them to be playable sooner.
3. Logeman Park prairie, as early as November 15. The city is weighing a proposal for about 5.5 acres of farmed ground near the baseball fields. Pheasants Forever has said it is interested in funding work to turn the land into native prairie and wildlife habitat with public trails. If the project goes ahead, native plugs would be planted by April 30. Public Works told the council that residents already walk the area's trails and bring their dogs there.
4. Street overlays, bids this month and paving in spring. Parts of Molley, Howard, Stark, Bennington Road, Allen and North Second streets are out for bid, with Molley and Stark listed as priorities. Bids were expected to open near the end of October, and construction is targeted for spring, before Bennington Daze.

Further out, the city is moving ahead on a grant application for a "Play for All" playground at Neumeyer Farm Park. It is estimated to cost at least $600,000, may have a farm theme, and is not expected to receive grant money until 2028. The Bennington Community Foundation has said it is interested in helping raise the local match.

The near-term picture stays the same. People driving to 156th and State this winter will find working storefronts, an operating clinic and a child-care center listed as coming soon. People walking 2nd Street will find Cup & Cone and Flora & Fern open, an approved plan with no projects named yet, and an empty lot next to J Dubs that, as of the last public update, was waiting on Cox Communications to move a line.

If you're thinking about how your home near Hanover Falls or downtown 2nd Street would show against what's opening nearby, The Agency Real Estate Group can walk through it with you. Request a free staging consultation.