The City of Ralston continues to get a facelift and will soon look and feel starkly different.

Ralston’s “Hinge” project entered its next phase last week with the groundbreaking of the $20 million redevelopment of the Granary District at 72nd and Q streets.

I See It Ventures CEO Gordon Whitten is a serial entrepreneur who has started Sojern, ScoreVision and Its Deductible, which he sold to Intuit. Whitten is an investment partner with the City of Ralston and sees big possibilities.

“When I talk about the Granary District, I’m talking about a live, work and play area,” he said last Tuesday during at a news conference held in Ralston. “Our goal is that it is a three-seasons event venue.” The development will have a 14,000-square-foot outdoor community space called the Granary Green. This venue is expected to open in July and will feature a 27-foot LED screen for concerts, special events and community use. The space is in front of Bushwackers Saloon and Dance ­— which will handle programming — and can accommodate up 3,500 patrons.

 “Some nights The Green will host concerts. Other nights Ralston residents will celebrate the traditional events that make our community special,” Ralston Economic Development Corporation member Kelsey Ostendorf said. “The Green will provide entertainment when programmed and function like a public park when it is not hosting an event. The Granary Green will become a hub of activity for Ralston and the central-metro area.”

Bushwackers will stay open during construction, continuing to host live music, including Country Music Association award-winning singer Lindsay Ell, who is slated to perform May 29.

In August 2018, the city hired Omaha-based engineering and planning firm HDR to redevelop the “Hinge” area. The 30-acre site extends along Main Street from 72nd Street to downtown Ralston. After a series of public participation meetings, the redevelopment area was extended to include all of downtown Ralston.

One of the first places to open its doors will be Out of the Box, a rare 20,000 square-foot commercial anchor tenant that sells high-quality reclaimed and recycled architectural details, furniture and home-improvement accessories. It’s expected to open in mid-May.

The remodeling of the rest of the commercial space will be finished by the end of this year, followed by construction of housing.

“Then the residential townhomes, the live-work units on the west side of the property will be completed sometime in 2022,” Whitten said.

With Warhorse Casino set to go into nearby Horseman’s Park at 6303 Q Street, the area figures to be bustling soon. The Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska and the Nebraska Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association are partners on the project.

Whitten offered an optimistic stance on the potential of the area.

“We are coming together with the city to create jobs, innovation and economic revitalization, and will continue to attract outside investors,” Whitten said. “We believe the Granary District will become an amazing job growth engine and hot spot for living and entertainment in the region.”

For more information, visit granarydistrictomaha.com.