Collectors have found the space to give their passion room to grow.
Story by Sara Locke // Photography by Bill Sitzmann
Auto enthusiasts—whether their prefered make and model is a 2022 Jaguar F-type or a 1958 BMW 503—look at vehicles and see passion, performance, and the road to freedom.
At an exclusive gated campus on 204th Street and West Center Road, car collectors and enthusiasts have allowed their hobby to take up residence at Victory Lane. The private facility offers custom-built condos exclusively for the two and four-wheeled members of the family. The facility offers 24-hour key card access and security monitoring for the community, creating a secure environment where like-minds can congregate and conversate about what gets their engine going.
“We have moved into the planning stages of Phase II and are ready to expand.”
— SCOTT ROUSE
The four founding partners of this unique concept are a team of entrepreneurs, car collectors, and friends who knew that Omaha enthusiasts deserved a place to house their investments. Scott Rouse, Bill Peel, Robert Foster, and Mike Welniak have been friends for years, and conceptualized Victory Lane more than a decade ago.
“Ironically, we had all been thinking about it on our own, and the idea just kind of naturally came up in conversation. There was nothing like it in Omaha, and we weren’t sure if there was space for it at the time. Over the last five years or so, there have been a few attempts at similar concepts, but nothing like what we had in mind. These were all warehouses way out in the middle of nowhere. We were envisioning this really architecturally interesting, accessible space, close to people’s homes. We wanted to keep people’s hobby close by, not to throw it in some dark warehouse for a season and forget about it. We wanted a way for people to really engage with this lifestyle, and with others who valued their vehicles and the time spent on and with them.”
— SCOTT ROUSE
What the four friends proposed was more than a storage facility, but a community of passionate people sharing a space built around camaraderie, culture, friendship, and events that would draw car lovers from near and far.
“We host charity events, parties for our community members, and social functions where our members can come together and share their experiences and expertise.”
While most of the events are auto-steered, the vehicles are only the catalyst. Victory Lane is a space anyone can enjoy. One event to be held there was a monthly gathering Rouse and his neighbors take turns holding in their homes or garages. When it was the Rouses’ turn to host, they brought their neighbors out to Victory Lane.
“These are always such fun events, and such a great opportunity for people to connect with those they live near.” He said. “They usually run 5 p.m. to 7 p.m., and people start migrating back home around 6:45 p.m. When we hosted the group of more than 50 out at Victory, we were all still hanging out and exploring the space and the landscaping well after 10. Everyone found something enjoyable about the environment, and it’s a really welcoming place to be.”
— SCOTT ROUSE
The Buy-In
Storage rental spaces are nothing new, but Victory Lane is truly a home away from home for cars and the ones who love them. Each unit can be fully customized, with the smallest unit offering a four-vehicle capacity, and the largest up to eight. Sitting between 850 and 1,190 square feet, Victory Lane’s car condos offer a generous and inviting space clients enjoy customizing down to the last details. Each unit features 20-foot ceilings, in-floor heating, plumbing, and electrical pre-hookups, and cable and internet accessibility.
While Rouse saw these amenities as great bonus features for car condominium owners, the timing of the establishment’s opening unlocked a new way to see the offering he and his team had made to Omaha entrepreneurs.
“Our opening date was March of 2020. That was a hard time to launch anything, if you recall,” Rouse said. “We wanted to be realistic and gave ourselves five years to sell our original 56 units. We tried to give ourselves a little grace there, with COVID slowing so much down. To our surprise, we were impacted in the opposite way.”
Clients customized their units to feature small kitchenettes, entertainment areas, and work spaces. “Everyone was stuck at home right then. Kids were trying to attend school online while parents were trying to conduct remote meetings and submit work. It was a lot to ask of families to suddenly turn their living space into their only space. We found people utilizing their units as a work space or remote office, or using the wifi to come out and just listen to music, take a break, get some distance, and regroup.”
Rouse was pleasantly surprised that the units sold out within two years, surpassing even the team’s pre-pandemic goal. “We have moved into the planning stages of Phase II and are ready to expand,” he said.
Some of Phase II’s upgrades will likely include a social hall, clubhouse, and banquet area to expand on their group event capacity.
The Victory Lane team is proud to offer a state-of-the-art space where car lovers can network, connect, and share their unique condo designs. While owners can’t actually live in the unit, each owner has filled their space with life.
“Everyone has really filled up their space well, and there is so much personality and character in each of the units. We get really excited to see what people are going to do with their condo. Some have added lofts, wet bars, arcade games, even golf simulators.”
— SCOTT ROUSE
Victory Lane has been a success in more ways than the four men originally imagined, but now that they have unlocked Omaha car lovers’ creativity, they want to see how much bigger they can go.
“We didn’t want people to have to lock away their hobby during an unpleasant season. We wanted them to be able to enjoy their cars year-round.”
While their clients continue to explore the possibilities, this place is a certified victory for everyone involved.
Visit victorylaneomaha.com for more information.
