The Omaha Planning Board earlier this week voted in agreement with a City of Omaha Planning Department recommendation to deny the Tax Increment Financing and Enhanced Employment Area applications for a Drury Plaza Hotel proposed for a long-vacant, grassy lot southeast of 10th & Harney Street downtown. The project site is south of the Brickline apartments and north of Embassy Suites. Drury purchased the land last year and plans to build a $55 million, 210-room hotel with 2,000 sq. ft. of conference space, a pool and onsite restaurant and bar. The 8-story building would be built over a two-level, 175-space parking garage. In 2018, the City of Omaha adopted a recommendation from a private consultancy firm that identified an oversaturation of hotels in the downtown market that were less than the luxury or upper-upscale levels as defined by the STR hotel chain rating system. The STR rating system is primarily based on average daily rates, meaning the higher the rates, the greater...

Lanoha Real Estate plans to break ground this fall on The Elowen, a four-star boutique hotel in “The Row,” a 40-acre, mixed-use, pedestrian-oriented district. The Row is the center portion of the sprawling 500-acre Heartwood Preserve development southwest of 144th & West Dodge Road. The Elowen will be part of the Marriott Autograph Collection and is slated to open in 2028. The 6-story building will have 160 hotel rooms as well as a ground-floor restaurant and rooftop bar. Lanoha is working with Colorado-based Greenwood Hospitality to design the bar and restaurant. Both spaces are being designed as gathering places for hotel guests and the local community, offering elevated food and beverage experiences in the heart of The Row. The name “Elowen” was chosen, because it reflects Lanoha’s deep roots in Omaha and the company’s longstanding connection to growth, nature and place. “The name is inspired by the American Elm, a tree native to Nebraska,” said Jenny Galley, marketing manager...