Crews have begun installing the steel structure that will support the Mutual of Omaha tower’s architectural crown. That means the region’s tallest building is getting closer to topping-out – the moment when the final piece of structural steel is welded into place.
Lanoha Real Estate is developing the 677-foot-tall, 44-story tower on a city block bounded by 14th, 15th, Douglas and Farnam streets. Though it won’t be completed until the end of this year, it is already the tallest building in a multi-state region. It’s also one of the tallest office buildings currently under construction in the United States.
Pickard Chilton is the lead architect, while JE Dunn is the general contractor. Multiple subcontractors are at work both inside and outside up and down the building’s many floors.
While the skyscraper still has months to go before it opens, progress is clearly evident. The steel superstructure is complete for all the occupiable floors, and most of the exterior glass curtain wall is already in place.
Grow Omaha took a tour of the skyscraper last Thursday to document construction progress and take note of several building features and amenities:
- The 44th floor, the top occupiable level, has a double-height ceiling, which will provide employees with stunning vistas of Omaha and the Missouri River valley. The highest floor will be used for conference/meeting space and the company’s board room.
- The 18th floor will be primarily devoted to employee fitness facilities. This level will feature sound-dampening techniques to absorb sounds and vibrations caused by exercise activities (i.e. dropped weights, workout classes). That will prevent people on other floors from being bothered by exercise noise.
- The 17th and 16th floors will contain numerous employee amenities, such as computer/I.T. help-desk area, company merch store and multiple food-service concepts for employee meals and breaks. The floors also feature video boards and a stunning, grand staircase that connects them.
- The 16th floor leads to outdoor terraces on both the south and north sides of the building. The terraces overlook the Gene Leahy Mall and will have landscaping and seating areas where employees can work outside or take breaks.
- One of the employee “restaurant” options on the 16th floor will be an actual food truck. Workers used the tower crane to hoist the food truck onto the floor and then built the exterior walls around it.
- The primary ground-floor entrance opens to 14th Street just west of the Gene Leahy Mall. When it’s complete, the lobby will be visually impressive with high ceilings and a lot of exterior glass.
So, what’s next? Before Mutual of Omaha employees can occupy the building, crews will need to finish the highest structural steel components and complete the exterior cladding. Then it will be many months of interior finish – walls, flooring, fixtures and furniture.
