Grow Omaha
News Briefs

Grow Omaha received the Chairman’s Award Friday at the 35th annual Commercial Real Estate Summit held this past Friday at CHI Health Center Omaha. Approximately 850 commercial real estate professionals attended the event. Organized by Jerry Slusky and Chris Mensinger, the Summit is the largest commercial real estate education and networking event in the region.

Plans are in motion for mixed-use residential project at 300 South 72nd Street, the current site of a Jimmy John’s and large surface parking lot. Lockwood Development plans a 5-story building with more than 100 enclosed parking spaces distributed between the first and second floors. More than 170 units are planned for the upper floors, including 52 studios, 98 1-bedroom and 26 2-bedroom units. Two ground-floor commercial units are located on the east side of the building and will be occupied by Hawaiian Bros. and a Jimmy John’s with a drive-through. – Isaiah Ang

African Cocktail Lounge recently opened in Benson at 7215 Blondo Street. Along with concoctions, the lounge serves finger foods—like samosas and grilled meat skewers—while drawing on Africa’s rich cultural heritage to create a vibrant and captivating atmosphere that celebrates the continent’s diversity.

A 4-story residential building is planned for 2226 Howard Street downtown. Workers demolished a single-family house on the site earlier this year. The developer plans to build a 40,000 sq. ft. building with 34 units and 12 parking spaces. The zoning would be CBD-Central Business District which is exempt from off-street parking regulations. The property is across the street from The Howard, a recently completed 120-unit, 6-story apartment building, completed by Arch Icon and NuStyle Development. – Isaiah Ang

Six Nebraska pizza shops made Yelp’s 2024 list of the top 100 pizza spots in the Midwest. Omaha’s Tasty Pizza ranked No. 10, followed by Orsi’s Italian Bakery & Pizzeria at No. 21, Izzy’s Pizza Bus at No. 31, Mangia Italiana at No. 92, and Dolomiti Pizzeria & Enoteca at No. 94. North Platte’s Pals Brewing ranked at No. 83. – Nicole Buntgen

Boiling Claws Express Seafood & Wings, a local food truck, plans to open a brick-and-mortar shop at 1313 Cuming Street, just west of Charles Schwab Field off 13th & Cuming Street. Opening date is set for late fall. Established in June 2019, Boiling Claws currently operates at 9002 Maple Street. – Nicole Buntgen

Let It Fly Sports Bar will open its west Omaha location Friday August 30th at 1311 South 203rd Street in the former Barrel & Vine space. The 10,000 sq. ft. sports bar will include seating for 300, a 32-foot diagonal LED screen, glass-enclosed private dining room labeled “The Penalty Box” and a large outdoor patio. Opening Day hours will be 11 a.m. until 2 p.m. Let It Fly’s downtown location opened a little over a year ago.

Darland Construction Co. has started work on CharterWest Bank’s South Omaha branch office at 5251 South 24th Street. The 6,114 sq. ft., full-service branch will be completed in early 2025. The building’s exterior will feature a distinctive Spanish style with a natural stone and EIFS finish, this is complemented by a barrel tile roof.

Omaha’s Benson district will soon welcome SET The Bar, a sports bar dedicated to women’s sports, at 6121 Maple Street. Scheduled to open in early December, it will be Nebraska’s first women’s sports bar and the seventh in the United States. The bar aims to offer a fresh take on the traditional sports bar experience, elevate women’s sports in an inclusive space and foster meaningful connections among fans. – Nicole Buntgen

Airline passenger traffic at Eppley Airfield was up 6.7 percent in July from July of 2023. Year-to-date traffic is also up 6.7 percent from the same point in 2023. A total of 499,601 airline passengers went through the terminal in July. From January 1st through the end of July,  more than 3.12 million passengers have used Eppley.

Leasing is now underway on the 170,000 sq. ft. Catalyst building on the University of Nebraska Medical Center’s west campus on the west side of Saddle Creek Road, according to Cushman & Wakefield Lund Company. The Catalyst is a former steel factory that has been converted into space for offices, events and retail uses. Tenants secured so far include Unemed, UNeTech Institute, Valid, Bio Nebraska and Big Grove brewery.

The City of Omaha plans to build a 600-stall parking garage at Millwork Commons. The city council approved a resolution on consent agenda to allow for the project to be delivered by a construction manager at risk. The parking garage will be located just east of the Ashton building on a parcel bounded by 11th, 12th and Nicholas streets and Millwork Avenue. The estimated cost is $25 to $30 million. – Isaiah Ang

Sensory Suite Spot, Omaha’s first ability-inclusive hair salon, recently opened at 14216 Pierce Plaza just off 144th & Pacific Street in west Omaha. The salon suite caters to all abilities, with hair stylists specializing in sensory cuts. A ribbon cutting will take place on August 27th. – Nicole Buntgen

Playful Pines indoor play park opened July 20th at 7051 South 181st Street. That’s just southwest of 180th & Harrison Street. The locally owned business offers two-hour, limited capacity play sessions for children age 7 and younger. Parents can sign up for a play session at PlayfulPines.com.

Snowy Sundaes, a family-owned dessert shop, opened last week in Benson at 6015 Maple Street next to Ted & Wally’s. The shop specializes in Bingsu, a Korean-style shaved ice, and also offers bubble tea, takoyaki (a Japanese octopus snack), croffles (a croissant-waffle hybrid), and specialty “ice-cool” hotpot desserts available for dine-in. – Nicole Buntgen

The City of Omaha Public Works department estimates curbside collection of storm debris is now at about 37 percent complete. That’s up from 22 percent last Monday. Al Veys Field at 6606 South 60th Street, will be open indefinitely for debris drop-off seven days a week from 7 a.m. until 7 p.m. The other park locations have closed.

The Dandy Lion, an upscale bar and lounge, opened earlier this month at 15475 Ruggles Street northeast of 156th & West Maple Road and next to Porky Butts. The business renovated the former Retro Rewind space and opens daily at noon. – Nicole Buntgen

The $2.6 million Platte River pedestrian bridge opened in early August connecting Sarpy County and Cass County. The bridge runs adjacent to Highway 34/75 and connects Allied Road on the north side of the river near Falconwood Park to Beach Road on the south. The bridge trail is only pedestrian/bike crossing over the Platte River aside from the Lied Platte River Bridge nearly 16 miles west. – Isaiah Ang

Hay Jay Coffee, a drive-thru coffee shop, closed its Midtown location at 1416 North Saddle Creek Road yesterday. The business is moving to Bennington at 8001 North 157th Street Suite 101, where it will introduce an updated concept featuring a full coffee and café restaurant. An official opening date has yet to be announced. – Nicole Buntgen

United Republic Bank started construction in mid-July on a branch office building at 12751 South 216th Plaza in Gretna. That’s on the northwest corner of Highway 6/31 & Capehart Road. When the building is complete next spring, it will be the bank’s second location. The main office is at 180th & Burke Street west of Village Pointe. Turner Construction is the general contractor, TACKarchitects did the design.