Grow Omaha
Projects

A great deal of excavating and grading has already been done at the University of Nebraska Medical Center’s “Project Health” construction project. The 7.5-acre site is southeast of Farnam Street & Saddle Creek Road. That’s where a $2.2 billion, 20-story, 2 million sq. ft. hospital will be built. The new facility will provide modernized facilities and could potentially allow UNMC to accommodate around 200 more students per year. The building won’t open until the early 2030s, but when it does, it will be one of the largest buildings in the state and one of the tallest too.

Crews have torn down the former WOWT building at 35th & Farnam. The television station previously moved next door into the 15-story Blackstone Plaza building. Plans call for a $45 million, 5-story, multi-family building with 180 apartment units. Floor plans will include studio, one- and two-bedroom units with monthly rents ranging from $1,200 to $2,800 per month. Amenities will include a resort-style pool, grilling areas, fire pits, dog-wash station and a dog park.

The site is located along Omaha’s future streetcar line. GreenSlate is developing the building in collaboration with John Lund, founder of The Lund Company of Omaha. GreenSlate has been responsible for sparking the original redevelopment of the Blackstone District a decade ago. Completion of the new building is scheduled for spring of 2027.

Site work has started on The Mueller, a $9.58 million, 4-story apartment building under construction at 2226 Howard Street. The building will occupy a quarter-acre site and house 34 residential units – 27 one-bedroom and 7 two-bedroom. Completion is planned for April 2026. The Mueller is part of a dense residential pocket that recently saw the completion of a larger, 5-story apartment building across the street.

Much of the steel superstructure has already been assembled on the east side of the CHI Health Center along the RiverFront. The $146 million project will increase the number of meeting rooms at the 21-year-old convention center. The expansion will add 94,000 sq. ft. and 25 meeting rooms spread across the third and fourth floors. Additional common space and restrooms will also be added. The addition will help Omaha compete more effectively in the lucrative convention industry.

The east side of the building has long served as a behind-the-scenes area with loading docks and massive, emergency-exit, external stair towers. Crews are now removing those stair towers to make way for the new construction. When completed in 2027, the east face of the CHI Center will be a sprawling glass wall with panoramic views of the RiverFront. – Photo by Brad Williams

Construction has gone vertical at the future Walter Apartments, a 5-level, 58-unit apartment building at 50th & Leavenworth Street. The site was previously the long-time home of a laundromat and drycleaner. The Walter will have 44 indoor parking stalls on the first level, which is mostly subterranean. The building will have 46 one-bedroom and 12 two-bedroom market-rate apartment units.

Construction has started on a New Horizon Academy pre-school building at 20618 R Street in the Coventry development southwest of 204th & Q Street. This will be the school’s second west Omaha site, joining its Fountain Ridge location at 18802 Burke Street, which broke ground in April and marks its first Nebraska location.

Metropolitan Entertainment & Convention Authority is upgrading the fan experience inside Chares Schwab Field. The home of the College World Series will soon have two scoreboards instead of one. Work started this month on the new left field scoreboard. The existing right-field board has been removed and will be replaced with an upgraded version. The project also includes ribbon-panel video boards throughout the ballpark. The work will be completed before next year’s College World Series.

Photo by Brad Williams

Twin Peaks, a national sports bar chain, is returning to the Omaha market. Wichita, Kansas-based 3B Lodge has started construction, and much of the building is now enclosed at 313 North 179th Street in Village Pointe West. The 8,000 sq. ft. building will feature a large outdoor patio and is scheduled to open at the end of this year. The new Twin Peaks’ will have a made-from-scratch menu and daily drink specials. Twin Peaks previously had a restaurant at 173rd & West Center Road, but it closed a few years ago. The closest existing Twin Peaks locations are in Kansas City.