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The Behavioral Health & Wellness Center at Children’s Nebraska will open to the public Wednesday, January 7th. A ribbon cutting ceremony will take place the day prior. The $114 million center is “nationally distinctive and the first facility in the region to provide the full spectrum of mental health services to meet the growing needs of children and adolescents in Nebraska and beyond,” according to a Children’s Nebraska press release. The 4-story, 107,250 sq. ft. building sits on seven acres at 85th & West Dodge Road. The main entrance, for both patients and staff, is on the east side. The building is located on the western edge of Children’s campus. The center ensures pediatric patients can access essential care when they need it. Any child up to 19 years old can be seen on a walk-in basis no matter the level of crisis they are experiencing with no referral needed. The facility includes a 24/7 crisis assessment center; 40 single-occupancy, private inpatient beds; two...

Drury Hotels Company has released initial renderings and details for the planned Drury Plaza Hotel to be built southeast of 10th & Harney Street in the Old Market. The renderings are part of a Tax Increment Financing application to be considered by the Omaha Planning Board. Last month, Grow Omaha reported that St. Louis-based Drury Hotels purchased a 1.5-ace parcel between the Brickline building and Embassy Suites’ Old Market hotel. The site is on the western edge of the Mercantile District, a redevelopment of the northern portion of ConAgra’s corporate campus near Heartland of America Park. Drury earlier had purchased a surface parking lot on the northwest corner of 10th & Harney Street, upon which it originally planned to build. The hospitality company apparently lost interest in that site, because it came with several deed restrictions. Drury has not announced what it plans to do with that original site, which sits along the future streetcar line. Now that Drury is...

Two members of Nebraska’s Congressional delegation, Rep. Don Bacon and Sen. Deb Fisher, helped Omaha’s Eppley Airfield secure a $10 million, fiscal-year 2026, Airport Infrastructure Grant for reconstructing 35,000 sq. ft. of the existing terminal, including the concourse and security checkpoint, arrival/departure gates and international gates that have reached the end of their useful lives.  The grant funds the final phase, which consists of construction of the pedestrian walkway, according to a press release from Bacon’s office. Throughout his Congressional career, Bacon has made improvements to Eppley Airfield one of his top priorities, helping secure more than $94.1 million through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and other funding sources. These investments expand flight capacity and inspection areas while streamlining the check-in and TSA processes for travelers and increasing possible international flights. “It has been thrilling to see the airport expansion...

The Greater Omaha Chamber this week released “Omaha COMPETES,” a comprehensive, data-driven policy agenda designed to modernize Nebraska’s economic development tools, accelerate job creation, strengthen workforce competitiveness and ensure the state can compete and win in an increasingly aggressive national marketplace. Developed in collaboration with employers, economic developers, workforce leaders, educators, utilities and public officials, Omaha COMPETES recommends steps to restore Nebraska’s competitive edge vis-à-vis other states. “For generations, our strength has come from a simple truth: when we invest in growth, our communities have a better future,” said Heath Mello, president & CEO of the Greater Omaha Chamber. “This work is about the Nebraska we aspire to build — one where young people choose to stay, where companies choose to expand, and where every region benefits from the growth generated in our economic engine.” Once a national leader in economic development,...

Arhaus, West Elm, Williams Sonoma and Pottery Barn plan to open stores in Avenue One, the mixed-use development southeast of 192nd & West Dodge Road, according to Poag Development Group. Memphis, Tennessee-based Poag is working with Omaha-based Jasper Partners and national real estate company JLL on the 200-acre development in west Omaha. Phase one of the development’s retail area is now 77 percent leased or under negotiation. Phase one includes 233,000 sq. ft. of specialty retail, grocery, dining and service businesses. Approximately 112,000 sq. ft. of that retail space is leased, with an additional 63,000 sq. ft. under negotiation. A yet-to-be-announced, specialty grocery store is believed to be coming to Avenue One as well. Site grading is currently underway. Grand opening anticipated in 2027.  Arhaus is an upscale home furnishings retailer based in Ohio with 107 stores in 31 states. The closest existing locations are in Kansas City and Minneapolis. West Elm sells contemporary...

The Millwork Commons development in North Downtown continues to rack up a series of impressive victories. In recent weeks, the 50-acre development north of Charles Schwab Field was in the news as the chosen site for a planned soccer stadium. Now one of the district’s resident companies is growing its footprint. Workshop, a local tech company, plans to expand its headquarters in the Ashton Building, a 4-story, 192,000 sq. ft., historic building at 1229 Millwork Avenue. The Ashton Building serves as Millwork Common’s central hub and is home to several restaurants and retailers in addition to office tenants. According to a building permit for tenant finish, Workshop is finishing an additional 14,005 sq. ft. in the Ashton. It currently leases 10,000 sq. ft. Workshop is a fast growing, locally started technology company that provides businesses an internal communications email platform to help improve employee engagement. Workshop started in 2020 and moved to its current location in 2023....

The Omaha City Council this week heard additional public comments regarding the future Union Omaha stadium project on unused railroad land near Millwork Commons in North Downtown. Proponents of the measure showed additional renderings and highlighted a pedestrian-focused promenade that would extend from 11th & Izard Street to the stadium, cutting straight through the future mixed-use development. Additionally, we learned that existing Union Pacific track along the east side of the project site will be preserved, including the current event space where the railroad displays locomotives during the College World Series. That display track will be pushed east once the city moves forward with the planned truck route project that would extend 10th Street through the Cuming Street intersection, connecting it to 11th Street. The soccer stadium is being built to accommodate the current Union Omaha team and a future professional women’s soccer team. The stadium will have capacity for up to...

The City of Omaha is creating a new program to help incentivize the construction of upscale hotels in the City. Over the next few weeks, the City Council will review and vote on an ordinance to create a Hotel Occupation Tax Reinvestment Program. The program allows developers to use all or a portion of the transient rental guest tax revenue to reimburse eligible development costs, including acquisition, construction, rehabilitation, utility extensions and parking, among other things. Per the Omaha Municipal Code, the transient rental guest tax totals 5.5 percent of the gross charge for hotel occupancy. According to the ordinance, a qualifying hotel project must meet several parameters. Foremost, the hotel must be new to market and be considered an upper-upscale hotel. The City defines “upper-upscale” as a hotel that meets a Four Diamond rating or better under the AAA hotel rating scale. The hotel must also be located within half a mile of a city-owned cultural or entertainment...

Drury Hotels purchased another developable lot in Downtown Omaha adjacent to the lot the company already owns Last year, Grow Omaha reported that Drury purchased the surface parking lot at 322 South 10th Street on the northwest corner of 10th & Harney Street from an entity affiliated with Embassy Suites. The purchase came with several restrictions including limitations of 252 hotel rooms, 4,000 sq. ft. of meeting space and an opening date no sooner than 2029. Embassy Suites operates a hotel one block to the south. At the end of last month, Drury closed on a $5.8 million purchase of a largely greenfield site at the southeast corner of 10th & Harney Street. Purchased from Conagra Brands, this 1.4-acre parcel has a paved trail, but otherwise has no other improvements. Currently, there are no recorded restrictions similar to the property across the intersection. The deed does include a restriction that no hotel under the upper midscale as defined by the STR Chain Scale can be...

The Omaha Planning Board considered two proposals this week for redevelopment projects in the city’s northeast quadrant. On the North 24th Street Historic District, Mount Moriah Baptist Church, the oldest predominantly African-American Baptist church in Omaha, is developing an 18,470 sq. ft. parcel of land on the northeast corner of 24th & Ohio Street. This parcel is just north of a planned multi-use development project headed by Carmen Tapio, founder of North End Teleservices. Mount Moriah plans to build a 15,000 sq. ft., 3-story, multi-use building called the Moriah Intergenerational Centre. According to a Tax Increment Financing application, the first floor will have two commercial bays and a multipurpose space that can be used as a basketball court or accommodate banquets with up to 185 seating or conferences with up to 250 seating. One commercial bay will be a 1,500 sq. ft. restaurant space for a fast-casual concept. The other commercial bay will be reserved a major retail...

  The City of Bellevue is entering in a sub-licensing agreement to use Mattel branding in the Bellevue Bay Indoor Waterpark Park under development northwest of the U.S. Highways 34 & 75 interchange. According to a Bellevue Times article, the Bellevue Mayor Rusty Hike signed the agreement with the license management company yesterday. Under the agreement, the city will incorporate Mattel branded attractions, programming and merchandise at the $60 million waterpark. Popular Mattel brands include Barbie, Hot Wheels and Thomas & Friends. In November, Mattel announced that the brand would develop several Mattel Wonder Indoor Waterparks. The first is in Orlando, Fla., in collaboration with Martin Aquatics. Martin Aquatics’s portfolio includes Orlando’s Volcano Bay and The Ritz-Carlton Naples. Mattle is also working on bringing small-scale amusement parks incorporating branded attractions and rides. The brand is currently working on locations in Glendale, Ariz., and Bonner...

Union Omaha, in partnership with the City of Omaha, announced an agreement to develop a professional soccer stadium in North Downtown. If approved, groundbreaking could occur in 2026 with completion scheduled prior to the 2028 season. The future stadium will house Union Omaha and a future women’s professional team and will anchor a 20-acre, mixed-use district with retail, dining, housing and green space northeast of 10th & Cuming Street. Hines, a Houston-based real estate developer, would handle the adjacent private development, which would include up to 500 mixed-income residential units and commercial space. The stadium and connected development will lie on a mostly unused site currently owned by Union Pacific directly east of Millwork Commons and north of Abbott Drive. Union Pacific uses part of the site to display specialty trains especially during the Men’s College World Series each June. “This is huge for Omaha,” said Omaha Mayor John Ewing. “The stadium and surrounding...