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Noddle Companies, one of the region's most accomplished real estate developers, has announced a 31-acre, mixed-use project at Gretna Landing, northwest of Highway 370 and 192nd Street. The development will be anchored by a 130,000 sq. ft. office building and is expected to break ground in the third quarter of 2025. Additionally, it will include flexible space designed for services, as well as retail, food and beverage space, plus housing development suitable for the workforce that Gretna and the surrounding area are seeking to attract. “We are very excited to expand our services into the Gretna area,” said Jay Noddle, chairman of Noddle Companies. “Our track record of success with mixed-use developments provides a strong foundation for this project, as well as future projects that are possible as we work together with Gretna city leaders.” The office building is already substantially committed to tenants, with the balance of the space in advanced stages of leasing. “We’re thrilled...

More than 150 lane miles of Omaha streets will be resurfaced or replaced this year, as the city continues its wide-ranging road resurfacing and repair program. The 2025 program has a total of 41 projects including 21 major street resurfacing projects, 10 residential project areas comprised of numerous multi-block sections of road, eight reconstruction or concrete-repair projects and two brick-street repair projects. The total estimated cost of $28.6 million. The Omaha City Council will consider the bids starting in mid-March. Following voter approval of the $200 million bond issue in 2020, Omaha’s Street Preservation Fund was created specifically for street repair. Since then, more than 800 additional lane miles have been resurfaced or replaced. That’s the equivalent distance of driving from Omaha to Columbus, Ohio. In 2020, voters also approved a 3.5 percent levy increase to pay debt service on the bonds. However, Mayor Stothert’s administration has not needed to increase the levy,...

The Greater Omaha Chamber of Commerce focuses on economic development and member services plus public policy. Alec Gorynski, senior vice president of economic development said, “We are Omaha’s chief salespeople. chief marketers, cheerleaders – We will take that title as well.” He serves as head of The Greater Omaha Economic Development Partnership, made up of eight counties in Iowa and Nebraska including 25 collaborating professionals. “In 2024, we landed projects that generated $172 million in capital investment and over 500 jobs,” Gorynski said. “They reflected new-to-market jobs and expansions of new companies. That data includes $25 million in new annual payroll for the region, a substantial boon to the economy.” At the Chamber’s 2025 annual meeting, Mayor Jean Stothert said, “I love working with the Greater Omaha Chamber of Commerce. We have a good working relationship. The Chamber is focused on economic development and job growth. They want our existing businesses to grow and...

NAI NP Dodge and First Management, Inc. have merged to combine resources and provide their clients with a full range of commercial real estate brokerage and property management services under the NAI NP Dodge brand. NAI NP Dodge is the commercial real estate division of NP Dodge, Omaha’s largest full-service real estate company and the longest-running, family-owned real estate company in the United States. The company was founded in 1855. NAI NP Dodge focuses on the sales and leasing of office, retail, industrial, multi-family and investment properties, complemented by the professional property management services of NP Dodge Management Company. First Management is a full-service commercial real estate firm with a heavy emphasis on retail properties. The company traces its roots back nearly 60 years to legendary real estate leader John Weibe, who developed The Center Mall in 1955 and Westroads Mall in 1968. Located at 42nd & Center Street, The Center was America’s first anchored...

The next phase of Eppley Airfield construction begins this morning. The entire central portion of the terminal, including Level 2, will close, and the terminal will split in half to enable construction of the new central pavilion, a key component of the Build OMA Terminal Modernization Program. After the terminal split, Eppley will operate with two terminals – the north terminal and the south terminal. Each airline’s services including ticketing, gates and baggage claims are located within its respective terminal. It will be important for travelers to know which terminal their airline operates from before arriving to the airport. The north terminal will house Southwest, United and Allegiant airlines. The south will have American, Delta, Alaska and Frontier airlines. During this phase of construction, travelers who need to navigate between the south and north terminals will use the outdoor terminal drive walkways and ground level of the south garage. Wayfinding signs will help...

Grow Omaha and other local media toured the Behavioral Health & Wellness Center at Children’s Nebraska today. The future hospital is located at 8550 Indian Hills Drive on the west end of the Children’s campus. Construction on the $114 million project is coming along nicely. The project is on schedule, and the partially completed facilities look impressive. The 4-story, 107,250 sq. ft. building sits on seven acres. The main entrance, for both patients and staff, will be on building’s the east side. The building is on track for completion this October, but Children’s Nebraska will begin serving patients in a phased approach starting in January 2026. Groundbreaking for the project took place in August of 2023 with construction starting one month later. The topping-out ceremony (when the final piece of structural steel was installed) occurred on May 16th of last year. Children’s Nebraska is partnering with the Mental Health Innovation Foundation, a not-for-profit organization led by...

The Omaha Metropolitan Area Tourism Awards return for the ninth year, celebrating the attractions and businesses that make Omaha and Council Bluffs must-visit destinations. Public nominations are now open for four categories – Best Attraction, Best Hotel, Best Restaurant, and Best Retail Business – across Douglas and Pottawattamie counties. Nominations will be accepted at OMATourismAwards.com through March 7. Organized by Visit Omaha and the Council Bluffs Convention & Visitors Bureau, the awards recognize businesses that contribute to the region’s tourism industry and enhance the visits of the millions of people who travel here annually. Last year’s record-breaking public participation in the awards has set the stage for another highly anticipated competition. Following the nomination period, public voting for finalists runs from March 12 to April 2, with winners announced during National Travel & Tourism Week which begins May 4, 2025. Winners receive recognition through...

Workers placed the final beam last Friday on the Center of Research Excellence (CORE) building, located in the University of Nebraska Medical Center’s EDGE District southwest of Farnam Street & Saddle Creek Road. The approximately $105 million, 180,000 sq. ft. building, which is owned by UNMC, will support computer-based research and wet lab-based research for faculty as well as external organizations. It is projected to open in mid-2026. “We are excited to complete this phase of the CORE building project,” said H. Dele Davies, UNMC interim chancellor. “As the EDGE District positions itself as a dynamic hub for health-focused scientific discovery and entrepreneurship, the CORE building will play an important role in these innovative efforts where our faculty, students and community members can test and develop new ideas and concepts. Our goal is to foster groundbreaking discoveries that thrive here in Nebraska, driving education, economic growth and advancements in health care.”...

By Isaiah Ang & Jeff Beals Omaha’s office-to-residential conversion pipeline ranks among the top 20 of America’s largest real estate markets, according to apartment research website, RentCafe. A report on adaptive reuse of office space shows that Omaha’s gross number of office-to-apartment units in the 2025 pipeline ranks 16th at 1,294 units. The pipeline includes projects under construction, planned or prospective. Omaha’s pipeline is comprised mainly of projects spearheaded by NuStyle Development, which is converting the Central Park Plaza twin towers and the old FNBO main bank building into residential units. Nationally, the 2025 pipeline will be record-breaking and the highest ever with 70,000 apartment units created out of former office space. The New York metro leads the nation in future office-to-apartment conversions with 8,310 units in its pipeline. It’s followed by last year’s #1, Washington, D.C. (6,533 units), and then Los Angeles in third place (4,388 units). NuStyle...

Just when you thought Gretna’s Good Life District could not get any more bewildering, we’ve got a message for you: “Hold my beer.” The sprawling, 2,000-acre district is generating a lot of drama, and Gretna City Council meetings are becoming must-see events. Rod Yates, the real estate developer who originally created the district, recently backed away from the project, but the latest alternative proposal is no less fantastical. The district stretches from Capehart Road on the north to just south of Platteview Road. It includes Nebraska Crossing and straddles both Interstate 80 and Highway 31. At this week’s Gretna City Council meeting, the owner of Omaha-based Woodsonia Real Estate revealed new plans to build a blockbuster project on just part of the overall district. Woodsonia would team up with a Kansas City-based developer that has ties to the Sporting KC Major League Soccer team. Their plan encompasses 700 acres within the district. The most imminent portion includes a $400...

NAI NP Dodge, a commercial real estate company, produces a report on Omaha’s commercial real estate market each quarter. Below are some highlights for Q4 of 2024. Omaha’s office, retail and industrial markets remain healthy. Office Market The 48.6 million sq. ft. Omaha office market ended the 4th quarter of 2025 with a vacancy rate of 8.0 percent, which was up from last quarter. Absorption over the past 12 months was -358,000 sq. ft. Rental rates were up to $24.64. Approximately 1.2 million sq. ft. of office space is under construction at this time, same as last quarter. Retail Market More than 66.5 million sq. ft. of retail space was considered for this report, which is based on CoStar data. At this time, 277,000 sq. ft. of retail space is under construction, which is up a bit from last quarter. Vacancy was unchanged at 4.3 percent. Rental rates were $17.64 per square foot. The 12-month net absorption was 450,000 sq. ft. at the end of the quarter, down a little from the previous...

Greg Rothermel, development director for NuStyle Development, gave me a birds-eye view of the rooftop of a repurposed office complex known as the Central Park Plaza, now renamed The Duo. More than 700 apartments are in the process of being created. This renovation project’s construction office occupies space on an upper floor of the north tower of two buildings that once housed small businesses, federal offices, Starbucks and ConAgra. While walking from a conference table to the plan room and beyond to future apartments, Rothermel had me wear a white hard hat. I met workers who were busy with their own craft. Each person was playing their part in the vision of a graciously appointed apartment complex designed with the needs of residents in mind, featuring one- and two-bedroom units. Rothermel believes young professionals will be drawn to this project because of the many design amenities and proximity to major corporations such as the new Mutual of Omaha building rising across the...