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The Omaha City Council heard lengthy testimony last week regarding an ordinance to approve a $70 million lease revenue bond issue to support the streetcar project. When the item appeared on a city council agenda earlier this month, there was some public backlash, particularly on social media, regarding the project’s financial situation. City council members used the public hearing to clarify what the $70 million represents in the overall project. In 2022, the city council approved up to $440 million in bonds to help finance the streetcar project. It was originally contemplated that $360 million would be from revenue bonds, while $80 million would come from lease revenue bonds. The primary difference between the two types of bonds is that the city backs lease revenue bonds while revenue bonds are only paid by the streetcar-related Tax Increment Financing revenue generated by new projects along the streetcar route. In 2022, the interest rates were fairly comparable, with revenue bonds...

As lawmakers debate LB 1165, the Grow the Good Life Act, the focus is simple: help Nebraska compete for jobs and workers. The bill would update the state’s current incentive program under the ImagiNE Nebraska Act by increasing wage and investment credits for qualifying businesses. It also adds a bonus credit for jobs filled by people who move to Nebraska, creates a relocation grant program and strengthens tools aimed at keeping and attracting company headquarters. Supporters say the goal is to bring more high-paying primary jobs to the state and encourage existing businesses to grow here rather than elsewhere. Mike Cassling, chairman of the Aksarben Board of Governors, has been one of the bill’s strongest supporters. He said concerns about Nebraska’s economic growth intensified after Aksarben commissioned a study nine months ago examining Douglas, Sarpy and Lancaster counties. “Data showed very scary — not growing at all in jobs or wages,” Cassling said. After releasing that report,...

Developers announced today that an upscale boutique hotel will open inside an historic building in North Downtown’s Millwork Commons district. Slated to open in late 2027, Millwork Hotel will be located at 1201 Nicholas Street and will feature 144 guest rooms, a signature restaurant and a rooftop bar. Designed to complement the neighborhood’s industrial roots while supporting its forward-looking energy, the hotel will serve as a central gathering place for both locals and visitors, according to a press release. Millwork Hotel will also include space to host private meetings and events. Construction will kick off this spring.  The project is being developed in partnership with Alley Poyner Macchietto (architect) and Curioso (interior design), with “a design approach that balances Millwork Commons’ historic character with a modern, hospitality-driven vision,” the press release said. Once home to warehouses and manufacturing facilities, Millwork Commons has evolved into a vibrant...

A coalition of local business owners and residents has formed the Streetcar Impact Alliance, an organization focused on the economic and residential health of the Harney and Farnam corridors during the streetcar project. Businesses between 13th and 42nd streets are reporting “significant drops in foot traffic, confusing road closures and a lack of direct financial mitigation from the city,” according to a press release. “The alliance was formed to move beyond individual complaints and create a unified voting and economic bloc to negotiate directly with city officials and the Omaha Streetcar Authority,” the press release said. The alliance will hold its first public meeting tomorrow – Monday, February 23 – and encourages business owners and residents affected by the project to attend. The meeting will be held at Mercury, a bar at 329 South 16th Street, starting at 6 p.m. The meeting will focus on the rollout of the streetcar impact survey, an initiative designed to quantify the total...

On time and on budget. That was the message members of ULI Nebraska received at their monthly event this week from Daniel B. Owens, director of planning and engineering at the Omaha Airport authority. The event was hosted at the JetLinx hanger at Eppley Airfield. Owens reported that the $950 million Terminal Modernization Program reached a major milestone at the end of January, officially reaching 50 percent completion. The massive project consists of the now completed central utility plant with updated chillers and boilers, the central pavilion and security gates currently under construction and future demolition of and rebuilding of a larger north concourse. Additionally, extensive renovations are ongoing throughout existing structures that will remain, including current remodeling of the south concourse. Once the under-construction central pavilion opens, the airport will consist of one continuous concourse served by 22 gates; currently the airport has 19 gates. While the number...

Omaha Performing Arts has announced the official opening of the Tenaska Center for Arts Engagement, which will take place next month. The celebration will begin with a ribbon cutting ceremony on Thursday, March 19, at 10 a.m. on the Dick & Mary Holland Campus at 1115 Dodge Street. Festivities will continue with a free-to-the-public Tenaska Center open house Sunday, March 22, from 12 noon to 4 p.m. The grand opening period concludes with a community day on Saturday, April 11, at 9 a.m., offering another opportunity for the public to experience many of the activities and events the Tenaska Center for Arts Engagement will offer. The $108 million, 4-story, 103,000 sq. ft. building was recently completed immediately east of the Holland Performing Arts Center. As Nebraska’s largest performing arts organization, Omaha Performing Arts generates an annual economic impact of more than $61 million, reaching audiences across Nebraska and the region through Broadway, jazz, dance, comedy,...

In last week’s Council Bluff’s City Council Meeting, Pete Tulipana presented Phase V of the River’s Edge development project. Tulipana is the president and CEO of Southwest Iowa Nonprofit for Collective Impact (SINC), the organization that leads funding efforts for the River’s Edge project. SINC has raised more than $50 million in private donations to build the MidAmerican Adventure Tower just north of the Bob Kerrey Pedestrian Bridge, as well as an under-construction pier just south of Interstate 480 along the Missouri Riverfront. The tower – and an attached elevated walkway through the treetops – will open this summer. Phase V will consist of three major components: a playground north of Interstate 480 next to River Park by Broadmoor apartment complex; a dog park north of I-480 next to a parking lot; and a donor commemoration and wayfinding plaza. The city council felt that the $600,000 contribution that the city will make to help pay for the donor plaza was a surprise. However,...

The Omaha metro area crossed a major milestone in 2024: a population of more than 1 million people. According to Dr. Josie Schafer, director of the Center for Public Affairs Research at the University of Nebraska at Omaha, that moment was both exciting and revealing. “We’re on a steady, upward trajectory,” Schafer said. From 2020 to 2024, the Omaha metro grew by 3.3 percent — faster than the state as a whole and roughly on par with similar metro areas like Kansas City. While smaller places such as Sioux Falls, S.D., and Des Moines, Iowa, are growing more quickly, Omaha sits solidly in the middle when compared to peer metros. What pushed Omaha over the one-million mark, however, was not people moving from other states. Instead, Schafer points to international migration as the key driver. Domestic migration — people moving state to state — remains negative for both the metro and Nebraska overall. “That’s still true,” she said. “People move here every year, but more people leave than...

The Union Omaha soccer stadium project took a major step forward last week with the Omaha Planning Board’s approval of Tax Increment Financing. Recently, the city approved a purchase agreement with Union Pacific to buy the site north of 11th & Cuming Street for $18.7 million. Currently, the City and developer are working through the terms of the development agreement. The city will own the land and stadium and then lease the stadium to Union Omaha, which would manage the property. The development agreement is an important step because it is a prerequisite for the city to issue any bonds related to the project. The developer is pushing to start construction by this fall to be able to finish by 2028 soccer season. According to the TIF application, total investment in the 25-acre site will potentially exceed $300 million. The stadium, which constitutes Phase 1 of the project, will cost approximately $125 million, which includes $12 million in public infrastructure improvements to...

The Greater Omaha Chamber released its 2025 Annual Report this week and unveiled the findings of two major new reports: the Brain Drain and Perception Study and the Future Ready Workforce Study, conducted in partnership with Lightcast and DCI. Together, the findings underscore a defining reality for the region’s next decade: talent is the central economic challenge and opportunity facing greater Omaha, the chamber said in a press release. The Annual Report highlights a year of significant momentum and execution under the chamber’s “A Greater Omaha” economic development strategy, which was introduced at last year’s annual meeting as a bold roadmap to modernize the region’s economy and strengthen competitiveness. “Over the past year, we have moved from vision to action, building partnerships, advancing key priorities, and laying the foundation for Greater Omaha’s next era of growth,” said Heath Mello, president & CEO of the Greater Omaha Chamber. “Our annual report reflects a...

Mutual of Omaha’s downtown headquarters building at 14th & Farnam Street is nearing its final height of 677 feet, solidifying the tower’s presence atop the city’s skyline. The shear core is now complete to the top of the building, with steel erection around the core advancing through the upper levels of the structure.  Despite winter weather conditions, construction remains on track to be completed this fall. The building was first announced at the beginning of 2022, while the official groundbreaking took place in January of 2023. The developer is Omaha-based Lanoha Real Estate Company, and the general contractor is JE Dunn Construction. Temporary heat and enclosures have been installed throughout the tower to protect completed work and maintain quality during cold-weather operations. These measures have enabled construction crews to continue completing interior activities without interruption.  “This steady, floor-by-floor progress signals a pivotal transition from primary...

by Cindy Gonzalez, Nebraska Examiner "Brain drain” is loosening its grip on Nebraska, although some new Census data shows positive strides likely are more evident among freshly minted college graduates than young talent with more experience. The most recent portrait of so-called brain drain — when educated people leave the state for better employment opportunities or the social or political climate elsewhere — comes from the latest American Community Survey estimates. That information, covering 60 months through 2024, was derived from an ongoing survey separate from the broader statewide population estimates the Census Bureau made public earlier this week. Experts at the Center for Public Affairs Research at the University of Nebraska at Omaha, which acts as the official census liaison, said Friday that the latest data set shows Nebraska trending “in the right direction” when it comes to retaining educated residents with a four-year bachelor’s degree or higher. Spotlight helps turn...