Downtown HDR Corporate Headquarters

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Coyote
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Downtown HDR Corporate Headquarters

Post by Coyote »

HDR is looking at building somewhere in Omaha and it was suggested that we start a new thread for this... So...

Heard around town that the parking lot between 11th and 12th streets, Capitol and Dodge, is where it will be going.
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Re: New HDR building

Post by MTO »

From a bit of research I did 700 employees typically requires <125,000 square feet but hopefully they provision for future growth.. Given that and the footprint of those lots it should easily be taller than Gavillon.
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Re: New HDR building

Post by bmt »

In the Tetrad/Civic site thread it is pointed out that HDR has approximately 700 employees in Omaha. How many employees do other downtown/midtown companies like UP/Mutual of Omaha/First National Bank/Gavilon have working in their respective buildings? I am trying to get a scale of the size of the building in my mind.

Edit: Looks like MTO posted what I was thinking when I was typing this up. Thanks.
Also, what is the approximate sq. ft. of the lot?

Edit 2: Using the measuring option on google maps, the lot was approximately 285ft x 250ft excluding sidewalks. So roughly 71,250 sq. ft.
Last edited by bmt on Sat Jun 13, 2015 10:37 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: New HDR building

Post by iamjacobm »

The article said they would need ~300k SF.
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Re: New HDR building

Post by skinzfan23 »

I know Pacific Life currently has around 400-500 employees and they are building a 5 story, 125,000 sq ft building. Granted they are only occupying the top 3 floors to begin with and the ground floor is going to shops/restaurants.
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Re: New HDR building

Post by MSizlack »

Is the property being mentioned (11th-12th, Dodge to Capital) the property that the Holland Center purchased a year or so ago for parking?
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Re: New HDR building

Post by lmdramos »

It would seem so
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Re: New HDR building

Post by MTO »

bmt wrote:In the Tetrad/Civic site thread it is pointed out that HDR has approximately 700 employees in Omaha. How many employees do other downtown/midtown companies like UP/Mutual of Omaha/First National Bank/Gavilon have working in their respective buildings? I am trying to get a scale of the size of the building in my mind.

Edit: Looks like MTO posted what I was thinking when I was typing this up. Thanks.
Also, what is the approximate sq. ft. of the lot?

Edit 2: Using the measuring option on google maps, the lot was approximately 285ft x 250ft excluding sidewalks. So roughly 71,250 sq. ft.


Given 300,000sq-ft that is 4.2 -> 5 floors.
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Re: New HDR building

Post by Garrett »

Maybe we should also assume, given the location, they have ground floor retail and maybe build their own parking garage as part of it, without necessarily taking up the whole lot.
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Re: New HDR building

Post by MSizlack »

If this is the lot they will build on, I would certainly expect them to build their own parking structure. Also, if they hold to 300k, that would be a quarter less than BCBS at AV. I could see this building being at least 8 floors.
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Re: New HDR building

Post by Coyote »

image.jpg
image.jpg (151.22 KiB) Viewed 12727 times
CC = 38,676 sq ft. (Omaha Performing Arts Society)
SE = 11,484 sq ft. (Omaha Performing Arts Society)

NW = 5,280 sq ft. (City of Omaha)
SW = 7,920 sq ft. (City of Omaha)

63,360 sq ft.
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Re: New HDR building

Post by twiztid1 »

I freaking hate that lot. I'd love for it to be developed but have always wished for something tall.
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Re: New HDR building

Post by daveoma »

twiztid1 wrote:I freaking hate that lot. I'd love for it to be developed but have always wished for something tall.
Agreed, it's a awkward block of concrete that is unsightly when you enter downtown from CB.
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Re: New HDR building

Post by iamjacobm »

MSizlack wrote:If this is the lot they will build on, I would certainly expect them to build their own parking structure. Also, if they hold to 300k, that would be a quarter less than BCBS at AV. I could see this building being at least 8 floors.
Buildings can be a variety of sizes just depends on what they decide to do. The 255 ft Landmark Center had less than 275K SF while the 250 ft World Herald Building has 100K SF more. The Highline has 259K SF. Heck the 295 ft First National Center has less than 330K SF which is smaller than WHB. Our second tallest building is less than half of the SF of our 4th tallest. On the other hand Gavilon has less than half of the SF that HDR would need.

It all depends on what they are looking at doing. 300K is a lot of office space and add in parking and hopefully retail along Capitol and this building has the potential to be seen decently.
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Re: New HDR building

Post by MTO »

Ahh this could be a big one..

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Re: New HDR building

Post by Stargazer »

Mark, this is a source of yours, which has led to this site speculation?

I'll be happy if HDR builds anywhere Midtown, eastward. I wonder if the CEO, who lives just a few blocks from the current location (in about 8,000 square feet)... plans to retire soon? Seems like he'd be hating his new commute... or maybe he's going to downsize to a nice downtown condo spread as well.
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Re: New HDR building

Post by GetUrban »

Stargazer wrote: I'll be happy if HDR builds anywhere Midtown, eastward. I wonder if the CEO, who lives just a few blocks from the current location (in about 8,000 square feet)... plans to retire soon? Seems like he'd be hating his new commute... or maybe he's going to downsize to a nice downtown condo spread as well.
HDR is owned by many of its employees...the CEO would not have that much pull to locate their new HQ close to his house, I would think.

The 11th-12th-Dodge-Capitol site, (If that is it) will be another great piece of infill architecture sorely needed in that part of DT....especially if it also included a 500+ parking garage, and retail, restaurant/bar space, etc. at street level all the way around. Maybe it will even include residential, although that seems less likely with all of the other residential going in or proposed nearby.
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Re: New HDR building

Post by MTO »

The CEO and the VP, nepotism be damned... Their housekeeper is a relative of mine.
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Re: New HDR building

Post by NEDodger »

I guess what's throwing me is the Holland's recent purchase of most of this lot. Does this mean that HDR would buy out the Holland for a full city block, or do they swap some of the parcels and HDR builds on say 1/3 of this block?
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Re: New HDR building

Post by RNcyanide »

It seems weird to me that they would only take a portion of the block and leave the rest as surface parking. Maybe they would acquire the whole block, build a parking garage somewhere into the plan, and give some kind of ownership/lease to Holland.
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Re: New HDR building

Post by GetUrban »

It seems possible that a new LLC will be formed to buy all of the property, and then work out lease deals with HDR and the Omaha Performing Arts Society (OPAS) for parking (hopefully garage) space, office buildings, etc. Businesses almost always lease their space from some other LLC, which is also often owned by some of the same business owners. Seems to make sense that the smaller pieces the city owns would be sold. Another possibility is OPAS would retain ownership and lease to HDR, which would seem strange for them to want to own an office building to lease to HDR. Not sure if they could do that as a non-profit organization. It will be interesting to see how it all shakes out....assuming the speculation about HDR moving to this site is correct.
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Re: New HDR building

Post by lmdramos »

I think if this is truly the correct spot it would just make since for HDR to buy the land and then open it up to public parking or parking just for the holland center at night when most of their performances are...kinda like BCBS garage in Aksarben.
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Re: New HDR building

Post by redhotchili2333 »

Seems to me that if HDR wants to prove they are a national player they would need to build something urban, tall & awesome. A west Omaha office park isn't going to impress any clients.
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Re: New HDR building

Post by Tornado »

I agree. I think we all need to raise our expectations here. I know I'm not going to be happy with just any building that just so happens to top Gavilon in height. We're talking about HDR, a world class Architectural and Enginering firms headquarters building. The CEO statements a couple months ago about building a "stand out facility, building for future growth" etc, leads me to believe this will be special. If they do choose to build on the Capitol-Dodge lot, which would be awesome, I think this building will not only impress in height but also in design and function. Hopefully we will have some news shortly.
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Re: New HDR building

Post by RNcyanide »

They have some really impressive stuff in their portfolio. I hope they continue to show the world what they're made of in their home office.
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Re: New HDR building

Post by GetUrban »

You could safely say nobody has higher expectations than the architects who work there, one would hope.
He said "They are some big, ugly red brick buildings"
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Re: New HDR building

Post by Joe_Sovereign »

A massive City owned parking garage similar in size to the UP parking garage next door but with ground level retail and a 10 story HDR headquarters on top.

Parking could be shared between HDR, Holland, and public spaces for Shamrock, and MECA events at the CenturyLink Center and Ameritrade Park.
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Re: New HDR building

Post by MTO »

Jeff on Grow Omaha more or less confirmed the lot on Capital that we've been talking about.
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Re: New HDR building

Post by RNcyanide »

Not to be a height queen, but something taller than 15 floors would be nice. We have too many buildings that are all roughly the same height.
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Re: New HDR building

Post by iamjacobm »

Just for fun some of their office work.

Laing O'Rourke HQ in Australia. 12 floors ~200K SF office space and ground floor retail.
Image

Coca-Cola Place in Australia. 21 floors ~300K SF.
Image
Image

Waitt Plaza Omaha. ~125K SF of office with ground floor retail.
Image
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Re: New HDR building

Post by Louie »

iamjacobm wrote:Just for fun some of their office work.

Laing O'Rourke HQ in Australia. 12 floors ~200K SF office space and ground floor retail.
Image

Coca-Cola Place in Australia. 21 floors ~300K SF.
Image
Image

Waitt Plaza Omaha. ~125K SF of office with ground floor retail.
Image
Boy are we gonna be upset if they don't put together an aesthetically pleasing 15 stories. I mean obviously I want more, but based on the number of employees they have, I am not holding my breath for more than 10 stories.

But damned if I wouldn't be ecstatic for more.
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Re: New HDR building

Post by iamjacobm »

It will be interesting to see how the go forward with the project on the development side. I wonder if they will bring in someone like Opus or Tetrad to develop the project then lease it out long term or if they will build it out themselves and own it. I would imagine it would be the first option.
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Re: New HDR building

Post by RNcyanide »

Considering their current campus and the eras both buildings were designed in, I'm sure we won't be disappointed. Even the older gold building looks pretty sharp 30 years later.
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Re: New HDR building

Post by NovakOmaha »

RNcyanide wrote:Considering their current campus and the eras both buildings were designed in, I'm sure we won't be disappointed. Even the older gold building looks pretty sharp 30 years later.
That was such a big deal when it was built. Also the Leo A. Daly building. That whole area was so outside the box.
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Re: New HDR building

Post by GetUrban »

NovakOmaha wrote:
RNcyanide wrote:Considering their current campus and the eras both buildings were designed in, I'm sure we won't be disappointed. Even the older gold building looks pretty sharp 30 years later.
That was such a big deal when it was built. Also the Leo A. Daly building. That whole area was so outside the box.
Yeah, in 1972 it was one of the first buildings to use colored-mirrored glass in Omaha. Still looks good after 43 years. Their second building to the west was completed in 1998. 150k sq.ft. total between the two, not counting the parking garage.

I wonder if Leo Daly will be content staying in their current location. They might as well move downtown too, and give up more of the land in the area to Methodist. :-)
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Re: New HDR building

Post by Trips »

The Capital site is one of three they have picked out and the front runner. No final decisions have been made. Either way it will look better then Kiewit headquarters or Kiewit's design of the random green building for TD Ameritrade .
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Re: New HDR building

Post by Foundations »

Trips wrote:The Capital site is one of three they have picked out and the front runner. No final decisions have been made. Either way it will look better then Kiewit headquarters or Kiewit's design of the random green building for TD Ameritrade .
I believe the TD Ameritrade headquarters was designed by HOK.
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Re: New HDR building

Post by RNcyanide »

I'd be completely fine with HDR locating there. I'm sure they'd put their own touches on the building, which, if they still build it as depicted in the renderings, would like great anyway.
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Re: New HDR building

Post by Louie »

RNcyanide wrote:I'd be completely fine with HDR locating there. I'm sure they'd put their own touches on the building, which, if they still build it as depicted in the renderings, would like great anyway.
What renderings? And by Capitol site they are referring to the 11-12-Capitol-Dodge site, correct? Not Shamrock?
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Re: New HDR building

Post by RNcyanide »

My mistake, I thought he[she?] was referring to the Shamrock Development.
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