Mutual of Omaha Tower (14th & Farnam)

[kuzhouse]

Woodman acknowledged their competitor's new tower:

Lol good grief, some of the Twitter comments to Mutual of Omaha about this project

People act like the old downtown library was nice or something. I swear, some Omaha people will complain about ANYTHING. The reality is this development is the best thing to happen to Omaha in a long time...

100% agree...when is the last time, if ever, that any of those people even stepped foot into that library? And its not like it is going away. It is just moving to a new site. And this is the biggest development in the city since the CHI Center was built almost 20 years ago.

Don't worry that's all just the vocal minority. People who actually have a brain and care about the development of this city know just how amazing this day is. I was looking at the Kansas City forum and the Des Moines forum and they are all EXTREMELY jealous of this. Especially Kansas City. They don't have much in the realm of downtown HQ's. Now we have 3 skyscrapers that are local HQ's. That is actually pretty impressive. And now 2 of them will be taller and better looking than anything in KC or DSM.

[Vitruvius]

More like Mutual of OMG! Amirite people!? (*tapping microphone*) Is this thing on?

I was wondering when we’d get an ‘ol Hawkeye take on this development …

Ciao..LiO…Peace

If it ends up looking anything like that rendering, it'll be a real game-changer for downtown. That said, it begs several questions. First, what is likely to happen to the other/original Lanoha parcel? Secondly, will the folks involved in the Central Park Plaza retrofit still go forward with their aggressive plans. Unfortunately for them, this Mutual tower would totally obscure CPP from the traditional Omaha beauty shot.

I will gladly take this tower over the renovations to the CPP.

One last CC agenda there was an item to approve 18million in TIF for the twin bricks facelift.

[stormchaser]

What if it looks nothing like the concept? What if it ends up half as tall? It can't be a best thing until it materializes.

Do you post anything but negative/whiney stuff on here?? I mean honestly, you must be the life of the party everywhere you go.

Of course it's the best thing even if it's half as tall and doesn't look like the concept. Over 4,000 employees are moving into the downtown core from one of Omaha's largest employers. That's GREAT news for the continued revitalization of downtown. A project like this will have a ripple effect that will likely last for decades with additional residential developments, likely additional commercial developments, etc.

[Vitruvius]

I obviously love this, though the base sort of creates phallic resemblance. Haha.

It does have a tumescent quality, even with the MGM logo on top.

[BobbiDon]

If anyone has a link to the whole press conference, would you mind dropping it here ? I can’t seem to find anything.

Thanks!

[Hawkeye]

More like Mutual of OMG! Amirite people!? (*tapping microphone*) Is this thing on?

I was wondering when we’d get an ‘ol Hawkeye take on this development …

Ciao..LiO…Peace

If it ends up looking anything like that rendering, it'll be a real game-changer for downtown. That said, it begs several questions. First, what is likely to happen to the other/original Lanoha parcel? Secondly, will the folks involved in the Central Park Plaza retrofit still go forward with their aggressive plans. Unfortunately for them, this Mutual tower would totally obscure CPP from the traditional Omaha beauty shot.

To your last question, I’d say I’m not sure. But if the new owner is true to his words, it could still be a go..

To your first, since this was basically a parcel swap- Lanoha now owns the library site and is the developer for the Mutual Skyscraper- and the city now retrieved back ownership of the old UP site at 1401 Dodge from Lanoha- I’d say the sky (pardon the pun) is the limit. We know the Old UP parcel is “shovel ready”- with the city back in the drivers seat of owning that property again, I would not be surprised if we heard a significant development announcement on that land before the end of 2022…

Ciao..LiO…Peace

That would be pretty amazing. But given the City's track record in general, and on that site in particular, let's just say Ol' Hawkeye ain't holdin' his breath on that one.

[Hawkeye]

One last CC agenda there was an item to approve 18million in TIF for the twin bricks facelift.

Cool! Thanks for sharing that. It's not an Earth-shattering development....but it's another brick in the foundation of a bigger, better DTO. (and yes, pun intended).

[ItsAllAboutMe]

Question, was there any mention of what happens with the block in front (east) of the building? Will Mutual control what happens there? Will it be part of the overall MofO project?

[almighty_tuna]

Question, was there any mention of what happens with the block in front (east) of the building? Will Mutual control what happens there? Will it be part of the overall MofO project?

Stothert brought that lot up and joked about developing something bigger to block the MofO tower. In jest, yes, but she did make it a point to say that block is available. My guess is that any development there will be minor in scale as not to obstruct MofO's money view from 10th St.

[RocaHusker]

Can someone with photoshop skills show the angle from the baseball stadium? That's how most of the country will see this after all.

Hopefully I'm doing this right...new to the forum (and not a photoshop whiz). Obviously the new building would be at an angle (maybe a little bit more to the left), but this gives an idea of location. Imagine the old UP location getting anything UP height or taller built there too.

[ita]

Question, was there any mention of what happens with the block in front (east) of the building? Will Mutual control what happens there? Will it be part of the overall MofO project?

Stothert brought that lot up and joked about developing something bigger to block the MofO tower. In jest, yes, but she did make it a point to say that block is available. My guess is that any development there will be minor in scale as not to obstruct MofO's money view from 10th St.

It would likely be limited to nothing taller than the parking garage. I would like to see multiple buildings on that site, so it also doesn't obstruct the new tower from GLM and east downtown. I guest it could be taller than the parking garage it anything built there was offset either to the north or south, or both ends.

[ita]

Can someone with photoshop skills show the angle from the baseball stadium? That's how most of the country will see this after all.

Hopefully I'm doing this right...new to the forum (and not a photoshop whiz). Obviously the new building would be at an angle (maybe a little bit more to the left), but this gives an idea of location. Imagine the old UP location getting anything UP height or taller built there too.

Thanks for the photoshop. It would be nice to see what it would look like with even like 200 foot tower(s) at the UP site.

[skinzfan23]

Here is another building the rendering reminds me of in Atlanta: This one is 657 ft tall.

[buildomaha]

If anyone has a link to the whole press conference, would you mind dropping it here ? I can’t seem to find anything.

Thanks!

https://www.facebook.com/wowt6news/vid ... 630201361/

[Vitruvius]

Here is another building the rendering reminds me of in Atlanta: This one is 657 ft tall.

Wow! Other than the Atlanta building's top having more flair and reach, they look identical.

[OracleOfOmaha]

Here is another building the rendering reminds me of in Atlanta: This one is 657 ft tall.

Wow! Other than the Atlanta building's top having more flair and reach, they look identical.

The signage at the top makes it much worse and unacceptable...following your logic

[Louie]

Here is another building the rendering reminds me of in Atlanta: This one is 657 ft tall.

Wow! Other than the Atlanta building's top having more flair and reach, they look identical.

He said 'reminds' him of it.

[Omaha Cowboy]

Here is another building the rendering reminds me of in Atlanta: This one is 657 ft tall.

Good eye..

I definitely see the resemblance …

Ciao..LiO…Peace

[Omaha Cowboy]

Can someone with photoshop skills show the angle from the baseball stadium? That's how most of the country will see this after all.

Hopefully I'm doing this right...new to the forum (and not a photoshop whiz). Obviously the new building would be at an angle (maybe a little bit more to the left), but this gives an idea of location. Imagine the old UP location getting anything UP height or taller built there too.

Nice job ..

Looks good from that view…

Ciao..LIO…Peace

[Omaha Cowboy]

More like Mutual of OMG! Amirite people!? (*tapping microphone*) Is this thing on?

I was wondering when we’d get an ‘ol Hawkeye take on this development …

Ciao..LiO…Peace

If it ends up looking anything like that rendering, it'll be a real game-changer for downtown. That said, it begs several questions. First, what is likely to happen to the other/original Lanoha parcel? Secondly, will the folks involved in the Central Park Plaza retrofit still go forward with their aggressive plans. Unfortunately for them, this Mutual tower would totally obscure CPP from the traditional Omaha beauty shot.

To your last question, I’d say I’m not sure. But if the new owner is true to his words, it could still be a go..

To your first, since this was basically a parcel swap- Lanoha now owns the library site and is the developer for the Mutual Skyscraper- and the city now retrieved back ownership of the old UP site at 1401 Dodge from Lanoha- I’d say the sky (pardon the pun) is the limit. We know the Old UP parcel is “shovel ready”- with the city back in the drivers seat of owning that property again, I would not be surprised if we heard a significant development announcement on that land before the end of 2022…

Ciao..LiO…Peace

That would be pretty amazing. But given the City's track record in general, and on that site in particular, let's just say Ol' Hawkeye ain't holdin' his breath on that one.

Can’t argue with that …

Ciao..LiO…Peace

[Vitruvius]

Here is another building the rendering reminds me of in Atlanta: This one is 657 ft tall.

Wow! Other than the Atlanta building's top having more flair and reach, they look identical.

The signage at the top makes it much worse and unacceptable...following your logic

"much worse"? actually not. I said the Atlanta building has more flair and reach. It's actually graceful. Construction and materials are high quality too.

[HskrFanMike]

Lol good grief, some of the Twitter comments to Mutual of Omaha about this project

People act like the old downtown library was nice or something. I swear, some Omaha people will complain about ANYTHING. The reality is this development is the best thing to happen to Omaha in a long time...

I don't think it's so much an attraction to the existing library as much as it's being relegated and downsized into an old warehouse south of the Old Market with limited access from public transportation. Critics would be more accepting if there was a commitment that something new and better is being prepared along the streetcar route downtown once this five year rental is complete.

The fear is that that city leaders will look at the Jones Street Library's lack of use and say "it's not necessary" and simply close it down completely in five years. There's a lot of distrust following the discussions last fall between the Library board and Heritage Services. I'm not saying the Mutual tower is a bad idea at all; if it happens, it'll be a great addition to the city of Omaha. It's just that it shouldn't come at the expense of a public facility, and properly replacing the downtown library needs to be a much higher priority than it has been in these discussions. (Hint: the Jones Street warehouse is, at best, a temporary band-aid.)

[Stan]

Here is another building the rendering reminds me of in Atlanta: This one is 657 ft tall.

Wow! Other than the Atlanta building's top having more flair and reach, they look identical.

The signage at the top makes it much worse and unacceptable...following your logic

Construction and materials are high quality too.

You can't be serious.

[Cermak]

They should take one of the empty Shopko’s and turn it into a library. The Shopko at 84th and I-80 comes to mind.

[PotatoeEatsFish]

What if it looks nothing like the concept? What if it ends up half as tall? It can't be a best thing until it materializes.

Half as tall and it's still the biggest project Omaha has seen since the early 2000s

[Stargazer]

Is someone going to come up with some skyline renderings?

[GrowUpFrances]

Question, was there any mention of what happens with the block in front (east) of the building? Will Mutual control what happens there? Will it be part of the overall MofO project?

Stothert brought that lot up and joked about developing something bigger to block the MofO tower. In jest, yes, but she did make it a point to say that block is available. My guess is that any development there will be minor in scale as not to obstruct MofO's money view from 10th St.

Did she happen to say why the library site? That's what I don't understand. The block to the east is already available. MoO could hypothetically start once GLM is completed AND then there's zero chance of another development obstructing view from the park.

[Vitruvius]

Question, was there any mention of what happens with the block in front (east) of the building? Will Mutual control what happens there? Will it be part of the overall MofO project?

Stothert brought that lot up and joked about developing something bigger to block the MofO tower. In jest, yes, but she did make it a point to say that block is available. My guess is that any development there will be minor in scale as not to obstruct MofO's money view from 10th St.

Did she happen to say why the library site? That's what I don't understand. The block to the east is already available. MoO could hypothetically start once GLM is completed AND then there's zero chance of another development obstructing view from the park.

Not that they'll will ever consider it from this perspective, but there needs to be something to create a transition to the green space/park/GLM. To go from a 700 ft. tower to flat green space would be abrupt. Maybe a new library would be good on that parcel, or a Costco... haha, kidding.

[GrowUpFrances]

Question, was there any mention of what happens with the block in front (east) of the building? Will Mutual control what happens there? Will it be part of the overall MofO project?

Stothert brought that lot up and joked about developing something bigger to block the MofO tower. In jest, yes, but she did make it a point to say that block is available. My guess is that any development there will be minor in scale as not to obstruct MofO's money view from 10th St.

Did she happen to say why the library site? That's what I don't understand. The block to the east is already available. MoO could hypothetically start once GLM is completed AND then there's zero chance of another development obstructing view from the park.

Not that they'll will ever consider it from this perspective, but there needs to be something to create a transition to the green space/park/GLM. To go from a 700 ft. tower to flat green space would be abrupt. Maybe a new library would be good on that parcel, or a Costco... haha, kidding.

Yeah, a new library or museum would definitely make sense.

[Vitruvius]

Here is another building the rendering reminds me of in Atlanta: This one is 657 ft tall.

Wow! Other than the Atlanta building's top having more flair and reach, they look identical.

The signage at the top makes it much worse and unacceptable...following your logic

Construction and materials are high quality too.

You can't be serious.

Completely. What's not high quality? In fact, It's award-winning and LEED Gold

[omahahawk]

Utterly elegant and exceeded my expectations. Reminiscent of the Salesforce building in San Francisco.

[Stan]

Here is another building the rendering reminds me of in Atlanta: This one is 657 ft tall.

Wow! Other than the Atlanta building's top having more flair and reach, they look identical.

The signage at the top makes it much worse and unacceptable...following your logic

Construction and materials are high quality too.

You can't be serious.

Completely. What's not high quality? In fact, It's award-winning and LEED Gold

I'm laughing at the fact that you're basing it on a picture and now LEED certification which is more about making it environmentally driven in design than it is the all around materials and construction. Do you think the new tower won't have these considerations?

[GetUrban]

I know one thing, there are already 10 times more pictures of this Atlanta building in this thread that the one that is actually proposed for the Library site. Sheesh!

[Athomsfere]

The building from Atlanta shows us something too, maybe, from the rendering.

That top has no function and could be stretched somewhat for any height MoO wants probably in the 6-10 stories range if their requirements end up a little short of some magic number.

[Big E]

I know one thing, there are already 10 times more pictures of this Atlanta building in this thread that the one that is actually proposed for the Library site. Sheesh!

No one has even brought up the fact the Mutual of Omaha campus housed the state's only Chik-Fil-A for years, too. Does this mean downtown might actually be getting a Chik-Fil-A? This could be the most important dining announcement in Omaha's recent history.

[omaha79]

There is already a fair amount of chatter among employees about further commutes along with parking availability and cost. I don't have a dog in that fight as my commute would be the same or slightly less as I could take different routes. Parking will be interesting, and the knee jerk will be to poo poo that, but it is a valid concern. Most mutual employees are paying between $10 for surface, $15 for MTC garage parking, or $25 for main garage. Of course, none of them have paid those amounts for nearly 2 years now.

The Nebraska Examiner article indicated the new facility will have roughly 2k parking spots. The old Mutual facility had roughly 5,000 employees on site between the old buildings and South campus. I would assume the new facility will house closer to 7,000-8,000 employees. How the company will reach that number will be interesting. Organic growth? Mergers and acquisitions? But, certainly, with only 2,000 parking spots, it will mean that some employees will likely either have to utilize city of Omaha garages which could cost between $80-$100 per month, unless Mutual subsidizes it, or they are going to have to park in mid town and ride the trolley in.

Say what you will about whether an aversion to that is laziness or not, but I think a significant number of workers will have issues with that and would prefer to work from home. Going from no commute currently, to either having to likely pay more for parking and walk a couple of blocks or ride public transportation for an additional 10 minutes or more each way is something they will have to figure out.

To combat work from home, they are really going to have to change mindsets and create compelling reasons for people to want to be in the office. I think about what tech companies do like free breakfast, coffee/soda, lunches, and maybe friday happy hours. Otherwise, where is the reason to leave your house?

[Coyote]

[TitosBuritoBarn]

I know one thing, there are already 10 times more pictures of this Atlanta building in this thread that the one that is actually proposed for the Library site. Sheesh!

No one has even brought up the fact the Mutual of Omaha campus housed the state's only Chik-Fil-A for years, too. Does this mean downtown might actually be getting a Chik-Fil-A? This could be the most important dining announcement in Omaha's recent history.

Even better, rumor mill has it that each streetcar train will have a Chik-Fil-A car, allowing passengers to purchase and eat Chik-Fil-A while they ride.

Announcement forthcoming on a day that isn't Sunday in 60-90 days.

[HskrFanMike]

The Nebraska Examiner article indicated the new facility will have roughly 2k parking spots. The old Mutual facility had roughly 5,000 employees on site between the old buildings and South campus. I would assume the new facility will house closer to 7,000-8,000 employees. How the company will reach that number will be interesting. Organic growth? Mergers and acquisitions? But, certainly, with only 2,000 parking spots, it will mean that some employees will likely either have to utilize city of Omaha garages which could cost between $80-$100 per month, unless Mutual subsidizes it, or they are going to have to park in mid town and ride the trolley in.

I think Mutual of Omaha only has about 4,000 employees, and I thought the south site building has been leased out to other companies for quite some time.

Update: UNMC has been leasing space there for 15 years now: https://www.unmc.edu/news.cfm?match=3110

[Linkin5]

The Nebraska Examiner article indicated the new facility will have roughly 2k parking spots. The old Mutual facility had roughly 5,000 employees on site between the old buildings and South campus. I would assume the new facility will house closer to 7,000-8,000 employees. How the company will reach that number will be interesting. Organic growth? Mergers and acquisitions? But, certainly, with only 2,000 parking spots, it will mean that some employees will likely either have to utilize city of Omaha garages which could cost between $80-$100 per month, unless Mutual subsidizes it, or they are going to have to park in mid town and ride the trolley in.

I think Mutual of Omaha only has about 4,000 employees, and I thought the south site building has been leased out to other companies for quite some time.

Yeah I believe 4000 is the number that they gave out yesterday. Additionally, the MoO representative said yesterday that with flex schedules they only anticipate it to be 2/3 full during peak times. That said, 2000 parking spots sounds like it will work perfect.