The "Omaha Building" renovation

ItsAllAboutMe · Post by **ItsAllAboutMe** » Wed Apr 26, 2006 5:45 pm

Today I noticed they have started powerwashing the facade of this great building. It's currently undergoing a complete gutting/ remodel. It will have all new windows too.

Anyway, they have started on the South face on the middle tower at the very top. Like the Paxton it's a dramatic difference. There are some columns near the top the separate the windows. They've gone from black to a cream color. This building is going to look very impressive once the renovation is complete.

The work has begun in between the two towers of this building

OmahaJaysCU · Post by **OmahaJaysCU** » Wed Apr 26, 2006 5:49 pm

I sure hope the eomaha.com photo team is on the scene with a report...

adam186 · Post by **adam186** » Wed Apr 26, 2006 6:18 pm

I could go take some pictures this coming monday. Anyone get them soon?

fourtotheside · Post by **fourtotheside** » Wed May 17, 2006 6:17 pm

Hi. As an occupant (former and future) of the Omaha Building, I have to tell you how cool it's going to be. A lot of cool historic features have been uncovered during the demolition, and the building will feature much more of its history when it's done. The cleaning of the masonry is just the beginning, but it highlights what a regal treasure the OB really is.

Big E · Post by **Big E** » Wed May 17, 2006 7:03 pm

And just think how well served the tenants of the neighboring buildings would be by a surface parking lot...

:sigh:

-Big E

Vince Furlong · Post by **Vince Furlong** » Wed May 17, 2006 9:10 pm

Thanks to all of you who voted for Amendment One last November, this is the first major building to qualify for the Valuation Incentive Program which is a property tax incentive that gives owners of historic buildings a temporary "hold" on tax valuation increases when they substantially rehab a property.

There is a $25 million investment being made in this property.

For more information on this program contact the Nebraska State Historical Society at http://www.nebraskahistory.org.

Shame on you Big E for suggesting this building be reduced to a parking lot....

Vince Furlong
OMAHA MAIN STREETS
omahamainstreets.blogspot.com

Big E · Post by **Big E** » Wed May 17, 2006 10:02 pm

What I meant was:

[sarcasm]
And just think how well served the tenants of the neighboring buildings would be by a surface parking lot...
[/sarcasm]

-Big E

Vince Furlong · Post by **Vince Furlong** » Thu May 18, 2006 6:35 am

Gotcha', E!

icejammer · Post by **icejammer** » Fri Jul 20, 2007 12:57 pm

So, how soon is Kutak-Rock expected to move back in? I see there are a couple of roll-offs still on 17th Street, but all the traffic barricades around the building have been taken down and there looked to be several delivery-type trucks parked next to the building earlier today. The building looks very nice from the outside now, btw.

Uffda · Post by **Uffda** » Fri Jul 20, 2007 1:00 pm

This was online on the 14th

Kutak Rock heads back home
BY STEFANIE MONGE
WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITER

Kutak Rock began moving back into the historic Omaha Building, 1650 Farnam St., Friday after an 18-month renovation of the building.

The 118-year-old Omaha Building at 1650 Farnam St. has been Kutack Rock's home for 29 years. Employees are returning to the building after moving out on Jan. 1, 2006, for a $19 million renovation project.
The $19 million project is nearly complete with the exception of some common areas and conference rooms, said Bob Binderup, chief operating officer and renovation project manager at the law firm.

http://www.omaha.com/index.php?u_page=1 ... d=10078108

icejammer · Post by **icejammer** » Fri Jul 20, 2007 5:10 pm

Thanks, I somehow missed that. Guess I need to look around downtown more often

DonutStopLover · Post by **DonutStopLover** » Mon Jul 23, 2007 1:16 am

i saw this on my way home from work.

looks great.

scraper · Post by **scraper** » Mon Jul 23, 2007 10:21 pm

The interior of the building is unbelievable. They uncovered alot of the old marble floors and pillars on the first floor and really opened it up. It looks great!

TitosBuritoBarn · Post by **TitosBuritoBarn** » Wed Jul 25, 2007 1:18 am

Since I work at the City/County Building I see this building pretty much everyday. It is truely a beautiful and unique building. You can imagine my surprise, however, when I was in downtown Kansas City last weekend and found that they have an almost exact replica of our Omaha Building...After a little research I found that they were both at one time The New York Life Building (the one in Kansas City still is) and thus were an 1880's rendition of cookie cutter development.

The one on the left is KC's NY Life Building, the one on the right is the Omaha Building:

(Omaha photo is from the Omaha World Herald.)

DTO Luv · Post by **DTO Luv** » Wed Jul 25, 2007 7:21 am

There's actually a third one out there but I forget where it is. The KC one was built first. The KC one doesn't have windows on the east side like ours does.

Historic Omaha · Post by **Historic Omaha** » Wed Jul 25, 2007 7:41 am

a few other obvious differences: the Omaha building has an original three story (four story b/c of the grade change) addition on its east side, the Omaha building had another floor added (1920ish) during its use as a bank, the Omaha building's first level interior was severely modified from its original design (again, b/c of the bank), the Kansas City building has retained most of its original windows.

The Kansas City building may be officially named "The New York Life Building" for purposes of listing it on the National Register; however, the building is occupied and (owned?) by Aquila.

Big E · Post by **Big E** » Wed Jul 25, 2007 11:07 am

TitosBuritoBarn wrote:and thus were an 1880's rendition of cookie cutter development.

LOL... you might be stretching the definition and intent of cookie-cutter a little farther than it deserves.

-Big E

DTO Luv · Post by **DTO Luv** » Wed Jul 25, 2007 6:22 pm

If you look back at those pictures it looks like ours has another vertical row of windows. Maybe ours is a different size?

StreetsOfOmaha · Post by **StreetsOfOmaha** » Thu Jul 26, 2007 12:16 am

I remember noticing that on a trip to KC when I was maybe 13 or 14, and my dad's friend, Tom Kohotek, a huge Omaha history buff and a mentor of mine, was very impressed at my realization.

Coyote · Post by **Coyote** » Fri Feb 22, 2008 1:11 pm

Renovation of historic site held surprises

Omaha World Herald wrote:Renovators discovered marble from the 1880s that had been painted over and covered with wood flooring in the entryway and around the elevators, Binderup said. Four 16-foot granite columns that were once covered by a wooden facade now stand exposed as a testament to the building's original elegance.

An old storage room turned conference center underwent one of the most dramatic transformations after a large marble-framed oculus was found hidden behind brick. The circular window is now prominently featured in the conference room and can be made opaque for privacy, Binderup said.

Big E · Post by **Big E** » Fri Feb 22, 2008 1:27 pm

How in the |expletive| does stuff like that happen? Who paints over marble?

-Big E

joeglow · Post by **joeglow** » Fri Feb 22, 2008 1:43 pm

Historic Omaha wrote:The Kansas City building may be officially named "The New York Life Building" for purposes of listing it on the National Register; however, the building is occupied and (owned?) by Aquila.

How did I miss this thread? Anyway, is Aquila still in there? When doing a project for Aquila about 6 years ago, I had to do some work in the building and was shocked when I pulled up to it.

Historic Omaha · Post by **Historic Omaha** » Sat Feb 23, 2008 10:33 pm

I think so.

thenewguy · Post by **thenewguy** » Sun Feb 24, 2008 9:20 pm

i want to go in and check it out. Any ideas when the renovations are set to be done (if they aren't already)? I've never really walked by to look.

Ben · Post by **Ben** » Thu Apr 24, 2008 9:52 pm

All I have to say is WOW!!!

YAP (the young professionals group with the Joslyn) had an event there this evening. What a spectacular renovation! They did tons to uncover hidden gems within the building -ie some idiot in the 70's had drywalled around the great marble columns in the entryway, they paid a small fortune to get the eagle featured over the main entrance back from Omaha National Bank (the site over the entryway was its original location, Omaha National took it with them when they moved), they prominently feature the old bank vault in the main lobby, they've restored a large atrium in the center of the building, etc, etc.

Another fascinating thing is what a great art collection the firm has acquired over the years. Mr. Kutok was an avid art collector, and each floor within the building features a different artist. Some spectacular stuff. The collection is something like 800 pieces spread throughout the nationwide offices of Kutak Rock. The collection here in Omaha was valued at a little over $1.25 million alone...

One of the other perks of the tour was being able to look out the huge windows while on some of the upper floors. You can really see a lot of the architectural detail on both this building as well as several of the others in the area that isn't quite as obvious from ground level - brickwork, crown moldings, etc.

Mr. Jacobsen (the chairman/managing partner), and the whole Kutak Rock firm are very proud of what they've done to restore the building. I wouldn't be surprised if they'd be more than willing to host a tour if someone called their PR/corporate communications folks and explained to them about eomahaforums, and that a group of us might be interested in a tour. Could make for a neat forum meet.