A Fortune 500 company moves one step closer to a big addition to the north downtown area. It’s part of a 3 phase development at the site of the yard.
The Omaha City Council unanimously approved about $2.3 million in Tax Increment Financing money for site work and public improvements for the new facility.
The Kiewit Corporation is building a $20 million, 62,000 square foot training facility. They estimate 5-6,000 Kiewit employees from around the country and the world will come here to learn.
"But not for this sight and the good work of the city there was a good possibility this facility might have wound up in another community,” said Jay Noddle, CEO of Noddle Companies who helped develop the plan.
It's the first phase of redeveloping “The Yard,” a parking lot between 14th & 15th Streets and Cuming & Mike Fahey Streets. They're also planning a major 5 story hotel, apartments, and 6,000 square feet of retail shops.
The planning department says it's the first major building project in north downtown in about 3 years.
"It's a great milestone, it builds upon the character we want to see down there, it builds upon the density we want to see down there and it's totally consistent with what we envisioned several years ago when we master planned the area," said City Councilman Pete Festersen.
The city expects the other phases of this project to be presented to them early next year, and then late summer also.
