Developing the riverfront for both Omaha and Council Bluffs is a top priority while Omaha is going through designs, buildings are going up in Council Bluffs.
On Thursday, the final beam was installed in a 4-story building that will house the Iowa West Foundation's new headquarters on its top floor.
Council Bluffs Mayor Matt Walsh said the entire project has gone much better than expected and the so-called bridge to no where can drop that name, "It's a bridge to somewhere today."
The 67-thousand square foot office building will be accompanied by 30 town homes, 290 apartments and a 740 stall parking garage.
"It's nice to have a clean open 25-acre site, we don't find that a lot along the river so this is a really unique find," said Noddle Companies Director of Development Ted Zetzman.
The area is also fresh to dig into as Zetzman points out there's fewer hurdles to developing on Council Bluff's riverfront, "We're not having to tear down, assemble sites, we don't have a lot of environmental issues".
While there's some open plots of land in downtown Omaha and a flat office market, Zetzman said he's not worried.
"Council Bluffs hasn't had a high-quality office product yet in the market so we are seeing a lot of interest from folks in Council Bluffs who want to experience that and have that as a work environment."
Zetzman said the project's cost is $20 million and is expected to be completed by the end of this year.
