Mutual of Omaha's new building will be the tallest building in the city once completed
Nebraska's new Mutual building is projected to be 677 feet tall, 43 feet taller than current tallest building in Omaha
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Omaha will have a new tallest building once Mutual of Omaha completes its planned $600 million headquarters tower downtown in 2026.
Mutual CEO James Blackledge told the Omaha World-Herald that it recently became clear that the insurance company's new skyscraper would eclipse the 45-story First National Bank tower to become the city's tallest building after Mutual finalized its plans.
The new Mutual building is projected to be 677-feet-tall. That would make it 43 feet taller than the First National building that opened in 2002.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Mutual didn't set out to build the city's tallest building, but Blackledge said he's proud of the impact the project will have on Omaha's downtown and its image.
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"I think people see skylines and it does create an impression of all the things we want Omaha to be perceived as — a vibrant, growing, thriving place where people can live and work and prosper," he said.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The new building will be designed to hold roughly 2,400 of the company's 4,000 headquarters workers at any one time, reflecting the rise of working from home. It will also be a little less than half the size of Mutual current 1.7 million-square-foot headquarters complex in midtown Omaha.
Mutual of Omaha's new $600 million building is projected to be finished in 2026. Once completed, the building will be the tallest in Omaha.
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In conjunction with the Mutual project, Omaha leaders have pledged to build a $306-million-dollar, 3-mile-long streetcar line to connect midtown with downtown by sometime in 2026.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}And Omaha will pay nearly $100 million to build a parking garage on the first 15 floors of the building that will be able to hold 2,200 vehicles. Mutual will lease the garage from the city to use it during the day, but the parking spaces will be available to the public during off hours.
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The city also is also spending $1 million to demolish the old downtown library to clear the way for Mutual’s new tower, and it has approved roughly $60 million in tax-increment financing to help the company pay for the project.