Mutual of Omaha marks one year since groundbreaking on new tower

OMAHA, Neb. (WOWT) - It’s been one year since 14th Street shut down between Farnam and Douglas Streets to make way for construction of the new Mutual of Omaha headquarters.

Jason Lanoha is behind development of the new tower. He said they’ve made steady progress and now their focus is the core of the building.

“We started with piers up to eight feet wide going all the way down to the bed rock, poured a lot of map slap, other structures that help make the building strong, and now we’re coming out of the ground,” Lanoha said. “That’s going to go up first and then you’re going to have the parking structure behind it. Ultimately, the steel will wrap around the core until we reach the top.”

Lanoha expects the core to be 200 feet tall in six months and 300 in a year. At that point, crews will rely on a crane to do the rest of the work until the tower is 677 feet tall.

“With every project especially with this one as complicated they’re all challenging,” Lanoha said. “Our biggest hurdle we’ve faced is just the weather, but with that we have the best team here navigating through it all.”

As for the current Mutual headquarters and properties located in Midtown -- there’s a plan to redevelop those, but the details are murky.

Lanoha told 6 News all the employees currently working in the Midtown offices will be relocated to the new tower once it’s done.

“We’re developing something that is transformational to our city,” Lanoha said. “Many of us are from here and this means a lot to us.”

Crews expect construction for the new tower to be done by 2026. Once it’s built, it will be the tallest building in Nebraska.

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