A new kid on the block is reshaping Omaha’s city skyline.
The new Mutual of Omaha Tower under construction downtown is starting to make its presence known, clearing 245 feet last week and still rising.
At the current height, the tower is still about 60 feet shorter than the Statue of Liberty and about 155 feet shorter than the tower on the Nebraska State Capitol building in Lincoln.
But when finished in 2026, the tower will stand at 677 feet, eclipsing the First National Tower by 43 feet and claiming the title as the highest building in Nebraska.
The First National Tower has been the city’s and state’s tallest structure for the past two decades.
In order to reach those dizzying heights, engineers working on the Mutual of Omaha Tower recently implemented some ingenious techniques involving the huge construction cranes.
Earlier this month, the giant yellow tower crane was lifted higher to accommodate continued vertical progress on the future skyscraper.
This involved attaching the crane to the building’s shear core, which is the fortified central spine of the building, and adding four 20-foot sections to the crane to elevate it.
The crane operator manipulated the crane to lift the new sections into place, essentially using the crane to build itself.
Listen now and subscribe: | | | | | |
The crane will eventually be raised to 780 feet tall, making it the tallest crane ever in Omaha.
The smaller blue tower crane was lifted last weekend.
Despite harsh weather creating mayhem in the Midlands this year, the project remains on schedule for completion in 2026, said Andy Halperin, a Mutual of Omaha spokesman.
When weather gets too stormy or windy, certain activities are limited, like the use of the tower crane, he said. Additional time is built into the project schedule to account for such conditions, he said.
Toward the end of the schedule, much of the work will take place inside a fully enclosed building, he said.
At 800,000 square feet, the new headquarters will be half the size of Mutual’s current 1.7 million-square-foot midtown campus.
Mutual of Omaha officials announced in January 2022 plans to develop its corporate headquarters downtown.
A groundbreaking ceremony was held in January 2023. Lanoha Real Estate Co. in Omaha is the developer for the project.
Photos: Construction of the Mutual of Omaha headquarters
Construction continues Thursday on Mutual of Omaha’s new headquarters at 14th and Douglas streets. At its current height of 245 feet, the Mutual tower is still about 60 feet shorter than the Statue of Liberty and about 155 feet shorter than the tower on the Nebraska State Capitol building in Lincoln.
When finished in 2026, the Mutual tower will stand at 677 feet, eclipsing the First National Tower by 43 feet and claiming the title as the highest building in Nebraska.
Construction continues Thursday on Mutual of Omaha’s new headquarters at 14th and Douglas streets. Despite harsh weather creating mayhem in the Midlands this year, the Mutual project remains on schedule for completion in 2026.