Mutual Tower, Streetcar Promising For Downtown Omaha

If they win City Council approval, a pair of projects — an office tower and a streetcar line — in downtown Omaha, Nebraska, could be transformative for the city, the Lincoln Journal Star reports. A 40-plus-story, glassy skyscraper would rise above the downtown library at 14^th and Douglas streets, serving as headquarters for insurance company Mutual of Omaha. Meanwhile, the streetcar line would run 3 mi. between two new projects: a US$400-million riverfront park and science museum and a US$2.6-billion University of Nebraska Medical Center facility. In announcing the project, Mutual of Omaha and Omaha Mayor Jean Stothert said the hundreds of millions of dollars needed to build the office tower and streetcar line would be funded entirely by tax increment financing (TIF) — not taxpayers. TIF diverts tax money generated by new developments to underwrite further development. Plans call for both projects to start construction by 2023 and be complete by 2026.