By CINDY GONZALEZ
Nebraska Examiner
OMAHA — Two years after construction wrapped up, the downtown Capitol District’s three-story mixed-use building is welcoming its first major office tenant.
Deloitte, an international audit and consulting firm, in mid-December will relocate its Omaha workforce to the structure’s top floor, marking the first traditional office-user at the Capitol District site touted primarily as an entertainment district.
Millions in TIF
The broader multimillion-dollar Capitol District campus, which spans a few blocks, is bookended by a 333-room Marriott hotel and an apartment tower. A key feature is an outdoor plaza with a stage surrounded by bars, restaurants and other retailers.
Omaha officials selected the Capitol District project in 2011 to rise on the site of what then were public parking lots. Actual construction was delayed several years and relied, in part, on up to $35 million in City Council-approved public tax-increment financing to get off the ground.
Deloitte, currently in 26,000 square feet at the First National Tower at 16th and Dodge Streets, is to move to about 10,000 square feet of the mixed-use office building — which was the last structural piece to complete the $205 million-plus Capitol District in late 2020.
That finish two years ago came during the pandemic, when many employees were working remotely and office space was not in demand by professional service companies.
Office market improves
More recently, though, the Gene Leahy Mall was overhauled. More apartment complexes are rising nearby. Entertainment venues such as the Steelhouse Omaha concert hall and Kiewit Luminarium science museum also are about to open around the Capitol District.
Mutual of Omaha also has plans to build a $600 million office tower, the tallest in the central business district, on the site of the demolished main public library.
While Deloitte is downsizing its footprint and shifting from one urban core spot to another, the latest office market report shows improved activity overall in the downtown market.
According to Colliers International of Omaha, the vacancy rate during the third quarter of this year was 6.4% in the downtown area, compared to nearly 8% a year ago.
Kristi Andersen of CBRE, which is handling some of the leasing at the Capitol District, said her team sees excitement mounting in and around the district with the various amenities planned.
Said Deloitte spokesman Dan Kinsella: “As a longstanding member of the Omaha community we’re excited to commit to the Capitol District and be at the center of Omaha’s ongoing revitalization of the urban core.”
Andersen acknowledged caution in that some office space both downtown and elsewhere in the metro is leased, and producing rent, but is not being fully used because of the increase in remote work. The wait is on to see what happens to those properties, but Andersen said she she remains optimistic for downtown’s future.
Let it Fly
Also headed to the Capitol District is a new retailer: a 350-seat, 10,000-square-foot sports bar called Let It Fly.
Inside will be a glass-enclosed podcast studio and a 48-foot diagonal curved LED screen above the main bar, which will allow patrons to watch sports broadcasters Mike’l Severe and Josh Jones interview athletes and coaches while they dine.
Slated to open in spring 2023, the sports bar and restaurant — with two outdoor patios and a retail shop — will join more than 20 restaurants, bars and businesses in the Capitol District, whose lead investor is Paul Smith’s Black Dog Management.
Additional retail and office space is available for lease at the district’s mixed-use office building. Let It Fly will be next to Texas de Brazil in that structure, 1100 Capitol Ave.
Let It Fly founder and president Mike Miller is a former NBA basketball player for teams including the Memphis Grizzlies, Minnesota Timberwolves and Miami Heat. Among others involved in the venture, according to CBRE, is investor Ryan Miller, who also is assistant basketball coach at Creighton University.
The Let It Fly partners said the Capitol District location will become the flagship for its restaurants, which also are in Germantown, Tennessee, and Sioux Falls, South Dakota.