Interstate proximity has recently been and will continue to be the driving force behind industrial development in Omaha, Nebraska. The majority of development is along the Interstate 80 corridor in southwest Omaha and will soon be in Council Bluffs, Iowa, as well. Designed to take advantage of the Interstates 80 and 29 crossroads, the Council Bluffs project will feature state-of-the-art buildings.

“Quality of product is very evident in almost all new buildings. The market is very competitive and buildings must have modern amenities to compete,” says Mike Nolan, SIOR, vice president of CB Richard Ellis/MEGA in Omaha.

The type of tenant these properties are vying for runs the full gamut of industrial companies. Tenants are finding rental rates range between $2.75 to $6.50 per square foot on a triple net basis. Vacancy rates are 9.64 percent overall as of July 2002.

“The market has been fairly static for the past 24 months, with a few bright spots. The feeling is that market is starting to come back and there is renewed optimism,” Nolan says.

Three new industrial parks in southwest Omaha have come on line in Sarpy County recently, and the city of Omaha is actively marketing the Stockyards Business Park, a new redeveloped 56-acre business park that provides access to active manufacturing workforce and attractive business incentives.

According to the Greater Omaha Chamber of Commerce, Omaha has had recent success with major industrial projects, including:

• Cargill Inc. of Minneapolis will receive thousands of bushels of corn from Midlands farmers and begin an unusual conversion into consumer products ranging from golf ball packages to wedding gowns. A major part of that transformation will take place at the newest addition to Cargill Inc.’s massive manufacturing complex near Blair, Nebraska, a suburban community of Omaha. Construction of the project, a joint venture of Cargill Inc. and Dow Chemical Company of Midland, Michigan, was recently completed. The $300 million expansion will add to the existing $600 million campus.

• CSL, a Melbourne, Australia-based firm, announced plans to build a new $10 million production plant for livestock vaccines and move the international headquarters for its animal health division to Omaha. The new 15,000-square-foot plant will be located at 2720 N. 84th Street and will be ready for occupancy by December.

• ShopKo Stores, Inc. opened its new 400,000-square-foot, $30 million distribution center in Sarpy County. The center, designed to direct merchandise to 35 stores in a six-state area, is fully mechanized, with a conveyor internal logistic system of over 7 miles, and has the capacity to serve 62 stores. The facility currently employs over 100 employees.

• Nebraska Machinery will soon open its new 150,000-square-foot administrative headquarters, warehouse and machine repair operation facility. The family-owned company, which has 400 hundred employees distributed throughout six locations in the state of Nebraska, provides regional sales and service for construction, heavy industrial and agricultural equipment. The new location will require 140 new employees.


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