An agreement between the City of Omaha and Omaha Children’s Museum will be reviewed by the city council over the next few sessions. The agreement is attached to an ordinance that the council presented for first hearing yesterday, which means no public comments will be heard at this time.
In late October, the Children’s Museum revealed plans to move the museum to a lot sandwiched between the I-480 overpass and Heartland of America Park on the northeast corner of 8th & Douglas Street. The agreement indicates that the museum will be approximately 75,000 sq. ft. The current location at 20th & Howard Street is 60,000 sq. ft. The new location will have a restaurant and event space. Under the agreement, the city will lease the land to the museum for a term of 99 years.
The agreement reveals additional details regarding parking. The 4-story parking garage that will be built on the north side of the I-480 overpass will have at least 300 stalls. The surface parking to the east of the garage will have 71 stalls.
NuStyle Development is building their 17-story residential building over what will be a city-owned parking garage on the lot east of the museum. The $87 million project will bring 261 market rate apartments to downtown, with a mix of 1- and 2-bedroom units and five penthouse units. An outdoor swimming pool will be built atop the parking garage while other amenities will be located on the first residential floor of the building.
Construction on the Children’s Museum will begin in 2025 with completion anticipated to occur sometime in 2027. The Beam building is scheduled for completion March of 2028
