Omaha — Within a few years, the giant shell of an old steel mill in Midtown Omaha will transform into a new hub of innovation for Nebraska’s nearly $65 million medical business.
Called Catalyst, the 170,000-square-foot structure on the west side of Saddle Creek Road near Farnham Street will operate in conjunction with the University of Nebraska Medical Center across the street, says UNMC President Dr. Jeffrey Gold. said.
(Kent Sievers/University of Nebraska Medical Center)
Over the past few years, the medical center’s “broad and deep research” has produced hundreds of medical inventions and patents, Gold said. But Nebraska lacked a sufficient footprint of biotech and bioscience companies, so most of them were licensed for commercialization by companies based in Silicon Valley and elsewhere, he said. Told.
Scheduled to open in late 2024, Catalyst is designed to provide housing and an incubator for startups that will bring high-paying jobs and economic development to the region.
“That’s why this is so important and truly historic,” Gold said.
He spoke Monday after the groundbreaking ceremony for the Catalyst project, which is being developed on three acres of former Omaha Steel Works built in the early 1900s.
Preparatory work on site continued for some time. The project was announced several years ago. The atrium connects the main steel and brick frame structure with another building.
The University of Nebraska Board of Trustees has approved approximately $29 million for the project for UNMC to own a 40,000-square-foot innovation hub within the facility. Its hubs include his UNeMED and UNeTech, the UNMC’s development arm.
The remaining 130,000 square feet are for other businesses, food halls and community amenities and will be owned by Omaha-based private developer GreenSlate and Denver-based Koelbel and Co.
The developer sought and received approval from the City of Omaha for a $6.3 million tax increase loan. Planning documents estimate that Catalyst could bring up to 670 full-time jobs to the region, about half of which will be relocated and the rest will be newly created through expansion and start-ups.
The Catalyst project is key to a broader transformation of approximately 25 acres west of Saddle Creek Road, expanding UNMC’s footprint.
Other elements of this public-private redevelopment site include an administrative office tower and possibly hotel rooms and housing. All of this has fueled his UNMC growth boom over the past few years.
Gov. Jim Piren attended the offsite groundbreaking ceremony with NU President Ted Carter, Omaha Mayor Jan Stozert, and Republican Nebraska Senator Pete Ricketts.
Gold said Catalyst will allow startups to be “literally across the street from where research science is being done.”
It should be attractive for business and spin-off development, he said.
“Entrepreneurship is highly contagious,” says Gold.
