From Farm to ‘Lifestyle Development’ in Omaha — The Row Will Redefine Quality

Construction has begun on The Row, a downtown-like area for the 500-acre mixed-use urban development that stretches from Dodge Street to just south of Pacific Street and from 144th to 153rd Streets. The site was once farmland owned by Boys Town.

The developers recently broke ground on a four-story building that will anchor The Row’s 40 acres at the center of the development.

Olsson, a Nebraska-based engineering and design firm, will house its Omaha operations on the building’s second and third floors. The rapidly growing firm may occupy the fourth floor in the future. Retail space will fill the ground floor.

“We wanted to have an environment where our employees can enjoy the best of amenities,” said Brad Strittmatter, president and CEO of Olsson. “Restaurant and entertainment options. A place where employees from our other locations can come and visit and stay in a nice hotel.”

All of those will be available in The Row, said Stephen Harris, director of development for Lanoha Real Estate, the project’s developer. Applied Underwriters is the owner and main driver behind the greater Heartwood Preserve development.

A flexible master plan for The Row includes Class A office spaces, four-star hotels, multifamily residences and a blend of local premium and national-caliber retailers and restaurants.

Walkability and connectivity are at the core of the area that Harris said will “redefine quality.”

“It’s something Omaha has not had before,” Harris said. “The idea is you can arrive, park your car, visit work or home or restaurants, all within a walkable environment. It’s a lifestyle development.”

Lanoha is using Nelsen Partners of Austin, the same master plan architect for two other nationally recognized destinations: the Domain in Austin, a five-star shopping center, and Kierland Commons in Scottsdale, Arizona, an upscale lifestyle center.

Two adjacent buildings to Olsson’s — a multifamily residential building and a four-star hotel, the first of two — are in the design phase. Lanoha has yet to announce the hotel company.

The 19-acre Heartwood Park, part of 80 acres devoted to green space, sits nearby. It will be run and maintained by Heartwood.

In November, family events will kick off at the park’s ice rink. An amphitheater featuring a full bandshell will offer seating for up to 5,000 spectators.

There will be no single-family housing within The Row, just market-rate multifamily apartments, Harris said. However, there will be many options in the rest of the development.

In Heartwood Estates, there are 50 lots with houses running in excess of $1 million. In the Residences, there will be 210 units of single-family, duplexes and row houses ranging from $650,000 to $1.3 million. There will also be high-end condominiums.

The entire Heartwood project broke ground in September 2019. It is 75% complete, including active construction and construction commitments.

“We are very pleased with the progress being made at Heartwood Preserve. Recall this was 500 acres of farm ground when we started,” said Jeff Silver, executive vice president of Applied Underwriters. “To date, we have a variety of restaurants, local chain favorites, retail and top Omaha employers who have made a home at Heartwood and are open for business. In addition, our own Applied Underwriters world headquarters is nearing completion. This area is alive and will be a unique place for Omaha-area residents to live, shop, work and play.”

Olsson expects to move its Omaha workforce into the new office in summer 2026. It will join an already bustling community that includes some of Omaha’s most prominent businesses, such as Valmont Industries, Carson Group and Applied Underwriters.

Several other smaller businesses, such as Charleston’s, First Watch and Mahogany Prime Steakhouse restaurants, Gunderson’s Jewelers and Union Bank & Trust, are open.

While Olsson, which was founded in Lincoln, has offices throughout the United States, Strittmatter said Omaha has been its fastest-growing office and location. More than 300 of its 2,000-plus employees are located here.

Because of that boom, Strittmatter said, the company has outgrown its office space in Aksarben Village. Olsson will keep its office in La Vista, which provides construction support.

Strittmatter said opportunities for tenants like Olsson are what makes Heartwood Preserve special.

“It’s such a unique opportunity in Omaha to develop a piece of raw ground that hasn’t been developed,” he said, adding that the city is “just a great place to be in business.”