Central Park Plaza
| Central Park Plaza | |
|---|---|
| 200px | |
| General information | |
| Status | Complete |
| Type | Commercial Office |
| Location | 222 S. 15th Street Omaha, Nebraska 68102  United States |
| Coordinates | Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. |
| Construction started | 1979 |
| Completed | 1982 |
| Height | |
| Roof | 213 feet (65 m) |
| Technical details | |
| Floor count | 15 |
| Floor area | 419,679 square feet (38,989.5 m2) |
Central Park Plaza is a 15 story, commercial office complex in Downtown Omaha, Nebraska.[1] The complex consists 419,679 square feet (38,989.5 m2) of office space, in two red brick towers with a lower level center connector on the first and second floors. The building features a central courtyard and a six story parking garage that is located directly north of the building and is connected by a skywalk.[2] In 2007 a "sunrise" lighting feature was added to the angled face of the towers. The towers, built in a "V" formation, have been central to Omaha's skyline since they were built in the 1980s.
History
Originally built in 1982, the buildings housed the corporate headquarters for Conagra until the company began to move to their new riverfront campus in 1988,[3] and they had completely vacated the buildings by 1990.[4] Over the years the buildings have housed offices for several corporations important to Omaha's economic history including; First National Bank of Omaha,[5] US West,[6] OPPD,[7] Norwest Bank,[8] and the Norchem division of Enron.[9]
In 1983, in an attempt to revitalize retail along 16th Street in downtown, a two story mall, Parkfair Mall, was added to the west side of Central Park Plaza, across from the J. L. Brandeis and Sons Store Building.[10] The mall closed in the early 1990s and in 2005 the current owners of the building converted the mall into a 125-stall, heated parking facility.[11]
After several corporations relocated their offices to other facilities during the late 1990s and early 2000s, the building's vacancy rate soared as high as 73%. In 2005 FirstComp Insurance company relocated their headquarters to the south tower and after several renovations now occupy the majority of the north tower.[12] As of 2009 FirstComp and their sister company, Rex Risk Exchange, have placed signs on the north and south towers respectively, the first signs on the towers in several years.[13] Also in 2005 the first Starbucks in Downtown Omaha opened in a location on the first floor of the north tower.[14] The first floor of the south tower has an upscale steakhouse, Sullivan's, that opened in 2007. Both locations have outdoor patios in the courtyard added during a $500,000 restoration to the main courtyard in 2005.[15]
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Central Park Plaza South Tower.
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NorthTowerCentralParkPlaza.jpg
Central Park Plaza North Tower.
References
- ↑ "Central Park Plaza @ Emporis.com", Emporis.com. Retrieved 6/20/10.
- ↑ "Central Park Plaza Wins Key Tenant", Omaha World Herald. Retrieved 6/20/10 from FirstComp website.
- ↑ "ConAgra Shift Opens Office Space", Omaha World Herald Archives. Retrieved 6/20/10.
- ↑ "Lease Expires On ConAgra's Headquarters", Omaha World Herald Archives. Retrieved 6/20/10.
- ↑ "Bank Has Growing Plans First National Targets Omaha For Expansion", Omaha World Herald Archives. Retrieved 6/20/10.
- ↑ "Central Park Plaza's South Building Boasts New Sign", Omaha World Herald Archives. Retrieved 6/20/10.
- ↑ "OPPD to Move Customer Service Unit", Omaha World Herald Archives. Retrieved 6/20/10.
- ↑ "Norwest Bank Cuts Space At Branch", Omaha World Herald Archives. Retrieved 6/20/10.
- ↑ "Norchem Moving Base; Most Workers to Stay", Omaha World Herald Archives. Retrieved 6/20/10.
- ↑ "With Park Fair Construction New Retail Era to Start Downtown", Omaha World Herald Archives. Retrieved 6/20/10.
- ↑ "Retail spot a parking lot; Parkfair becomes garage", Omaha World Herald Archives. Retrieved 6/20/10.
- ↑ "Central Park Plaza Wins Key Tenant", Omaha World Herald. Retrieved 6/20/10 from FirstComp website.
- ↑ "REX Marks the Spot", Omaha World Herald. Retrieved 6/20/10 from FirstComp website.
- ↑ "Starbucks opening new store downtown", Omaha World Herald Archives. Retrieved 6/20/10.
- ↑ "Courtyard getting $500,000 new look", Omaha World Herald Archives. Retrieved 6/20/10.
