Blackstone Plaza, formerly called Kiewit Plaza, is undergoing major transformation at 3555 Farnam St. Under new leadership, new owner John Lund said people soon will not recognize the property as the same that's been there for the last 60 years. Billionaire Warren Buffett and his Berkshire Hathaway headquarters is one of the few remaining tenants in the building that is seeking new tenants for about 10 of the 15 floors.
Blackstone Plaza, formerly called Kiewit Plaza, is undergoing major transformation at 3555 Farnam St. Under new leadership, new owner John Lund said people soon will not recognize the property as the same that's been there for the last 60 years. Billionaire Warren Buffett and his Berkshire Hathaway headquarters is one of the few remaining tenants in the building that is seeking new tenants for about 10 of the 15 floors.
Blackstone Plaza, formerly called Kiewit Plaza, is undergoing major transformation at 3555 Farnam St. Under new leadership, new owner John Lund said people soon will not recognize the property as the same that's been there for the last 60 years. Billionaire Warren Buffett and his Berkshire Hathaway headquarters is one of the few remaining tenants in the building that is seeking new tenants for about 10 of the 15 floors.
Blackstone Plaza, formerly called Kiewit Plaza, is undergoing major transformation at 3555 Farnam St. Under new leadership, new owner John Lund said people soon will not recognize the property as the same that's been there for the last 60 years. Billionaire Warren Buffett and his Berkshire Hathaway headquarters is one of the few remaining tenants in the building that is seeking new tenants for about 10 of the 15 floors.
Omaha’s north downtown area has gained about 600 workers now that Kiewit Corp. is settling into its newly built $76 million worldwide headquarters.
Construction of the Fortune 500 company’s seven-story corporate offices and parking garage at 15th and Mike Fahey Streets wrapped up a few months ahead of schedule, said the Kiewit Building Group’s Bob Kula.
He said the workforce since January has been enjoying floor-to-ceiling window views of Creighton University, the ballpark of the College World Series, the downtown skyline and the budding Builder’s District of which Kiewit is a part.
“The goal was to create a space that met the needs of a fast-paced, mobile workforce, and that people would enjoy when working in the office,” Kula said. “We believe we succeeded.”

Omaha's north downtown area has gained about 600 workers now that Kiewit Corp. is settling into its newly built $76 million worldwide headquarters.
With Kiewit’s migration now complete to the glassy 190,000-square-foot office structure, the company’s former corporate digs farther west at midtown’s 36th and Farnam Streets is getting its own makeover estimated at about $10 million.
That 15-story high-rise, to be renamed Blackstone Plaza, has a few businesses that remained as tenants after Kiewit sold the property and ended its six-decade run there. Among those still on the premises is Warren Buffett and the billionaire’s Berkshire Hathaway corporate office.
An assortment of companies is expected to help fill the vacated floors. While the new Blackstone Plaza ownership group has seen a lot of interest, it has yet to announce any new tenants, said managing partner and Omaha real estate executive John Lund.
Meanwhile, all windows are being replaced. The exterior will switch to a charcoal gray color. The ground floor is turning to retailers and stores inviting to employees of the building as well as patrons of the trendy Blackstone District neighborhood.
Lund said so much will change that, soon, many might not recognize the site.

John Lund, part of the investment group that purchased Kiewit Plaza, stands on the balcony of the Cloud Floor on Tuesday, Oct. 29, 2019.
“People are going to drive up the street and say, ‘When did they build that building?’”
Indeed, the Kiewit move to north downtown not only sets up a change in the local office market, but also sets the stage for more to come in the Builder’s District.
The emerging Builder’s District is loosely bound by Cuming Street to the north, Mike Fahey Street to the south, Creighton University to the west and Kiewit’s training facility (which opened in 2017) to the east. Ultimately, the district is expected to stretch a dozen city blocks and usher in more than $300 million in investment.
Real estate developer Jay Noddle, who worked on the Kiewit campus projects, says his company plans to start construction — perhaps late this year — on yet another office building to the south of Kiewit grounds.
Noddle Cos. is first trying to secure an anchor tenant for that proposed five-story, 100,000-square-foot structure. The developer then plans to build two housing projects in the district, one that offers rental apartments and the other for-sale condominiums. A rooftop swimming pool would be a “differentiator,” Noddle said.
“The Builder’s District is like our next canvas in Omaha,” said Noddle, who led redevelopment of areas including Aksarben Village and River’s Edge in Council Bluffs.
To help create the district and new Kiewit home, the City of Omaha earmarked up to $20 million in redevelopment bonds for property acquisition and $5 million for public improvements. The city also is committed to building and operating a city parking structure if demand exists later, said Kevin Andersen, economic development aide to Mayor Jean Stothert.

Blackstone Plaza, formerly called Kiewit Plaza, is undergoing major transformation at 3555 Farnam St. Under new leadership, new owner John Lund said people soon will not recognize the property as the same that's been there for the last 60 years. Billionaire Warren Buffett and his Berkshire Hathaway headquarters is one of the few remaining tenants in the building that is seeking new tenants for about 10 of the 15 floors.
Here’s more detail on the former and new Kiewit sites:
At Blackstone Plaza, crews are busy stripping vacant office space to shells that will be designed to suit incoming tenant needs.
“We’re selling location — walkability to the Blackstone District, the new Kimpton Cottonwood Hotel, Midtown Crossing,” Lund said.
He said amenities are key. The renovated property will have plenty of covered parking, a fitness center, an onsite barber, mechanics, gas pumps and the top-floor Cloud Room.
“It will have a newness and energy but still be iconic with history,” Lund said.
A few interesting tidbits about Kiewit’s downtown move: The relocation prompted the digitization of about 1.27 million files and documents to reduce reliance on paper. It donated nearly 500 used desks and other office equipment to charitable organizations.
Today a skyway connects the new corporate offices to the low-rise Kiewit University that trains employees from across North America. There’s a large cafeteria, a coffee and pastry shop, a fitness center and work lounge areas on each floor. Kula said the headquarters has growth capacity to hold nearly 900 full-timers.
Currently in Colorado’s Lone Tree area, Kiewit is building a 400,000-square-foot regional office complex to accommodate more than 1,700 employees. Asked how that investment might impact Omaha, Kula pointed to Kiewit’s 75-year history in Colorado and a desire to consolidate offices and a growing number of design engineers in that region.
He said Kiewit employs about 1,700 people in Nebraska in more than 435,000 square feet of space that includes a west Omaha technology and business center and the recently built downtown facilities.
Said Kula: “These new buildings in Omaha and Lone Tree are representative of the investments we’re making in our employees and the markets we serve.”
Fortune 500 and 1,000 companies in Omaha
The Omaha area is home to 10 companies among the Fortune 500 and 1,000.
Berkshire Hathaway
Fortune rank: No. 3 with revenue of $242.1 billion; down from No. 2 last year. First cracked Fortune list in 1989 at No. 205.
History: The holding company of large- and medium-sized firms and investments has grown largely from the singular wisdom of Chairman and CEO Warren Buffett. It started as an investment pool of family and friends in Omaha in the mid-1950s. In 1965, Buffett bought the textile company that gave Berkshire its name. (Ironically, he later called it his worst investment.) His philosophy of buying successful companies with firm niches and keeping leadership in place has achieved returns well in excess of the stock market. The move into insurance was key, as Buffett uses premium reserves available for investment to fund additional purchases. Forbes notes that Berkshire now generates nearly three-quarters of its revenue from its non-financial operating businesses. At 87, Buffett is the oldest CEO of a Fortune 500 company. The company has maintained its offices at Omaha’s Kiewit Plaza since 1962.
Aflac
Fortune rank: No. 137 on revenue of $21.7 billion; down from No. 126 from last year.
History: Founded in 1955 as American Family Life Insurance by John Amos and his brothers Paul and Bill in Columbus, Georgia, Aflac pays benefits when people are sick or injured. It gained wider recognition starting in 2000 with a marketing campaign using a duck that announces its name. In 2002, Aflac moved its legal domicile to Nebraska for tax reasons and located a regional office in Omaha, although its main offices remain in Georgia.
Union Pacific
Fortune rank: No. 141 on revenue of $21.2 billion; up from No. 143 last year. Listed each year since non-manufacturing companies were added to the list in 1995.
History: The company was created by the 1862 Pacific Railway Act, an act of Congress that called for construction of a transcontinental rail line from the Missouri River to the West Coast. The first track was laid out of Omaha in 1865, and U.P. grew into a national icon. Multiple mergers over 150 years helped U.P. amass the nation’s largest rail network, with operations in 23 western states and prime rail connections into Mexico. In 2004, the railroad opened a new 19-story headquarters downtown that serves about 2,900 of the company’s 42,000 employees.
Pacific Life
Fortune rank: No. 313 on revenue of $9.5 billion; the same ranking as last year.
History: Founded in 1868 in Sacramento, California, as Pacific Mutual Life Insurance Co., the company’s life insurance, annuity and other financial products pay $2.3 billion in benefits each year. Although its main office is in Newport Beach, California, in 2004 Pacific Life moved its legal domicile to Nebraska for tax reasons and now has a regional office in Omaha’s Aksarben Village.
Peter Kiewit Sons’ Inc.
Fortune rank: No. 339 on revenue of $8.7 billion; down from No. 324 last year. Made its Fortune debut in 1991 and since 1998 has been listed every year but one. Is privately held but qualifies for the Fortune list because it publicly reports revenue.
History: Three sons of Peter Kiewit took over their father’s Omaha construction company, with the youngest, also named Peter, credited with turning it into one of the nation’s largest. The company took off while building military installations during World War II and the Cold War. It also built more miles of Interstate system than any other contractor, causing Fortune to dub Peter Kiewit “the Colossus of Roads.” Today, it is one of the largest employee-owned firms in the world and one of only a handful of construction companies big enough to take on billion-dollar projects.
Mutual of Omaha
Fortune rank: No. 337 on revenue of $8.7 billion; up from No. 342 last year. Made its debut in 1995, dropped off in 2006 and 2007, but solidly on the list since.
History: Got off to a humble start in 1909 as the Mutual Benefit Health and Accident Association, initially struggling to attract policyholders. Under the leadership of Creighton medical student C.C. Criss and later V.J. Skutt, it grew and by the 1950s had emerged as a leading health and accident insurer. The name was changed to Mutual of Omaha in 1962, and a year later it became a household name with sponsorship of the popular “Wild Kingdom” TV show. The company rebranded its familiar Native American head logo in 2001, expanded into banking in 2007, and renewed its commitment to its midtown Omaha headquarters by developing the mixed-use Midtown Crossing.
TD Ameritrade
Fortune rank: No. 630 on revenue of $3.7 billion; up from No. 674 last year.
History: Founder Joe Ricketts saw an opportunity in 1975 when the Securities and Exchange Commission eliminated the practice of fixed brokerage commissions. Ricketts’ firm, First Omaha Securities Inc., began offering discounted commissions and helped usher in a new era of investing, coupled with technology that evolved from touch-tone phones to the Internet. Forty years later, TD Ameritrade has more than 11 million client accounts with more than $1.2 trillion in assets and custodial services for more than 6,000 independent registered investment advisers. Clients trade more than 940,000 times each day.
Valmont
Fortune rank: No. 782 on revenue of $2.7 billion; up from No. 804 last year.
History: In 1946, Robert B. Daugherty spent nearly his life’s savings — $5,000 — to buy a small manufacturing company on a farm near Valley to build farm elevators. Years later, with the invention of center-pivot irrigation, Valmont found its niche. It then expanded into steel pipe and tubing manufacturing for irrigation systems and other industries. Through acquisitions and new construction, the company grew to be a global player in certain segments of the agriculture, communications and utilities markets. Today, Valmont’s worldwide operations are constantly looking for opportunities to expand its four business sectors: engineered support structures (steel and aluminum poles for traffic lights, street lighting, etc.); utility support structures (poles for electrical transmission lines, etc.); irrigation; and coatings (galvanization).
cindy.gonzalez@owh.com, 402-444-1224