For months we’ve tried to imagine how the proposed $370 milion cancer center campus will transform our campus.
The view from all parts of the UNMC-Nebraska Medical Center campus will be impressive.
Now, imagine hotels, houses, restaurants and other new development lining the streets near campus, with healing gardens creating a restful atmosphere.
Imagine crews of workers busy for the next 15 years on construction project after project prompted by the cancer campus.
That’s what business, labor and neighborhood leaders asked Monday when they spoke out about the impact created by the cancer campus project.
“This cancer center project is a ‘job-rich job’ and an unbelievable opportunity for our city and state,” said Terry Moore, president of the Omaha Federation of Labor. He added that private development surrounding the cancer center campus could keep trades workers busy for the next 15 years.
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Tim Holland speaks Monday as a small business owner and a neighbor to UNMC. From left: Moore, McDermott, Holland and Maurer. |
Holland compared the economic impact of the cancer center campus to another recent high-profile project.
“This cancer center will be as impactful as Destination Midtown and Midtown Crossing for Omaha,” he said.
Moore said the cancer center will provide a significant boost to Omaha’s labor force, providing more than 4,800 construction-related jobs. He indicated that this reinforces the state and city commitment to creating new jobs.
Don Leuenberger, vice chancellor for business and finance, said a new study done by SB Friedman Development Advisors of Chicago determined that by 2029 the cancer center will spawn $383 million in new private development in the area immediately surrounding UNMC and generate $63 million in new property taxes.
McDermott and Holland, who both have businesses near the UNMC campus, praised the project for how it could transform the area surrounding the medical center. It is anticipated that numerous development projects will be spawned by the cancer center, including new housing, a hotel and restaurants as well as recreational space.
Bell, who served as president of the Greater Omaha Chamber of Commerce for 13 years, said the cancer center continues a long tradition of public-private partnerships in Omaha. He cited a variety of projects including the Downtown/Riverfront Development, which would never have happened without public support from state and local governments and the private sector.
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Don Leuenberger, vice chancellor for business and finance,explains renderings during a Monday press conference. |
The cancer center represents one of the largest construction jobs ever in Nebraska and will require raising more money from private donors than any previous building project in Nebraska, said UNMC Chancellor Harold M. Maurer, M.D.
He noted that the cancer center will cost more than double what it cost to build the two Durham Research Towers and more than seven times the cost of Michael F. Sorrell Center for Health Science Education.
The cancer center will be built on the west side of the medical center campus and includes four facilities — a multidisciplinary outpatient clinic, a 98-lab research tower, a hospital tower with 108 beds dedicated to oncology patients, and an ambulatory care clinic dedicated to non-oncology specialties.
It is expected to create 1,200 new jobs at UNMC and The Nebraska Medical Center and generate $100 million in new payroll. In addition, it will create another 3,457 indirect jobs.
“This is one of the most significant projects ever undertaken in Omaha,” Dr. Maurer said. “We are thrilled to see all the support coming forward. It sends a strong message to private donors that Omaha and Nebraska are behind this project and excited about the great possibilities it will bring.”