A fundraising shortfall put a pause on the Omaha Children’s Museum’s new riverfront facility and brought uncertainty to a corresponding apartment project.
Plans for a $100 million museum looked to bring an updated building, new exhibits, cafe and fresh programming to the heart of the city’s newly developed downtown parks. The new museum was the centerpiece in a partnership between the City of Omaha, Children’s Museum and NuStyle Development to develop a slice of city-owned property at Eighth and Douglas streets.
But the Children’s Museum earlier this month abruptly announced a pause in fundraising efforts for the project. The decision came as a surprise to the site’s developer, NuStyle, which planned to build an apartment building alongside the museum.
Nicknamed “The Beam,” the 16-story apartment complex was planned to rise next to the new Children’s Museum. The combined museum/apartment development would be built on city property located on the north side of Douglas Street bordering Heartland of America Park.
The NuStyle team is still looking for a path forward, NuStyle President Todd Heistand told The Reader in a written statement.
“We do hope to find a way to make The Beam building work with the City,” Heistand wrote, “but if it doesn’t work out, we are good with that as well.”
The City of Omaha’s role in developing the property was to build and operate two parking garages and a surface lot with about 600 stalls available for use by museum patrons and tenants, as well as the general public. In October 2024, the estimated site development and parking cost was about $36 million. The city pledged to pay $26 million of those costs, using lease purchase bonds.
Utility and grading work on the site was already well underway by NuStyle when the museum made its Nov. 7 announcement to pause the project.
NuStyle fronted an estimated $4.34 million in infrastructure work on behalf of the city, which will likely reimburse the developer, according to emails obtained by The Reader.
The work done to date was needed to prepare the site for future development, regardless of the project but with the Omaha Children’s Museum in mind, said Erin Grace, a city spokesperson. “We don’t yet know what the OCM plan will be, but we know the Children’s Museum will continue to be an asset to the community.”
The museum’s fundraising effort was supported by Heritage Omaha, a nonprofit group that has led funding for massive projects in recent years, including a new city library and the Kiewit Luminarium.
A spokesperson for Heritage Omaha declined to comment on the museum’s Nov. 7 announcement. It’s unclear how much money had so far been raised or pledged for the project, which was estimated at more than $100 million.
Omaha Children’s Museum will remain in its current location at 20th and Howard streets and will “focus on strengthening its core mission,” according to the museum’s press release.
“This is an exciting opportunity for OCM to reinvest in our current operations, elevate our status as a world-class destination, and lay the groundwork for future growth,” said Dana Washington, Omaha Children’s Museum board president. “We look forward to revisiting expansion plans when the time is right, confident in our momentum and community support.”