Omaha advances plans for $181 million combined public-safety headquarters
Omaha officials have unveiled plans for a proposed $181 million combined headquarters for the city’s police and fire departments, a project that would require voter approval and further city action before construction can begin.
The planned facility would be about 275,000 square feet on a 3.2-acre parcel between Cass and Chicago streets near 74th Street. It is intended to bring together administrative and operational functions for the Omaha Police Department and Omaha Fire Department.
City leaders are also preparing bond and design actions connected to the proposal. The Omaha City Council was expected to consider continuing design work with Leo A Daly.
What the proposed facility would include
The complex is planned to include investigative units, a forensic laboratory, emergency-medical-services support, a real-time crime center, fire prevention functions and public education programs.
More than 300 public-safety professionals are associated with the planned headquarters. The proposal would consolidate major police and fire functions in a new facility rather than establish a project that is already funded or guaranteed to be built.
The plan was presented as a combined public-safety facility, with the police and fire departments among the agencies expected to use it. Its final scope and schedule remain contingent on approval steps that have not yet been completed.
Bond question remains a key step
The project remains pending voter approval. A City Council agenda included bond questions for the Nov. 3, 2026, general election, including up to $155 million for public facilities such as police and fire facilities.
That ballot authorization is distinct from the project’s $181 million estimated cost. The available information does not establish that the $155 million public-facilities amount would fully fund the proposed headquarters.
City officials said the bonds would not require an increase in the tax levy. That statement addresses the proposed financing approach; it does not mean the facility has been approved or that its cost and timing are fixed.
Projected timeline
If voters approve the necessary borrowing and subsequent city actions proceed, construction was projected to start in early 2028. The facility’s opening is targeted for 2030.
Those dates are projections and could change. The next known actions are the council’s consideration of continued design work and voter consideration of the bond questions.
Sources
- Omaha unveils vision for $181M public safety headquarters, Nebraska Examiner
- Omaha City Council to weigh streetcar bonds, TIF projects, Omaha World-Herald