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Sarpy, Washington Counties Enjoy Growth

For some, a birthday just isn’t enough reason to celebrate.

In Sarpy County, which is marking its 150th year, there are other numbers giving officials reason to cheer.

Sarpy County is the fastest growing county in Nebraska with a population that has increased 16.3 percent over the past six reportable years, from 123,227 people in 2000 to 142,637 in 2006. La Vista and Gretna are the fastest growing cities in the county, with population gains of 34 percent and 106 percent, respectively.

“Our net taxable sales and building permits are setting records every year, too,” says Toby Churchill, executive director of Sarpy County Economic Development Corporation. “Net taxable sales hit a record $882 million in 2006.”

The median household income in Sarpy County is $53,804, the highest in the area, Churchill reports.

He says the per capita personal income of $75,832 in Papillion, which was ranked No. 23 on the 2005 Money magazine list of “Best Places to Live,” helped prompt the interest from retailers who eagerly signed on to the Shadow Lake Towne Center and Market Pointe developments.

New office space and retail attractions including the Cabela’s outdoor and sports store in La Vista and the Shadow Lake Towne Center and Market Pointe shopping areas in Papillion have accompanied the residential growth.

“And the county is only about half developed,” Churchill says.

County officials say public-private partnerships – one of the keys to securing capital investment and economic growth in Omaha and Douglas County – are proving just as instrumental in Sarpy and Washington counties.

Sarpy County developments include:
• the opening of a $30 million 125,000-square-foot customer operations building by PayPal, an eBay company, its second such building,
• an $18 million, 115,000-square-foot technology center for the Northrop Grumman Corp.,
• the $12 million, 90,000-square-foot Mission Systems office building for Lockheed Martin,
• a $5.2 million, 90,000-square-foot headquarters building for Securities America,
• a new $30 million, 257-room Embassy Suites hotel,
• a $13.5 million, 116-room Hampton Inn and Suites,
• a new 220-room Courtyard Inn hotel, and
• the 80,000-square-foot La Vista Conference Center, a $27 million investment.

Offutt Air Force Base near Omaha, home to the U.S. Strategic Command (USSTRATCOM), is the largest employer in the Greater Omaha area and has acted as a magnet for defense-related contractors and services – which have yielded more than an additional 2,500 jobs.

“Clearly, the increasing population, availability of commercial land developments and other business and investment opportunities in Sarpy County are attracting world-class business operations,” Churchill says.

Washington County, just north of Douglas County and Omaha, has experienced a 13 percent jump in population and is projected to continue to grow at 6 percent through 2010, says Paula Hazelwood, executive director of Gateway Development Corporation. The not-for-profit organization was formed in 1989 to serve as an economic development agent for Washington County.

Growth in Washington County includes Cargill’s corn milling campus in Blair. The campus is home to several other bio processing businesses including Purac, Degussa Corp. and NatureWorks LLC. Cargill is doubling the size of its ethanol facility. Construction is to be completed in the spring of 2008. The Cargill campus represents the single largest capital investment in the State of Nebraska – approximately $1 billion.

“Cargill has been growing and thriving in Washington County since 1993 when we decided to build a new corn milling facility here,” says Eric Johnson, Cargill assistant vice president and facility manager. “With the support of Washington County, the State of Nebraska and the City of Blair, we have been able to grow our complex into a world-class bio refinery with an array of businesses employing more than 500 people.

“The quality and talent of people in the Washington County and Greater Omaha area has been the key to our continued growth.”

New development in Washington County includes:
• Monsanto Corporation’s 20,000-square-foot corn testing facility,
• JASA Transit’s $3.2 million facility for its fleet of food-grade tanker trucks,
• an eight-acre commercial park in Fort Calhoun will be home to a restaurant and a custom cabinetry and trim business,
• a $24.5 million expansion project at Memorial Community Hospital,
• the $417 million refurbishing project at the Omaha Public Power District’s Fort Calhoun station,
• construction on a new 15,000 square-foot Walgreens began in July and will employee approximately 30 people, and
• Hayden Place, a 20-acre mixed use retail site located on Highway 30, is in the early stages of development.

Learn More
Working in partnership with the Greater Omaha Chamber of Commerce, Sarpy County Economic Development Corporation and Gateway Development Corporation of Washington County help promote the area’s extraordinarily supportive business climate through a full range of services that provide current data and guidance on:
• available sites and buildings,
• training programs and workforce
development,
• accessing development incentives, and
• quality of living and cost of living.

For more information visit
www.omahachamber.org, www.blairchamber.org,
www.accessomaha.com