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Seamless Regional Economic Development

The Greater Omaha Economic Development Partnership (GO!), a program of the Greater Omaha Chamber, brings together the economic development organizations of Douglas, Sarpy (Sarpy County Economic Development Corporation), Cass (Cass County Nebraska Economic Development Council) and Washington (Gateway Development Corporation) counties in Nebraska.

“More and more of Omaha’s economic success is dependent on markets in the region immediately surrounding Omaha,” said Jim Krieger, vice chairman and CFO at Gallup and chairman of the Chamber’s Economic Development Council.

“We are a seamless regionalized economic development organization that operates as a one-stop shop for your economic development needs,” said Paula Hazlewood, Gateway Development Corporation executive director. “We don’t see county lines when working with a prospect. We work as a cohesive team with the mindset that what is good for Washington County is good for Douglas, Sarpy and Cass counties.”

SARPY COUNTY

Sarpy County continues to set the pace as the fastest growing county in Nebraska, with a population that has increased 19.7 percent over the past seven reportable years, and a one-year (2006 to 2007) growth of 4,119. Gretna is the fastest growing city in Nebraska. “Developments such as Daniell Crossing, Market Pointe, Shadow Lake Towne Center, Southport East and West, Twin Creek and Wolf Creek have attracted many large projects,” said Toby Churchill, executive director of the Sarpy County Economic Development Corporation.

WASHINGTON COUNTY

Washington County has experienced unprecedented business expansion in Blair during the last few years. Two Rivers Bank opened a 15,000-square-foot financial center, Memorial Community Hospital completed its $25 million expansion project, Novozymes announced a nearly $200 million investment and Cargill’s 30,000-square-foot office in Hayden Place, a 65-acre mixed-use development, is under construction.

CASS COUNTY

Cass County Nebraska Economic Development Council joined GO! in April 2008. The partnership is already proving successful, noting new inquiries from light industrial and office businesses, as well as retail and restaurant businesses. The Cass County council is assisting the regional economic development team in efforts to attract employers to the area that include data center operations and highly automated warehouse/logistics services.

Yahoo!

Internet giant Yahoo! is on track to open a 150,000-square-foot data center in La Vista, in Sarpy County, during the latter part of 2009. Yahoo! is the world’s largest online network of integrated services and one of the most trafficked Internet destinations worldwide.

Kevin Timmons, vice president of operations for Yahoo!, has said the company’s original site search covered 17 states. In the end, several factors set Nebraska and Greater Omaha apart, including the concerted effort of Gov. Dave Heineman, state infrastructure and incentives. “Nebraska possesses some of the best resources needed to run a data center: abundant fiber optic networks, public power that brings reliable power at a low cost, available sites, incentives, safety and security, and aggressive economic development,” said Kim Rubey, a Yahoo! spokesperson.

The Nebraska Advantage Act allows Internet Web portal companies to qualify for business incentives. Yahoo! is in the tier that requires $10 million in new investment and the creation of at least 100 new jobs. Yahoo! also opened a shared services center in west Omaha. “The Nebraska Advantage business incentives were a major contributing factor in the selection of Nebraska for both of these projects,” said Rubey. “And, the Greater Omaha area is home to a large and skilled workforce.”

Novozymes

Denmark-based Novozymes, the world leader in bio-innovations, officially broke ground in March 2009 on its $160 million to $200 million facility in Blair, in Washington County. Approximately 100 “green” jobs at the 30-acre bio-refinery campus will be created. “We expect strong growth for first and second generation fuel ethanol, and we have to be ready to deliver the required quantities of enzymes to support such growth,” said Lars Hansen, president of Novozymes North America.

“Thanks to the passion and commitment of the Greater Omaha Economic Development Partnership in cooperation with the State of Nebraska, the City of Blair and Omaha Public Power District, we’ve added a significant brand name to the list of green technology organizations in the area,” said David G. Brown, president and CEO of the Greater Omaha Chamber.

The facility is scheduled to come online in 2012 and will supply enzymes to the biofuels industry throughout the Midwest. Novozymes serves more than 30 industries including biofuel, detergent, textile, brewing, food and feed.

Vireo and the Lofte Community Theatre

Whether the creative mind is doing medical research with the University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC) or is learning lines for the next performance at the Lofte Community Theatre, Cass County has something for you.

Vireo Resources, a nutritional and pharmaceutical company expanding its existing Tennessee operations to Plattsmouth’s Fourmile Industrial Park is bringing a slice of an estimated annual $30 billion market in analgesics to Cass County. Over the past seven years, Vireo has worked with UNMC to market several inventions in pain management and athletic performance. “UNMC works with us to test their research, and we have the ability to produce product in volume and take it to market,” said Vireo owner Mark Faulkner.

“Proximity to UNMC—with whom we’re doing a fair bit of research and development—very solid attractive incentives, support and enthusiasm from the community for catalyzing new business, and an outstanding work ethic made Plattsmouth a natural choice,” said Faulkner.

In the Cass County town of Manley, residents and visitors taste a little bit of Broadway at the Lofte Community Theatre. After 25 years in a rustic barn, Lofte supporters embarked on an ambitious fundraising effort that built a new $1.5 million, 390-seat theater about a mile west of its former location. “This theatre is just one aspect of the great quality of life not only in Manley, but throughout the county,” said John Yochum, economic development director for Cass County Nebraska Economic Development Council.