Omaha-based America First Real Estate Group recently selected Darland Construction for the renovation of a six-story building in South Omaha. Upon its completion in August of 2013, the newly named Victory Apartments & Offices will provide affordable housing designated for U.S. veterans, as well as office and classroom space.
America First acquired the building, part of the original St. Joseph’s Hospital, from Grace University earlier this year as part of a collaborative community project dedicated to serving the needs of U.S. veterans. The first floor will house classrooms and offices for the university as well as a 7,000-square-foot fitness facility and a community room for building residents. Clinical offices for the Nebraska-Western Iowa VA Medical Center will occupy the second floor, while the upper four floors will become apartments.
Darland project manager John Maderak describes this project as “brand new everything.” The building is being completely gutted and rebuilt with the installation of 460 new windows, interior walls, doors and a solid-membrane roof, as well as new plumbing, electrical, HVAC and fire-suppression systems. The build-out of the 80 one-bedroom and efficiency apartments will include full kitchens and baths.
Nate Gieselman, project manager for Alley Poyner Macchietto Architecture, says Darland was an excellent choice for this project, considering its complexity. “Darland has a strong preconstruction department and that was crucial on this project. There were a lot of details and potential unknowns. Darland is very thorough, with dependable estimating, and they do a great job of working with the design team to make sure we cover all the bases,” Gieselman said.
