A $323 million plan to redevelop Omaha’s former Civic Auditorium site is moving forward again after the city’s Planning Board voted 6-0 to advance a $34 million tax-increment financing request, even though the developer and the city remain locked in a lawsuit over the property. The vote clears a path for the project, known as Civic Square or The Nest, to reach the Omaha City Council for final approval.
The financing request, filed by Civic Corner LLC — a company owned by White Lotus Group — had been rejected by the Omaha TIF Committee in September 2025 over an ownership dispute, according to Nebraska Examiner. This time, both the TIF Committee and Omaha Planning Department staff endorsed Civic Corner’s request before the board’s vote. White Lotus founder Arun Agarwal said he was excited about the project, per the same report.
A Years-Long Standoff Over the Downtown Site
White Lotus and the city entered an initial agreement in late 2021, and Civic Corner bought the roughly eight-acre site near 19th and Capitol streets for about $1.4 million in 2023, according to Nebraska Examiner. The city had added a buyback clause to the redevelopment agreement before that sale, as Nebraska Public Media reported. That clause became central to the fight that followed.
City officials said construction had not progressed according to the terms of the agreement, and in September 2025 they issued a notice of default and attempted to reclaim the property, per Nebraska Examiner. The City of Omaha has said Civic Corner agreed to start vertical construction by September 2025 but missed that deadline, and that the developer had completed only limited infrastructure work and even sought agricultural tax status, according to KETV. White Lotus disputed that account, telling WOWT that key components were already in place, including sanitary and storm sewer systems, concrete and street construction along Davenport Road, and installation of a new OPPD power grid. That station also reported workers laying down a road near 17th and Davenport streets.
Lawsuit Alleges the City Courted a Rival Developer
Civic Corner filed a lawsuit against the city in January, saying it did so to protect its investment, and alleging the city interfered with its ability to perform and violated the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing, per Nebraska Examiner. In a 56-page court filing, Civic Corner’s lawyers alleged the city privately courted a substitute developer whose designs had progressed beyond the concept stage — a competing project the filings say was initiated by Omaha Public Schools and supported by the Sherwood Foundation.
The developer’s attorneys also argued, in court filings, that the city’s default complaint relied on a windshield inspection, and alleged that a deputy chief of staff had not reviewed key work permits and did not know the assigned public works engineer. Civic Corner’s attorney team said the city lacked operational or engineering diligence behind its default decision, according to Nebraska Examiner. The city’s legal department had based its September 2025 notices of default and right to repurchase on the developer’s alleged failure to meet construction deadlines.
Then-Mayor Jean Stothert raised concerns about White Lotus’ progress during an April 2025 mayoral debate, before John Ewing Jr. won the election, per Nebraska Examiner. By August 2026, the city withdrew its counterclaims with court approval. Attorney Jennifer Taylor said the city’s withdrawal of the default notice removed a cloud on the title and allowed the developer to proceed as it sees fit, while attorney George Achola said the only viable claims remaining concern damages the city may owe the developer. Litigation between the city and Civic Corner remains ongoing.
What's Actually Planned at the Site
Civic Square carries a projected cost of $323 million, according to the latest city documents cited by Nebraska Examiner — up from an earlier estimate of more than $200 million. Earlier reporting from Grow Omaha described a six-phase, 10-building plan with an estimated cost of more than $320 million, not counting the existing parking garage.
The project is expected to be completed around 2032 and is projected to add property valued at nearly $210 million, per Nebraska Examiner. David Rosacker called the redevelopment plan well-conceived, saying its elements feed on each other. Plans call for about 380 apartments, 30 for-sale condominiums, 120 hotel rooms, 125,000 square feet of office space, 150,000 square feet of retail space, and a fitness center and grocery store, with the project estimated to create 80 jobs. White Lotus has said the development aims to attract young talent and Creighton University Bluejays, with The Nest nickname reflecting its pitch to draw in students with housing, health care, retail and a long-awaited downtown grocery store, according to Nebraska Public Media.
The first phase is planned for the southeast quadrant of the site and includes 120 apartments, some offered at market rates and others targeting low- to moderate-income tenants, plus street-level retail and commercial space, per Nebraska Examiner. A first-phase building may reach five stories. Earlier plans also described a phased, 10-building development. White Lotus now plans to restart infrastructure work next spring or summer before building the first-phase structures, per Nebraska Examiner.
Part of a Broader Wave of Omaha Development Incentives
Civic Corner’s $34 million financing request will next go to the Omaha City Council for final approval. Tax-increment financing allows new property tax revenue generated at a site to fund eligible project costs for up to 20 years, a tool Omaha has leaned on heavily in recent years. The city approved 22 TIF projects in 2025 alone, providing $52 million in TIF loans to support $424 million in total development, according to Grow Omaha. Those projects could together create 1,600 residential units and more than 75,000 square feet of commercial space, with more than $6 million of the covered costs supporting public infrastructure improvements.
White Lotus Group has pulled off a comparable project before: the company was lead developer for the first phase of Lincoln’s former Pershing Center site, which transformed into a mixed-use community hub. That development, known as Mural, was announced complete by White Lotus Group, according to the Lincoln Journal Star. Whether Civic Square in Omaha reaches a similar finish line will depend on both the city council’s upcoming vote and the outcome of the still-unresolved litigation between Civic Corner and the city.
