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‘Truly Remarkable’ square feet each, a two-screen independ-
Downtown Omaha recently has under-
gone a revitalization and Bird says the
company is proud of the historical reno-
vations it has contributed to that effort.
For example, it is putting the final touch-
es on a $20 million renovation of a 116-
year-old building. The project includes
restoring the lobby to its original height,
raising the atrium to the 11th story and
installing new elevators, heating and
cooling systems, electrical work, plumb-
ing work, windows and lighting.
The building serves as the headquar-
ters to law firm Kutak Rock. “I admire
the partners at Kutak Rock for their de-
sire to restore this beautiful, old building
and recognizing its historical significance,”
Bird says. “They could have built a huge,
modern building in West Omaha, but
chose to restore one of the oldest build-
ings in the Midwest. The final product is
truly remarkable.”
Lund-Ross also recently completed a
$8.2 million mixed-use project for
Omaha-based Saddle Creek Records, an
independent record label. The project
includes two buildings of about 60,000
and superintendents do everything in
ent film theater – called Film Streams –
and Slowdown, a 500-person music
venue/bar. The building will also hold
the record label’s headquarters, and retail
and residential space.
‘Good Balance’
Larry Lundquist and Horst Rossbund
founded the company in 1987. Around
that time, revitalizing its downtown be-
came a priority for Omaha. “Our first
major projects were restoration jobs and,
20 years later, we are still doing a large
portion of the historic renovations in
Omaha,” Bird says. “We have had a good
balance of renovation and new construc-
tion work.”
The company tries to self-perform most
of its work. “When we self-perform work,
we are absolutely confident that it will be
completed with extreme attention to de-
tail,” he says. “The high level of craftsman-
ship [employees] take in their work is
hard to come by.”
At the same time, the company takes
its relationships with its subcontractors
very seriously. “Our project managers
their powers to maintain a schedule that
our subs can follow,” he says. “We want
our subs to be confident with the fact
that when they show up on a Lund-Ross
site, that we are going to be ready for
them so that they can get their job done
and get on to their next project.”
Many of its projects are negotiated
because the bid market has been ex-
tremely competitive, Bird says. “We are
able to do this by maintaining strong re-
lationships with owners and architects so
that they know we are going to deliver
the highest-quality completed project
within the given budget and timeline,”
he explains.
However, the company also bids on
projects to maintain its ability to esti-
mate and stay competitive. “A good esti-
mate will eliminate contractor-driven
change-orders throughout a project,” the
company says. “At Lund-Ross Construct-
ors, we strive to earn the highest reputa-
tion among our clients, subcontractors
and community by providing superior
construction services that result in the
maximum value for our clients.” ■
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