Regents approve larger, costlier Omaha Project Health hospital

The University of Nebraska Board of Regents approved a revised Project Health plan on Oct. 9, 2026, expanding the planned Omaha teaching hospital from 1.25 million to about 1.5 million square feet. The anticipated investment is about $2.75 billion.

Before the vote, the Nebraska Examiner reported estimates of $2.191 billion and $2.748 billion, a $557 million increase, or about 25%. UNMC attributes the higher anticipated cost to both additional space and rising construction costs.

Project Health is planned for the UNMC campus as a teaching hospital for UNMC and Nebraska Medicine. The university says the expanded scope is intended to add beds and specialized-care space, support patient-volume and enrollment growth, and provide inpatient, surgical, interventional, laboratory, education and research capacity. It also says the project would allow aging facilities, including Clarkson Tower, to be retired.

The Nebraska Examiner reported before the vote that the facility was anticipated to open in 2033. UNMC’s approval announcement did not provide a revised schedule.