Published August 14, 2025 | Updated June 15, 2026
During Open Omaha, I visited the Med Center’s Catalyst building. Located on the former Omaha Steel site at 46th and Farnam Street, it is part of the larger, developing 25-acre Edge District, which is designed as a hub of innovation and invention.
Omaha Steel was founded in 1906 and was a steel fabricator producing parts for urban infrastructure and bridges, in addition to parts for truck bodies and trailers and other things as the business continued to evolve. The company vacated the building in 2014. Its original use serves as inspiration for the repurposed and reimagined building.
The University of Nebraska Medical Center bought the land in 2019 and made this its first completed project of the new district. They developed a plan that would use the bones of the old steel plant for the 170,000-square-foot building, which will house the UNMC Innovation Hub while bringing together UNeMed and UNeTech, UNMC’s development arms, in a medically centered incubator space intended to foster collaboration among inventors, entrepreneurs, and businesses related to the healthcare community.
Catalyst is expected to create high-paying jobs in addition to bringing economic development to the area while encouraging and expediting startups with the goal of keeping billions of dollars locally rather than having them leave the state.
The building also features co-working space, an event center, and a brewery and coffee shop operated by Big Grove Brewing, based out of Iowa City. The brewery has a massive outdoor patio with yard games and firepits. Next door sits a public 750-space parking garage. Catalyst is a great use of space for long-neglected land in the middle of midtown and across from its existing campus.
If you’re not familiar with Open Omaha, it is Omaha by Design’s annual open house featuring local businesses, landmarks, creative spaces, and hidden gems. It is free and open to the community.
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