Bryan Health seized an opportunity last year to purchase a 20-acre underutilized office campus in Lincoln, Nebraska.
The $16 million deal stands out during a time when U.S. corporations are downsizing their office footprints. The seller, insurance giant Allstate, has divested a number of properties nationwide, including its suburban Chicago headquarters.
Bryan’s acquisition at 84th and Van Dorn streets near the Firethorn Golf Club won a 2023 CoStar Impact Award as judged by real estate professionals familiar with the market. The Lincoln-based healthcare company’s new name for the site is the Bryan Firethorn Campus.
Located at 2920 and 2940 S. 84th St., the campus includes more than 160,000 square feet of space across two office buildings and an undeveloped pad that could be built on. It opened in 1998 as the home of Lincoln Benefit Life, which Allstate owned at the time. In the spring of 2014, Allstate sold Lincoln Benefit Life to Resolution Life Holdings and moved out most of the Lincoln workforce. The property has been underused since.
The October transaction accomplished a goal Bryan set in 2016 when it identified needs for its growing health system. The deal secured a move-in-ready facility, which is significantly less expensive than a ground-up project, or continuing costly lease agreements for space.
The campus will house departments currently working in Bryan medical office buildings and rented facilities. The location is easily accessible to both of the healthcare provider’s Lincoln hospitals.
About the deal: An NAI FMA Realty team helped negotiate a short-term lease agreement to allow temporary access for remaining Allstate employees. The brokers also worked through various approvals and overcame property survey obstacles.
What the judges said: The deal represented “a great way for the hospital to grow and continue to help patients and support staff,” said Laura Bell, a broker-manager with Commercial Realty Group. She added the sale was cost effective for Bryan.
They made it happen: John Woodrich, Bryan’s executive vice president and chief operating officer, and David Reese, vice president of physician partnerships and facility services, were key to the deal, as were NAI FMA Realty’s Richard Meginnis, Mike Ball and Scott Vyskocil.