What once stood as one of Omaha’s elite hotels was anything but when developer/owner Shamrock Development purchased The Paxton Building in 2003. Today, the building is home to office and retail space on the first two floors and 10 residential floors featuring luxury condominiums ranging from 1,100 to 3,400 square feet, including penthouses complete with 16-foot ceilings.

Restoring the beauty and architectural detailing of the Paxton was a goal of the owners from the beginning of the project. Built in 1882, the hotel had played host to a number of historic figures in its history including “Buffalo” Bill Cody, William Jennings Bryan and presidents William McKinley, Woodrow Wilson and Theodore Roosevelt. The original Paxton was razed in 1928 and rebuilt the next year into a 420-room hotel. Later home to the Women’s Job Corps, it was a hotel again in the late 1960s, but became Paxton Manor, a self-care retirement home, in 1975.

Prior to the current restoration, the Paxton stood unused and unkempt for several years. Moisture damage to the building, particularly to the southern and western sides, was significant. The owners wanted protective coatings that would minimize future problems.

The weathered brick exterior was power washed and received a coat of Series 151-1051 Elasto-Grip FC, a waterborne modified polyamine epoxy, applied at 0.7 to 1.5 mils DFT. Two coats of Series 156 Enviro-Crete, a modified waterborne acrylate, were then applied at 4.0 to 8.0 mils DFT per coat. Chosen for its flexibility and color retention, Series 156 was a great choice, particularly for the southwestern side of the structure that would absorb the most weather, be it rain or sunshine.

Series 90-97 Tneme-Zinc, a zinc-rich urethane primer, was applied to the building’s exterior steel, followed by an intermediate coat of Series 135 Chembuild, a polyamidoamine epoxy, and a topcoat of Series 1070 Fluoronar, a high-solids fluoropolymer coating. Series 1070 was chosen for its durability as well as its outstanding gloss and color retention for the areas that feature large, ornate canopies original to the building, which the owners were especially interested in highlighting to bring the property back to its former glory.

Downtown Omaha, where the Paxton Building is located, is undergoing a tremendous revival and this project only enhances the landscape and value of the surrounding area and the city in general.