Omaha Mayor’s Proposal Would Build 1,900 New Housing Units Along Streetcar Line

Omaha Mayor John Ewing Jr. is pushing to jump-start affordable housing  production slated to be funded by tax increment financing revenue from the city’s upcoming streetcar project.

As Cindy Gonzales explains in the Nebraska Examiner, “The city’s plan for the controversial streetcar already had called for some TIF-related proceeds to help create affordable housing — but not until around 2031 or later, said Ewing, who campaigned partly on finding solutions to make renting or buying homes more accessible.”

Ewing supports using TIF in the older, eastern parts of the city where development might not otherwise take place, as well as explore enterprise zones, land trusts, and creative tax rebates as other strategies for encouraging investment and making more housing affordable to low-income residents. 

In an update to the story, Gonzales outlines the finalized proposal from the mayor, which calls for adding 1,900 affordable units along the streetcar line. According to city officials, “An ‘anonymous funder’ has offered to buy $40 million in city bonds, which the city would grant to Front Porch to start distributing to housing developers.” The bonds would be repaid by TIF revenue, and they could begin funding affordable housing development as early as next year.