A major new investment aimed at addressing Omaha’s housing shortage in the urban core is beginning to move from concept to construction. Front Porch Investments, a nonprofit focused on expanding affordable housing, is now advancing projects tied to a $40 million urban core housing fund backed in part by a streetcar-related bond purchase from the Lozier Foundation. The effort is designed to help deliver up to 1,900 new affordable housing units. Executive Director Jody Holston said the organization has spent the past few months building the framework needed to move projects forward. “We officially launched that fund in January,” Holston said. “In that time, we’ve been focused on moving it into implementation.” That work has included coordinating with the City of Omaha to establish how projects are reviewed and approved, while also working directly with developers to build a pipeline of potential developments. According to Holston, they’re getting close to dollars actually hitting...

The City of Omaha has opened the We Make Omaha Future Lab, a civic engagement “experience” inviting input to shape the development of an updated Future Land Use Map. We Make Omaha is the public engagement effort for the City of Omaha’s new comprehensive plan, a plan for Omaha’s growth and development over the next 20 years. The plan, expected to be complete at the end of 2026, will replace Omaha’s current Master Plan, which was adopted in 1997. The process has already engaged more than 7,000 people in planning for Omaha’s future. Joining City Planning staff, project partners, and community members, Mayor John W. Ewing Jr. visited the Future Lab in Aksarben Village last week to kick off a month-long opportunity for everyone to weigh in on possible development scenarios. At the Future Lab, participants explore four scenario narratives, each representing different possible futures of growth in Omaha. They learn about each scenario, ask questions, weigh tradeoffs and record their...