Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Tax Increment Financing topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Council approves up to $6.5 million in TIF for Oxworth Apartments after debate over affordability
Summary
The council approved tax‑increment financing of up to $6,511,697 for the Oxworth Apartments redevelopment, a 94‑unit market‑rate project. Supporters said the project brings density and reuses a former dairy site; opponents urged more affordable units.
The Omaha City Council on Jan. 14 approved a tax‑increment financing (TIF) package of up to $6,511,697 for the Oxworth Apartments, a proposed 94‑unit, market‑rate residential infill at Southeast of 20th, Seventh and Leavenworth Streets. The vote passed 7–0.
Don Seaton of City Planning described the project as a 94‑unit, four‑to‑five‑story market‑rate apartment building on an old dairy site, part of a roughly $43 million private investment. “This provides residential density in the urban core and complies with our master plan,” Seaton said, briefly summarizing the long preparatory process for the site.
Tom McFly of Clarity Development Company, a project partner, said the team intends to retain and renovate the Alameda Dairy’s historic cold‑storage warehouse as a community clubhouse and leasing office, and that developers already have conducted significant environmental remediation and excavation at the site.
Several speakers during public comment praised the redevelopment but urged inclusion of more affordable housing. Cheryl Weston, a community speaker, said she supported the project “partially” but urged developers to include or convert some units to affordable housing, warning of displacement and “regenification” if all units are market‑rate. She noted that the proposal as presented lists market‑rate units and not affordable units.
Councilmember Johnson and others discussed housing supply dynamics during the debate, with Johnson noting that adding more market units can create movement in the housing inventory. Councilmember Rowe ran through income‑to‑rent math during the meeting to show how lower wage earners compare to the proposed rents.
Councilmembers said TIF was necessary to make the project feasible because of the cost of environmental cleanup and site preparation on a parcel that has been vacant for decades. The developers said the site would likely remain vacant without TIF due to contamination and foundation issues, and that the financing levels make the infill competitive with other development sites.
The council approved the TIF resolution by roll call 7–0. Councilmembers noted they would continue to press for a range of housing options across the city, but that this project will bring redevelopment to a long‑vacant block.
