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Council approves up to $6.5M in TIF for Oxworth Apartments; debate centers on affordability and remediation
Summary
The council approved a tax-increment financing package for the 94-unit Oxworth Apartments in the Leavenworth corridor, prompting debate over market-rate rents, environmental cleanup and historic preservation.
The Omaha City Council voted unanimously to approve a tax-increment financing (TIF) redevelopment plan for the Oxworth Apartments, a proposed residential infill project on the former Alameda Dairy site on Seventh and Leavenworth streets. The redevelopment plan allows up to $6,511,697 in TIF support for a $43 million, 94-unit market-rate apartment building, the city said.
Why it matters: The project reclaims a long-vacant, environmentally challenged parcel in the urban core, preserves an historic cold-storage warehouse as community space and adds density in a transit-oriented corridor — but it drew concern from residents and at least one councilmember over the absence of affordable units in a market many described as having a shortage of lower-cost housing.
City Planning’s Don Seaton told the council the project is a 94-unit, 4- to 5-story development on an old dairy site and described the requested TIF contribution. Developer Tom McFly and partner Brett West said the plan retains the historic dairy cold-storage building for a clubhouse and community space and will require substantial environmental remediation; McFly said early excavation work included digging a roughly 30-foot pit to remove contaminated soils.
Community members asked the council to press for more affordable units in TIF-funded projects. Cheryl Weston said the Oxworth plan is “market rate” and does not meet local needs for deeply affordable housing. Councilmember Sharon Johnson and others echoed concerns about affordability and asked how the city and developers define “affordable” in the urban core.
Councilmember Pete Rowe said some of the affordable-housing math circulated at public meetings had been mixed; Rowe ran a quick calculation to show a $21-per-hour worker could afford a modest studio under typical 30%-of-income measures, and he and others urged caution when comparing different unit types. Supporters, including members of the planning staff and several council members, said the project adds badly needed housing supply in the urban core and will activate a vacant, blighted parcel.
Action: The council approved the Oxworth Apartments TIF redevelopment plan by a 7–0 vote. Proponents emphasized that the project would not occur without TIF because of demolition, remediation and infrastructure costs tied to the site, while opponents urged either a different project mix or conditions for greater affordability in return for public subsidy.
Project details submitted to the council: the developer described a 94-unit, market-rate building (4–5 stories) and a roughly $43,000,000 private investment; the TIF request listed up to $6,511,697 in support, while a planning speaker also referenced a figure of roughly $6,000,597 in the project summary packet. The development team said they have sought neighborhood input, plan bicycle storage and have discussed potential off-site parking options tied to future city property transactions.
Next steps and context: The council approved related rezoning and plat items for properties in the corridor during the same consent cycle. Developers said they expect to proceed with environmental cleanup and building design; the project team and city staff said they will coordinate TIF implementation steps and required agreements.
