The City of Omaha came one step closer to a multi-million dollar investment in affordable housing Tuesday.
With City Council approval, local nonprofit Front Porch Investments will contract with the city for the oversight and administration of $40 million in bonds meant to fund affordable housing development and preservation in the urban core.
Mayor John Ewing publicly made the massive funding commitment last month to support affordable housing initiatives through bonds tied to the city’s streetcar project.
An anonymous investor plans to purchase the $40 million in bonds and be paid back once the streetcar gets rolling. That process will allow the money to be accessed more quickly.
The $40 million could support up to 1,900 homes in the urban core, said Jody Holston, executive director of Front Porch.
“This investment advances both density and affordability, preserving homes and preventing displacement, while financing new development,” Holston said during Tuesday’s City Council meeting.
The initiative received support from a number of nonprofit leaders and local groups, including the Greater Omaha Chamber, Nebraska Investment Finance Authority and Habitat for Humanity.
A final vote on the contract is scheduled for Sept. 23.
The $421 million streetcar project has been championed by the city as a major economic development tool. An independent review published in late 2022 estimated development along the streetcar line will generate up to $607.9 million in property tax growth by 2057.
That money first will be used to pay off the bonds needed to fund the streetcar’s construction. An estimated $50 million was also earmarked for affordable housing and other mobility projects within the urban core.
City Council President Danny Begley said the affordable housing bonds could help “turn the tide” on Omaha’s major housing needs.
“There is no easy solution,” Begley said, “but as you can see from the time invested, this is a plan to get the gap financing to help spark the growth and rebuilding in the urban core for affordable housing.”
In 2022, Front Porch Investments worked with the City of Omaha to distribute $20 million in American Rescue Plan Act funding, matched by $20 million from funders, to support projects like affordable rental housing, workforce for-sale housing and mixed-income housing developments.
As of July, the organization had supported the development or preservation of 2,359 homes across rental, ownership and mixed-use developments, 1,690 of which are affordable.
“While this funding will be truly transformational, it’s just one piece of a larger approach that requires additional financing tools and policy changes,” Holston said.
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