Omaha nonprofit to build new affordable housing in vacant lot

OMAHA, Neb. (WOWT) - Dead shrubs are all you can see on the vacant lot just down the street from Hanscom Park. But new life, new families, and new housing units are coming to town.

That’s thanks to inCOMMON, a local nonprofit that aims to carve out space for low and middle-income families at Park and Poppleton avenues. For the 100-unit $25 million project, tenants are expected to pay significantly less than market-rate rent.

According to Rent.com, the average price of a one-bedroom apartment in Omaha is $1,105. The new units coming in are expected to be up to $400 a month cheaper.

“As the need continues to outpace the supply, we’re really looking forward to being able to provide those units for people that need it,” said Andrew Whealy of inCOMMON.

Casey Craig is homeless right now, living with friends. Wednesday, he walked through a vacant lot of what one day could be apartments in his price range.

“If you can’t afford a place to live, then you’re going to end up on the streets,” Craig said. “The price of housing has just exploded. It costs way more than it used to rent a place... Hopefully, in the next year, I could probably do about 700 (dollars) a month for rent.”

That’s what the new apartment complex being developed will cost — from $700 to no more than $1,200 a month for a one-, two-, or three-bedroom unit.

“We’re hoping to keep all of those as what is defined as affordable, which is under 30% of a person’s take-home salary,” Whealy said.

The complex will only accept people making less than 100% of the area median income, which would be less than $66,600 a year for a single-person household, according to 2022 data from FrontPorch Investments.

Funding is coming from the Nebraska Department of Economic Development and Front Porch Investments, a philanthropic organization.

Whealy said they hope to finalize construction on this project by the end of 2025.

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