OMAHA NONPROFITS TEAM UP FOR $13.6 MILLION HOUSING EFFORT

OMAHA-  Seven Omaha nonprofits will receive $13.6 million in state and private funding to boost home construction and renovation under a new state law aimed at creating more owner-occupied, middle-income workforce housing in older urban areas.

Half of the money comes from Nebraska’s Middle Income Workforce Housing Investment Fund, which the Nebraska Legislature created last year as part of Legislative Bill 866, introduced by State Sen. Justin Wayne of Omaha. The Nebraska Department of Economic Development administers the fund. The other half comprises matching dollars from the Nebraska Investment Finance Authority and local businesses and philanthropic foundations.

The Omaha nonprofits, which often compete for grants, worked together to apply for the state money and raise the matching funds required by the law. The organizations will use the money to help finance new construction or renovation of houses in designated parts of North and South Omaha.

They hope the money will lead to building or renovating about 70 homes, said Jamie Berglund, executive director of Spark, one of the organizations that will receive the funding and that helped put the collaboration together. The other organizations are Canopy South, Habitat for Humanity of Omaha, Holy Name Housing Corp., Omaha Economic Development Corp., Omaha 100 and Seventy-Five North Revitalization Corp.

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