- The $20 million project will bring a business district with a food hall, bank, farmers market, and new housing to North 24th Street, spanning from Laird to Sahler.
- The development is part of the Forever North initiative, focused on revitalizing North Omaha by adding essential services, community spaces, and housing.
- Longtime residents like Jacqueline Walker say the project offers hope—bringing fresh food options, safer spaces, and economic growth to the neighborhood.
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
A major new development is coming to North Omaha. City leaders are moving forward with plans for a $20 million business district near North 24th and Sprague, bringing new businesses, housing, and community spaces to the area. For longtime resident Jacqueline Walker, the news is personal. She’s lived on this block for decades and says it reminds her of what North Omaha used to be.
“I just want to see North Omaha develop back the way it was, when I was five, six, seven years old. North Omaha was a beautiful neighborhood,” Walker said.
The project will cover several blocks—from Laird to Sahler—and is designed to breathe new life into vacant lots.
“Right now it’s all empty up there. We get riffraff and all kinds of crazy people in there—- but now, we can have a neighborhood that can build,” said Walker.
Plans include a food hall, a bank, shared community spaces, and a farmers market. What sets this project apart is the addition of housing directly above the commercial space—offering condos and townhomes with balconies overlooking the district.
For residents like Walker, the farmers market is a welcome addition.
“A farmers market is a necessity, we don’t have a lot of stores unless we go a distance to get fresh produce— so fresh food, yes, that’s perfect,” said Walker.
City Councilwoman Lavonya Goodwin says the project is part of the Forever North initiative—an effort to bring jobs, services, and vibrancy back to the North 24th Street corridor.
“It beautifies a vacant lot it brings in people— now you’ve got more activity but also those services and amenities people need,” said Goodwin.
Residents are being asked to help shape the project—from suggesting what businesses should move in to helping pick a name for the new district.
Walker hopes this is just the beginning.
“I like the idea, I’m so glad that we’re starting development in North Omaha,” said Walker.
For more information or to share your ideas, visit the project website.
