New Visions Homeless Services is unveiling Legacy Grove, a planned housing development aimed at giving senior veterans a permanent place to call home, with a public launch event scheduled for 9 a.m. Friday at Bellevue University. The project is designed for veterans aged 55 and older and would include 46 apartment units along with medical resources and transportation services on site.
According to KETV, New Visions Homeless Services describes Legacy Grove as a $22.5 million housing development, with the site located near 96th and Cady streets between Blondo and Maple in Bellevue, Nebraska. Separately, New Visions has described Legacy Grove on its own website as a $22 million project with more than half of the funding already raised, according to newvisionshs.org. That same organizational post describes the site as land purchased near 92nd and Blondo in Omaha, while a request-for-proposals notice from Front Porch Investments and a report from WOWT have both referenced a different parcel, 10 acres near 96th and Cady streets, where New Visions is developing 46 units of permanent supportive housing for senior veterans.
Brandy Wallar, president and CEO of New Visions Homeless Services, said the development responds to veterans’ requests for a community where they can belong. “Now it is our turn to answer theirs,” Wallar said, according to KETV, adding that the project will give veterans a life-changing place to call home.
What Legacy Grove Would Include
Planned spaces at Legacy Grove include a community kitchen, dining room, fitness center, meeting rooms, computer room, medical offices, pantry, outdoor walking trail and outdoor fitness area, per the organization’s own announcement.
New Visions reports that 75% of clients in its veteran program exit into permanent housing and 83% leave with income from either employment or disability. Its permanent supportive housing programs overall report a 90% success rate of clients remaining in or exiting to permanent housing, according to the organization.
Construction on Legacy Grove is expected to begin in 2027 and be completed in 2028, per KETV’s report. That timeline differs from earlier public statements: a 2025 WOWT report said New Visions planned to start work at the beginning of 2026, while an even earlier KETV report had described plans to break ground by fall 2024 on what was then characterized as a 41-unit facility near 96th and Blondo.
A Regional Need That Keeps Growing
The push for more veteran housing comes against a backdrop of rising need in the region. New Visions has said it has seen a 7% increase in veterans experiencing homelessness. The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs says its Nebraska-Western Iowa Health Care System assisted in finding permanent housing for 301 homeless veterans in 2023.
New Visions has worked on transitional housing for homeless veterans, according to The Nonpareil.
Shared Site, Separate Projects
The Legacy Grove property is also set to include a separate housing development led by Holy Name Housing for individuals and families with low incomes, according to the New Visions announcement. The Omaha Housing Authority has also been involved in ensuring veterans at the development would not pay more than 30% of their income toward rent, per WOWT’s earlier reporting.
Backpack Drive Supports the Cause
Bellevue University, which has partnered with New Visions Homeless Services for several years, is hosting a veteran backpack drive tied to Friday’s launch event. The drive aims to fill 100 backpacks by Nov. 5, with donations including gloves, hand warmers and chapstick accepted at Bellevue University.
