A boarded-up, graffiti-tagged building looming over the single-family homes of Columbus Park could soon be demolished and replaced with 156 apartments, after the Omaha City Council opened public comment on a $3.6 million tax increment financing proposal for the site. The vacant structure, with its broken windows and overgrown grass, has become a flashpoint for neighbors who want it gone and developers who see an opportunity.
The project at the center of the debate is Central at Columbus Park, a $60 million, 156-unit affordable housing community planned for 1031 S. 21st St. by Indianapolis-based developer The Annex Group. As KMTV 3 News Now Omaha reports, the city council is expected to vote next week on whether to authorize the financing that would help clear the long-abandoned building and replace it with the new complex.
The development would offer one-, two-, three-, and four-bedroom units reserved for households earning between 30% and 70% of the Area Median Income, according to Omaha Exploration. Market research conducted by the developer found that more than 61% of households in the Columbus Park area are renters.
A Neighborhood Eyesore With Deep Roots
For Frank Rizzuto, who has run Josephine's Cozy Corner Lounge for 40 years, the abandoned building is more than an aesthetic problem. Per the same KMTV account, Rizzuto said he worries about the kinds of problems a large vacant structure can attract, including crime, even as he acknowledged the new development could bring fresh customers through his doors. Several city council members echoed those crime concerns during public comment on the TIF proposal, the station noted.
The site itself carries industrial history. It was long occupied by the Construction Service Equipment Company and sits next to the Foundry Lofts, a 2021 adaptive-reuse project that repurposed the historic Paxton-Mitchell Foundry, which dates to 1898, as Omaha Exploration detailed. Council President Danny Begley said, according to KMTV, that the development could attract future investment to the surrounding area.
New Rules Aim to Fix a Flawed TIF Track Record
The proposal arrives after the Omaha City Council passed Resolution No. 2026-0726 and adopted the Phase 1 policy recommendations on September 1, 2026. The policy, outlined by law firm Baird Holm LLP, mandates rent roll disclosures, enforces a no net loss policy on residential demolitions, and expedites review for income-restricted housing projects.
The reform follows years of criticism over how the city's tax incentives have been used. Between 2020 and 2024, only 12% of housing units built in Omaha with TIF support met affordable housing criteria, according to KETV reporting from March. Officials were asked to draft a policy by September 1.
A Dent in a 30,000-Unit Housing Gap
The stakes extend well beyond one city block. Omaha has a goal of creating 30,000 affordable housing units by 2030, as Omaha Exploration describes. Meanwhile, U.S. Census Bureau data highlighted in KETV's September coverage found that roughly 29% of Omaha residents are housing cost-burdened, spending more than 30% of their gross income on housing.
Omaha is not short on apartment construction generally. As of April, the city maintained a pipeline of 11,531 multifamily units under construction, ranking third among Midwestern markets behind only Columbus and Chicago, despite Chicago having nearly ten times Omaha's population, according to Multi-Housing News. The question hanging over Columbus Park is whether enough of that growth is reaching renters who need it most.
If approved, Central at Columbus Park would include an attached parking garage, community room, computer room, fitness center, bike storage, and a storm shelter, per Omaha Exploration's reporting. For now, the fate of the project rests with the city council, which is expected to cast its vote on the tax increment financing authorization next week.
