A Florida-based real estate investment firm has paid $17.18 million for a 204-unit apartment community on Omaha's east side, betting on renovations to boost returns at a property that has stood since 1974. The deal adds Village at Grant Square Apartments, located at 7349 Grant St., to a growing list of Omaha multifamily acquisitions by out-of-state investors chasing the metro's tightening rental market.
Eastham Capital, described in its own materials as a private equity real estate firm dedicated to transforming undervalued multifamily real estate according to easthamcapital.com, acquired the property through its Eastham Capital Fund VII, LP, with Bender Companies serving as its operating partner, according to citybiz.co. The $17.18 million purchase price was first reported by Grow Omaha.
Village at Grant Square spans eight buildings with a mix of one- and two-bedroom units averaging roughly 946 square feet, per citybiz.co's account of the deal. The community is currently 93% occupied, with average monthly rents of $1,025, the same report notes.
Renovation Plans Target Aging Infrastructure
The joint venture plans capital improvements including renovations to select apartment homes, upgrades to the clubhouse and common areas, and targeted work on the roof and exterior, per the same citybiz.co account. No timeline or total budget for the improvements has been disclosed. Eastham Capital has called the Omaha purchase a value-add investment and its sixth acquisition for Fund VII, according to multifamilypress.com's coverage of the deal.
This is not Eastham's first foray into Omaha's apartment stock. The firm previously acquired The Colonial, a 258-unit community in the city, for $19.1 million, as reported by Multi-Housing News. That property was 95% occupied at the time, with average rents of just over $961 per month for units averaging 902 square feet, and was slated for $1.9 million in renovations covering exterior and interior upgrades, roof replacements, balcony repairs and parking lot enhancements, the outlet reported.
The exact scope of Eastham and Bender's partnership history carries some discrepancy in public materials. Citybiz.co states the two companies have co-invested in 16 projects to date, while easthamcapital.com describes the Grant Square deal as marking the firm's tenth partnership with Bender Companies. Neither source reconciles the difference.
Omaha Rents Climb as Vacancy Tightens
The acquisition lands amid a shifting Omaha apartment market. Metro-wide multifamily vacancy stood at 8.0% in the first quarter of 2026, down 30 basis points from the prior quarter but up 210 basis points from a year earlier, according to CBRE. Average asking rents across the metro reached $1,300 per unit, up $12, or 0.9%, from the previous quarter and up $27, or 2.1%, from a year earlier, per the same CBRE report.
No new multifamily properties were delivered to the Omaha market in the first quarter of 2026, though 22 properties totaling 3,477 units remain under construction, CBRE's figures show. The Downtown and Central submarkets account for 30.6% and 27.3% of that construction pipeline by unit count, respectively. Rents vary widely by submarket: the Southwest posted the metro's highest average asking rent at $1,587 per unit, while downtown rents averaged $1,323 per unit versus $1,297 in suburban areas, according to CBRE.
Other large Omaha multifamily deals this year reflect continued investor interest in the metro. A joint venture between Cresset Real Estate Partners and Hines Interests secured $75.5 million to refinance the 379-unit Brickline at The Mercantile, while La Vista City Centre closed on a $72.2 million refinancing loan covering its 392 luxury apartments alongside retail and office space, both according to Multi-Housing News. Grow Omaha's report on the Village at Grant Square deal also notes that Forbes named Omaha the No. 1 Best City to Move to in 2024, a ranking the publication cited as context for the city's ongoing appeal to outside investors.
