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Avenue Scholars last week celebrated 17 years of equipping Omaha-area students with the tools to succeed in high-demand careers – retaining the city’s next generation of talent. Avenue Scholars Day drew community leaders, employers, educators, and program alumni to highlight the program’s impact. Avenue Scholars supports students, particularly those navigating financial or personal adversity, through high school and into the workforce, offering individualized coaching, career exploration and strong partnerships with nearly 2,000 local employers. To date, the program has served more than 4,000 students and boasts a 97 percent high school graduation rate since 2014. The program’s alumni are living proof of its success. Biye Belew credits Avenue Scholars with helping him find and prepare for a career he is passionate about. "I wake up proudly each day knowing the support I received along my journey helped me find my way to a career that serves the people of Omaha, and allows me...

Forty new affordable houses are coming soon to Council Bluffs as part of a major housing initiative in the East Manawa neighborhood. The City of Council Bluffs, in partnership with Turn the Paige Investments, is leading the effort to bring homeownership opportunities to families with moderate incomes. The East Manawa development is part of a broader effort to expand housing options in Council Bluffs. In 2022, the city invested $2 million from its American Rescue Plan Act allocation to purchase 93 acres in East Manawa for a mixed-income housing development. Building on this momentum, the Iowa West Foundation committed $4 million in 2024 to support the city’s housing development program, which aims to add 1,300 new residential units over the next decade. The 40 new houses will be priced at $175,000, with buyers eligible for $35,000 in down payment assistance. Each house will feature two or three bedrooms, two bathrooms, a one-car garage, and a built-in tornado shelter. Construction is...

The City of Council Bluffs is exploring monumental changes to their riverfront in order to address a housing shortage. That could lead to dense development along the Missouri River’s east bank. Council Bluffs has been making incremental and landscape-changing moves at River’s Edge, an area north of Interstate 480, for more than a decade. The completion of Tom Hanafan Park in 2013 set the stage for ongoing commercial redevelopment in the area, including a 4-story office building and hundreds of apartments already completed, still under construction or being planned. Additionally, construction has gone vertical for the long-awaited River’s Edge Phase 4 amenities, including the Treetop Walk and MidAmerican Energy Adventure Tower. The latter includes a 138-foot tall observation tower, a 50-foot rock-climbing wall and a roll-glide track. While these projects have transformed the Council Bluffs riverfront, the city has even more ambitious plans. Council Bluffs Mayor Matt Walsh has been...

Local officials held a groundbreaking ceremony this week for a $45 million City of Omaha community and athletic complex in northeast Omaha. Construction will begin next month on the Levi Carter Park Activity and Sports Complex inside Levi Carter Park along the north shore of Carter Lake. The site is just west of Eppley Airfield. The 114,625 sq. ft. building will include the largest basketball facility in Omaha with 10 indoor courts that can be converted into 14 volleyball courts. The center will also have a computer lab, classroom for distance learning, medical exam and tele-health rooms, community meeting space, fitness facility and a wrestling room. The outdoor space includes four artificial turf soccer fields, picnic shelters, a grand lawn and a designated food truck area. “This is an investment in youth and families, offering access to services and programs, and creating new tourism and development opportunities surrounding Levi Carter Park,” said Mayor Jean Stothert. The complex...

Project Game ON, a redevelopment initiative near 35th & Ames Avenue, will include a new football stadium for Omaha North High School and a completely rebuilt Butler-Gast YMCA building. Retired North High Principal Gene Haynes, Omaha Mayor Jean Stothert, and officials from Omaha Public Schools and the YMCA of Greater Omaha announced a plan yesterday to build North High’s future home stadium for football and soccer, among other sports and activities. The new Butler-Gast YMCA will be right next to the stadium. After years of community discussion and anticipation, both the YMCA and stadium will be ready for the public in the summer of 2027. “When I heard about this project, I was knocked off my feet,” said Haynes, who was a teacher and an administrator in the Omaha Public Schools for more than 40 years. “The first game at the new stadium will be a homecoming for all of the current students, and on top of that, for generations of former students.” Located along the south side of Ames...

Eastham Capital, a Florida-based, private equity real estate firm that transforms undervalued multifamily real estate, has announced the acquisition of The Colonial, a 258-unit apartment complex near 97th & Maple Street in Omaha. The sale price was $19.1 million.  Eastham Capital has obtained a majority ownership interest in the deal through its current fund, Eastham Capital Fund VI, LP. Bender Companies, which has co-invested and partnered with Eastham Capital on multiple projects, will oversee the day-to-day management. The apartment property is currently 95 percent occupied with average rents of just over $961 per month. The acquisition includes a renovation budget of $1.9 million, which will include interior unit renovations and exterior upgrades, including roof replacements, balcony repairs and parking lot enhancements. “We are thrilled to be making our first acquisition in Nebraska with The Colonial,” said Matthew Rosenthal, founder and managing partner of Eastham Capital....

Four reservoirs currently under construction or in planning stages have been officially named by the Papio Missouri River Natural Resources District. Two of the projects include detention basins in the Gretna area that will be completed later this year. Detention basin WP-4, named Forest City Recreation Area, will be the first to be completed late this summer. It is located west of 204th & Schram Road and will have a 15-acre lake with 81 acres of parkland. Detention basin WP-2, southeast of 180th & Giles Road, was named the Mad Bear Recreation Area in honor of the first Native American awarded with the Congressional Medal of Honor. The recreation area will consist of a 17-acre lake and 84 acres of parkland. It is slated to be completed this fall. Regional detention basin, formerly referred to as WP-1, was named the Marlin Petermann Recreation Area, after a well-known nature conservationist. Located north of the Indian Pointe subdivision southwest of 180th & Fort Street,...

For the first time ever, U.S. News & World Report has named the Omaha metropolitan area as the hottest housing market in America, according to an article released this week. Based on data from January 2025, U.S. News’ analysis of the hottest housing markets incorporates a wide array of data points and provides a simple-yet-comprehensive way to rank the covered metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) from “frigid to balmy” on a scale of 1-100. To earn its number-one ranking the Omaha MSA received a score of 76.2. In general, the hottest housing markets this year are not the major population centers that dominated in the past. The state of Colorado had four MSAs make the list, while South Carolina and Texas each had three. According to the article, this year’s hottest housing markets “seem to share big-city amenities without the high housing costs of MSAs closer to the megacities along the West and East coasts.” Here are the top 10 hottest markets and their Housing Market Index...

Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium has been named the #1 best zoo in America for the third year in a row in the 2025 USA Today’s 10Best Reader’s Choice Awards. The zoo was acknowledged in four separate categories, which were voted on by USA Today readers. Omaha’s honors included Best Zoo, Best Safari Park, Best Zoo Exhibit (Desert Dome) and Best Zoo Membership in the nation. USA Today praised Omaha’s zoo for the world’s largest indoor desert and the Scott African Grasslands exhibit, which offers 28 acres of habitat for iconic African animals. A panel of experts nominated candidates for the best-zoos competition, based animal care and enrichment and meaningful interaction between visitors and the animals. The list then went before the voters, who weighed in with their opinions over the past month. Here are USA Today’s top 10 zoos for 2025: 1. Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium (Omaha, Nebraska)2. Cheyenne Mountain Zoo (Colorado Springs, Colorado)3. Columbus Zoo and Aquarium...

Douglas County, home to the City of Omaha, is Nebraska’s most urbanized county, but it has more agriculture-related jobs than any other of the state’s 93 counties. The Greater Omaha Chamber celebrated National Agriculture Day yesterday, hosting a news conference with the Nebraska Farm Bureau, Conagra Brands and the Nebraska Department of Agriculture. The purpose was to emphasize the role agriculture plays in the state’s economy. Nebraska’s agricultural sector supports more than 244,000 jobs statewide and contributes $97.4 billion in sales output. The industry also generates over $6 billion in tax revenue, further cementing agriculture as a vital economic driver for the state. “Nebraska’s agricultural industry continues to be a cornerstone of our economy, providing jobs, economic growth, and tax revenue for our communities,” said Mark McHargue, president of the Nebraska Farm Bureau Foundation board of directors. “From small family farms to large agri-businesses, agriculture is...

The Omaha metropolitan area finally surpassed the 1 million population mark, a long-anticipated milestone. The official population is now 1,001,010 people. The U.S. Census Bureau last week released population estimates – as of July 1, 2024 – for every county in the nation. Once you know each county’s population, you subsequently know metro area populations. That’s because each Metropolitan Statistical Area is comprised of counties as determined by the Census Bureau. Altogether, the United States has several hundred metro areas. The Omaha Metropolitan Statistical Area is a two-state region consisting of five counties in Nebraska (Douglas, Sarpy, Washington, Cass and Saunders) and three in Iowa (Pottawattamie, Harrison and Mills). Omaha’s 2024 population of 1,001,010 is an increase of 12,144 from the previous year’s official estimate of 988,866. That’s a growth rate of 1.23 percent, which is certainly respectable. Since the 2020 census, the Omaha metro area has grown by 3.45 percent....

Milan Laser Corporate, LLC, an Omaha-based chain of laser hair removal salons, has entered into an 11-year lease for 43,494 sq. ft. of office space at 18020 Burt Street, according to Marty Patzner, Marc Siemers, and JJ Boulay of Cushman & Wakefield/The Lund Company, who represented the landlord, SIR Omaha, LLC. The space is part of a two-building complex that was formerly the CSG campus. The company is relocating its headquarters from 17645 Wright Street. Founded in Omaha in 2012, Milan has more than 390 locations in 37 states. “This new lease further strengthens the revitalization of the former CSG campus, which is becoming home to a growing number of innovative companies,” Patzner said. The two buildings are now 75 percent leased. Prime Healthcare is the other primary tenant in the complex. "We are thrilled to welcome Milan Laser as a tenant and to see the building’s continued transformation into a dynamic hub for businesses," Patzner said. "The location offers modern amenities...