NEW Development Opportunity!

Development of affordable housing near 96th Drive and Cady Ave

NEW!  View the informational webinar below!

Front Porch Investments and New Visions Homeless Services (NVHS) are pleased to announce a transformative development opportunity. We are inviting proposals from qualified and mission-aligned real estate developers to lead the development of a transformative, community-centered, affordable or mixed-income housing project on a currently vacant 4.72-acre site located south of 96th Drive and Cady Avenue in Omaha, Nebraska.

The Opportunity

This Request for Proposals (RFP) represents a unique opportunity to advance equitable housing development on land already acquired by NVHS, where a complementary housing vision is being realized for veterans exiting homelessness. NVHS is in the early stages of developing 46 units of permanent supportive housing for senior veterans on the parcel to the north of this site. The southern parcel will be conveyed to a selected development partner that demonstrates alignment with the values of New Visions, a clear commitment to long-term affordability, and the capacity to deliver an impactful housing development that complements the surrounding neighborhood.

The parcel will be conveyed for $1 to reduce financing barriers for affordability.

Proposals from both nonprofit and for-profit developers are welcome.

Proposals that incorporate trauma-informed design, family-sized units, and publicly accessible green space will be viewed favorably. We especially welcome proposals that advance housing justice and inclusive neighborhood development.

Key Details

• Site Location: South of 96th Drive and Cady Avenue, Omaha NE, 68134
• Site Condition: The site is currently undeveloped with grass-covered and wooded areas. An existing pipeline easement limits building area in some locations.
• Infrastructure Needs: Estimated costs to extend and pave Cady Avenue and improve sanitary, water, and stormwater are at approximately $1 million. NVHS anticipates at least a 50/50 cost share with the selected developer. 
• Development Goals: Affordable or mixed-income housing, with some units affordable to households between 30-50% AMI preferred.

Application Timeline

• RFP Release: July 15, 2025
• Informational Webinar: 11:00am on Wednesday, July 23rd, 2025 
  • Zoom link here
• Proposals Due: 12pm on Friday, August 22nd, 2025

Review the RFP package for detailed submission requirements and complete timeline.

Application Deadline

Proposals are due to hello@frontporchinvestments.org by 12pm (noon) on Friday, August 22nd. 

Evaluation Criteria

Proposals will be evaluated on experience, proposed use, community benefit, financing approach, and design quality.

Application Instructions

For full details and submission guidelines, please refer to the RFP package.

* NEW * Proposal Questions and Answers

The following questions were received from potential applicants:

Would New Visions be open to age-restricted senior housing for the parcel?

New Visions is open to various unit sizes and configurations, if proposals justify how they serve community needs. While family housing was initially considered due to the proximity to an elementary school, New Visions is receptive to any mix of housing types that addresses Omaha's affordable and attainable housing needs.

The concept site plan shown on the overview call shows very low density (24 townhomes) on the southern site.  The underlying zoning would allow closer to 90 multifamily apartments. Is higher density of complimentary multifamily desired with more typical three-story apartment buildings or just the detached townhomes as shown on the plan?  

Applicants should not feel limited by the concept plan displayed during the webinar, which reflects very early thinking by New Visions when they were considering developing both parcels. New Visions welcomes a variety of configurations and encourages applicants to justify their proposed design based on community need. 

The RFP references New Visions is in the NIFA CRANE 9% LIHTC Round. Has 9% award for the Senior Veteran development on the north side been awarded? If so, what is the full development timeline for the New Visions site?  

New Visions’ veterans housing program is currently pursuing tax credits through the CRANE program. It is currently in Category 3 and expects to move to Category 2 soon, in anticipation of an award in 2026 or 2027.  While the selected developer is not expected to align construction timelines, coordination on Cady Avenue infrastructure improvements will be essential and these will begin in the first quarter of 2026.

Is the expectation that the co-developer selected via this RFP process would need to fund “at risk” the 50% share of horizontal infrastructure cost in Q1 2026 while vertical funding awards via NIFA, City, etc. are pending?   Would a later reimbursement of 50% of infrastructure cost be permissible if City and other funding resources do not cover the full amount?

Applicants are not expected to prefund their half of the horizontal infrastructure. A separate date can be worked out to reimburse NVHS for the developer’s portion of costs.

Informational Webinar Recording

Past land RFP projects

2211 Douglas Street – Omaha, NE

Front Porch Investments in collaboration with Together Omaha released a request for proposal to the development community to redevelop the 2211 Douglas Street site into affordable housing. Hoppe Development will transform a vacant building in Omaha’s urban core into a mixed-income housing community, with over 70 units for Seniors aged 55+ with designated affordability for 51% of the units integrated into a market rate condominium. This redevelopment not only preserves affordability in a rapidly changing part of the city but also expands housing choice.

The project strategically aligns with Omaha’s housing needs, ensuring that units remain accessible to households earning at or below 60% of the area median income (AMI) for at least 45 years. Additionally, Hoppe Development is in partnership with an emerging developer from Spark’s coDA program, Donell Brown, also a graduate of Spark’s Developer Academy, to build capacity and equity in the industry​​. Pending disposition and the conditional awarding of Federal Low Income Housing Tax Credit funds, demolition of the existing structure is anticipated to begin in fall 2025, with construction anticipated to begin in spring 2026, and the first residents could move in by fall 2027.

628 1st Avenue – Council Bluffs, IA

In partnership with the Southwest Iowa Foundation (SWIF), FPI supported the redevelopment of a former YMCA site into a 56-unit mixed-income housing development. By repurposing a long-vacant site into much-needed housing, this project aligns with local efforts to increase housing supply and promote economic growth in the area​.

Offering a mix of market-rate and affordable housing options, the selected developer is focused on providing high-quality, sustainable housing. With pre-development work completed, construction is projected to begin in late 2025, with completion estimated in 2027.