North Omaha, Nebraska, is a neighborhood plagued by high rates of poverty, unemployment, and crime. In an effort to address these challenges, the City of Omaha targeted North Omaha as part of a $1.4 billion revitalization plan to advance education, job creation, business development, housing, and transportation in an area that has suffered disproportionately from violence, blight, and social ills.
In April 2012, with the help of Smith NMTC Associates and using its innovative NMTC model, CEI Capital Management LLC (CCML) provided $1.9 million in NMTC financing to Habitat for Humanity of Omaha for the construction of 14 new, affordable homes. This investment allowed Omaha Habitat to extend its budget reach by nearly 25%, creating 70 construction subcontractor jobs that performed electrical, mechanical, and plumbing work on the homes. In addition, the NMTC investment generated three full-time and two part-time Omaha Habitat affiliate jobs.
Construction of the 14 new homes has helped to stabilize the struggling neighborhood and encouraged new investment and further revitalization. Since Omaha Habitat entered this neighborhood, other developers have begun rehabilitation and construction projects in the neighborhood. This catalytic effect increases the amount of property taxes already generated from the project. This NMTC funding has also attracted additional investment to the project area, including $380,000 in additional donations and grants directed at revitalizing this blighted community.
At the time, Omaha was just one of 21 Habitat for Humanity affiliates nationwide that benefited from a total of $42 million in NMTC financing from CEI Capital Management Using Smith NMTC’s multi-QALICB model (where QALICBs share costs), CEI was able to help Habitat affiliates build 500 homes in 16 states with NMTC funding of under $2 million per affiliate.