- The Omaha Planning Board voted 5-0 to recommend designating the area near The Center Mall as blighted
- Some mall tenants and Hanscom Park neighbors spoke out against the blighted designation on Wednesday
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
OMAHA, Neb. (KMTV) – The Omaha Planning Board voted 5-0 on Wednesday to recommend designating the area around The Center Mall – at 42nd and Center – as a community redevelopment area, or CRA, setting the stage for a potential development using tax increment financing.
The Omaha City Council is expected to vote on the CRA designation later this summer. If the council approves the blighted designation, it would allow developers to access tax increment financing, known as TIF funding, from the city.
Attorney Jon Blumenthal represents Lockwood Development, which plans to tear down the mall to build apartment units.
"The fact is that, again, it goes by any number of factors, but it includes the building age and the need for repairs to the building," Blumenthal said.
Many Hanscom Park neighbors and tenants at The Center Mall addressed the Planning Board, with several urging the board not to approve the blighted designation.
Beth Monohon lives a block away from The Center Mall with her wife, Rebecca, and their four kids.
"I love my family, my neighborhood, and it just really, struck a chord," Beth Monohon said.
Rebecca Monohon pushed back on the blighted label.
"We are not blighted. I think we have a great community here, a tight-knit group of neighbors … And the center mall up the street here brings vital services to our community. And we hate to see that interrupted," Rebecca Monohon said.
While the building may be old, it houses more than 100 tenants, including Anna Hunter, who provides family services at the mall.
"Well, yes, it does appear to be an old building on the outside. The inside still has an amazing purpose," Hunter said.
Other social services are also located inside The Center Mall.
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