- Developers used modular building to build four homes in just 10 days, part of a broader plan to meet Omaha’s need for 35,000 new homes by 2028.
- Longtime residents like Kenneth Hayes welcome the vitality and diversity the new homes bring, while Zedeka Poindexter stresses the stability and safety homeownership provides.
- The project marks the launch of the new Watson neighborhood in North Omaha, with about 30 additional homes expected to be built over the next year.
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
At 25th and Corby, construction crews are working to meet Omaha’s growing demand for housing — a need that stretches beyond North Omaha and across the entire city.
A new building technique is helping accelerate the process. In this case, it only took 10 days to put up four homes. But while the foundations and first floors are in place, the work isn’t finished yet. The houses are still being pieced together, one section at a time.
Kenneth Hayes, who has lived on the block for 20 years, says it’s exciting to see new life — and new neighbors — moving in.
“I think it brings the neighborhood back. It’s good for the community, it’s good for diversity because we have various neighbors from various places, so I’m just glad to see the vitality,” Hayes said.
Developers say projects like this are key to meeting the demand for nearly 35,000 new homes in Omaha by 2028.
“We’re bringing four houses to a neighborhood at the same time,” said developer Adam Hootnick. “Like a car, like your iPhone, a house built in a factory is going to be a lot more consistent, home to home.”
For Zedeka Poindexter, who grew up in North Omaha, these projects represent more than new housing — they represent stability.
“When [we] lost our homes because the freeway came through, we kind of got displaced and moved other places… so I didn’t actually have a home until I was in my 40s,” Poindexter said.
She adds that homeownership provides a foundation of safety and connection for her family.
“For me as a parent, knowing my daughter knows a place where she can go where she’s safe… where she recognizes who’s up the street, who’s down the street… where she can go off riding on her bike and knows where she is safe and protected and organized — that’s part of owning a home,” Poindexter said.
The four new homes will include two with two bedrooms and one-and-a-half baths, and two with three bedrooms and two-and-a-half baths. Each will also come with garages and basements.
And this is just the beginning. Over the next year, about 30 more homes are expected to rise in what will be called the new Watson neighborhood in North Omaha.
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