City of Omaha recently issued the following announcement on Feb 28.
The first vote to begin development of a modern streetcar in Omaha will be on the Omaha Planning Board agenda March 2.
The Board will vote on the Urban Core Housing and Mobility Redevelopment Plan, which focuses on three significant areas; transit and mobility improvements, affordable housing and job growth.
The Plan describes the opportunities for growth and development in downtown and midtown: “The Urban Core Housing and Mobility Redevelopment Plan charts a course for the evolution of the Redevelopment Plan Area by providing for significant transportation, mobility and affordable housing improvements driven by and funded through office, retail, mixed-use, market-rate, residential, and other private investment. Capitalizing on the redevelopment opportunities identified in this plan will reaffirm downtown and midtown Omaha as the center of employment for the region.” (pg. 1)
The Redevelopment Plan area boundaries are the Missouri River west to 50th Street, and Woolworth to Cuming.
The Plan also identifies Tax Increment Financing (TIF) as the primary funding source for construction of the streetcar, and creates guidelines for new and redevelopment that will include requirements for density and valuation.
The streetcar construction financing plan announced in January includes three sources of TIF funding totaling $356 million, greater than the $306 million estimated cost of streetcar construction.
TIF projects already approved in the redevelopment plan area will generate $50 million, utilizing additional revenues generated between years 15 and 20.
New TIF projects in the plan area will contribute 25% of TIF proceeds to the streetcar, totaling approximately $218 million, based on current projections of $3 billion in new development in the redevelopment plan area.
The TIF District, within the boundaries of the Redevelopment Area, will generate $86 million based on projected property valuation increases along and within three blocks of the streetcar route. Modern streetcars have been shown to increase the valuation of properties within several blocks of the line by 10%-30%.
The Urban Core Housing and Mobility Redevelopment Plan notes the need for affordable and workforce housing and includes a goal of adding 1,000 new units of affordable and workforce housing in the next 20 years. It also recommends reducing surface parking to create additional development sites.
“One of the fundamental benefits of a modern streetcar is the creation of a more efficient parking system. Higher use of existing parking, more land becomes available for development, increasing the tax base. Reducing the amount of surface parking in the urban core is projected to create 30,000 new jobs by replacing parking with new development.” (page 11)
The plan also recommends converting one-way streets to two-way, and improvements and expansion of sidewalks, trails, and public spaces.
Following approval of the Planning Board, the Urban Core Housing and Mobility Redevelopment Plan will move on to the City Council.
Original source can be found here.
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