OMAHA —  Groundbreaking for the South Omaha “global market” — a food-centric project fueled by a multimillion dollar state grant — brought a parking lot of supporters Thursday to a community known as a landing place for waves of Nebraska immigrants.

State, city and county officials joined grant recipients as they formally launched a $5.8 million award from the pandemic-related $235 million North and South Omaha Recovery Grant program administered by the Nebraska Department of Economic Development.

In this case, three projects at three separate locations are sharing the $5.8 million, though the lion’s share, $4.3 million, goes to the global market. That market venture aims to transform a second-hand store, once a car dealership, vacated years ago along the South 24th Street main commercial corridor, just north of Q Street.

The 16,500-square-foot building and parking area will provide space for a commercial kitchen, more than a dozen indoor vendors and three outdoor food trucks, as well as flexible event space for workshops and community functions.

Another $1 million of the multi-pronged grant will help build a six-townhouse project near 29th and Jackson Streets, and $500,000 will go toward expansion of the International Bakery, said Marta Sonia Londoño Mejía of Midwest Businesses & Projects LLC, which led the application process and is coordinating the award.

While several in attendance said commercial activity is still down in the Latino merchant-heavy area following a June 10 high-profile immigration raid at an Omaha food processing plant, Londoño Mejía expects the global market to flourish and draw customers that will help other area businesses.

“It will be a destination place,” she said of the market, which is expected to see its first phase done in the fall of 2026. “We expect people from different communities will come here for food, a place to visit, to study. We want people to come, stay and have fun.”

Buoyed also by $827,591 in tax-increment financing approved by the Omaha City Council, the global market carries an overall anticipated price tag of about $9.4 million. Gloria Patricia Avalos of GPA Properties, owns the property and is the market’s CEO.

Arts And Culture

Organizations behind the other two components expect to host their own formal groundbreakings in coming weeks.

The project trio is among about 130 groups and businesses to share the $235 million earmarked for the North and South Omaha Recovery Grant Program intended to spur economic growth in areas hardest hit by COVID-19.  Awards were announced in early 2024, but the competitive application process harkens back to 2022.

Among vendors that will be cooking up ethnic specialities is a restaurateur who had to close her 24th Street Mexican diner during the pandemic, said Londoño Mejía, a native of Colombia. She said the lineup is expected to represent countries from Africa, Europe, Latin America and more.

The grant fell into the category of  arts and culture. Londoño Mejía said the global market and future phases will host events and programming that promote diverse cultures.

Among guest speakers Thursday was Omaha Mayor John Ewing Jr., who likened the project to a town square that will draw people and create jobs.

State Sen. Margo Juarez of South Omaha spoke of how she grew up “down the street and around the corner,” and was impressed with South Omaha’s development.

Mexican Consul Jorge Ernesto Espejel Montes said he was proud of the contributions Latinos are making to Nebraska and elsewhere. The consul general of Guatemala, Flor de María Sánchez Fuentes also spoke, as did Luis Marcos, Maya ambassador and executive director of Pixan Ixim, and Javier Saldaña of the Nebraska DED.

Roger Garcia, chair of the Douglas County Board, told the group in both English and Spanish that the global market is a continuation of the South Omaha story — one that features various waves of immigrants who landed in the area to work in meatpacking plants, on railroads, in restaurants and more. He said the groups included Germans, Italians, Poles, Czechs, Irish, Greeks and newcomers from Mexico, Central and South America and Africa.

“So many groups have come through South Omaha to pursue their dream,” he said, adding that the district he represents is now about half Latino with ancestors from multiple Spanish-speaking countries.

‘Hope And Opportunity’

Itzel Lopez of the Latino Economic Development Council was among supporters who said business in South Omaha is slower following the June 10 raid led by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. But she said merchants are taking steps to make shoppers feel safer, such as posting educational signage on constitutional rights. She expects activity to continue to gradually pick up with community support.

Avalos said she wants to promote a welcoming environment for people to socialize, as well as a place for entrepreneurs to nurture their craft. She expects the physical site to grow in future phases, with a rooftop space and a greenhouse.

Thursday’s groundbreaking, she said, signaled not just a groundbreaking but “hope and opportunity for generations to come.”

This story was published by Nebraska Examiner, an editorially independent newsroom providing a hard-hitting, daily flow of news. Read the original article: https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2025/10/02/5-8-million-state-award-helps-la...