By Cindy Gonzalez

Nebraska Examiner

OMAHA — One of the biggest winners of the North-South Omaha economic recovery grants celebrated Thursday with a street fiesta and a progress report on how it plans to spend the $25 million in state aid.

Led by the Latino Economic Development Council and Canopy South, the Adelante project envisions a public park with a performance area and a retail and parking structure within walking distance.

Overall, the goal is to draw more tourism and customers to South Omaha and its nationally designated historic 24th Street business district, which recently was expanded to the west and a bit to the south to now cover 18 acres.

“It will create incredibly needed economic growth here,” LEDC’s Marcos Mora, a musician and entrepreneur who grew up in the area, said of the funding.

‘Magic City’

Mora and others noted the waves of immigrant workers from various countries who settled in what was once nicknamed the “Magic City” for its rapid population growth over decades, prior to being annexed by Omaha in 1915.

Now largely influenced by Latino businesses, many merchants in South Omaha took a financial hit, while others did not survive COVID-19, Douglas County Board Chairman Roger Garcia said during an outdoor news conference.

“We now have an opportunity to invest and revitalize post-pandemic,” he said.

The $25 million from the North-South grant dollars, expected to start flowing to the Adelante project later this year, will be used to transform the district’s Plaza de la Raza, centered at 24th and N Streets.

Douglas County and the City of Omaha earlier each committed $500,000 to the effort.

New features are to include an amphitheater, stage, playground areas and signature art, dramatically changing the plaza, which for years has been largely a concrete slab, providing parking for area businesses and drawing day laborers.

At times it has come alive with pop-up events and annual community gatherings, such as the popular Cinco de Mayo festivities.

Capital campaign seeks more change

On Thursday, the LEDC revealed updated renderings of what the plaza could look like on a permanent basis with the funding, which was awarded as part of $235 million in economic development grants announced Jan. 26.

Community meetings will be held in coming months to gain input on the final park layout, said LEDC’s Itzel Lopez.

Lopez said the location of the new multi-level parking structure has yet to be identified. It is to contain retail on the street level and a number of parking stalls that more than replace those currently available in the plaza parking lot.

The hope, she said, is to begin construction on both the garage and plaza improvements before the year’s end, “pending formal execution of the grant agreement” with the Nebraska Department of Economic Development.

The LEDC/Canopy South partnership plans to launch a capital campaign to raise an additional $25 million for other components, such as a community and cultural center that will be a base for the Latino council, and offer workforce development assistance.

“We have not withdrawn from our original goal of addressing workforce needs, preserving historical context, amplifying our Latino American culture and increasing leadership influence,” Lopez said.

As is the case with the parking garage, the site for the community center has not yet been identified. Several areas are under review, Lopez said.

Hiccups

To be sure, Adelante (which loosely translates to onward, or forward) has had its hiccups.

At a point last year, a group of South 24th Street merchants balked at the proposed plaza overhaul and petitioned officials to direct public investment toward building a parking structure on the plaza.

Lopez said the situation calmed, and the LEDC is to work with area businesses on details regarding the future parking structure.

Thursday’s event featured a lineup of guests, including Mexican Consul Jorge Ernesto Espejel Montes and Guatemalan Consul Billy Muñoz, both based in Omaha. Swati Ghosh of the Washington D.C.-based New Growth Innovation Network also spoke.

Ghosh said LEDC is part of a local group selected as one of 24 communities nationwide to receive training and technical assistance on advancing inclusive economic development. The New Growth network is funded by the U.S. Commerce Department, and Ghosh was in town to offer some of the training.

Long road to today

The updated vision for the plaza park, contained in a report shared Thursday by RDG Planning & Design, harkens back to a long road and effort to create a centerpiece for the historic South Omaha district.

The report describes how community development projects of the 1970s and early 1980s spruced up sidewalks and converted property into the 24th and N Streets parking lot. A few benches and trees at the entry to the parking lot buffered it from the busy street.

In following years, a city-sponsored market building that bordered the parking lot floundered, but private Latino-centric shops, eateries, bakeries and other businesses blossomed along 24th Street.

According to Census data from 1990 to 2020, the report noted, Latinos in South Omaha grew from 9.3% to 52% of the population.

Adelante (Forward) South Omaha

By the early 2000s, earlier streetscape projects were deteriorating while businesses continued to grow. The local community, with the support of city and business leaders, sponsored a survey and planning effort also called Adelante South Omaha.

Results indicated support for the district and untapped opportunity. That led to a multi-year city commitment to develop an iconic streetscape along South 24th between L and Q Streets.

Those improvements, led then by RDG with community input, reinforced the corridor’s Latino influence and pedestrian character. But money ran out before they got to the centerpiece, a renewed Plaza de la Raza.

Organizers of the revived plaza project say the long-held vision for a community gathering spot will be realized by the public funds made available through the Nebraska Economic Recovery Act, and its South-North Omaha economic recovery grant program.

This story was originally published by Nebraska Examiner, an editorially independent newsroom providing a hard-hitting, daily flow of news. It is part of the national nonprofit States Newsroom. Find more at nebraskaexaminer.com.