Neighborhood Revitalization: The Deer Park Initiative

In 2016, the second holistic neighborhood revitalization initiative was undertaken (this time in a South Omaha neighborhood). This neighborhood had a business district and so, in addition to housing rehabilitation, lead-safe housing, etc., attention was given to enhancing the appeal of the business district. Because of our success in the previous neighborhood, an area foundation awarded a grant to the city to further business district efforts ($10,000 each to ten different businesses for structural and/or façade improvements). Given that there were several galleries along the business corridor, streetlights were installed to increase the nighttime appeal of the area.

In addition to the various organizations and individuals involved, this initiative was made possible through the support of the City Planning Department (James Thele, Director) and the staff of the Housing and Community Development Division.

David Thomas, PhD