Residents are raising concerns about plans for a new apartment complex in Omaha

OMAHA, Neb. (WOWT) – People who live in a north central Omaha neighborhood have launched a petition to stop more than 200 apartments from being built nearby.

Sean and Patty McGhee have lived around 54th Street and Kansas Avenue for years — and for years, a large empty field was the view outside their front window.

Now the city planning board has given the go-ahead to build a 210-unit apartment complex in that area, and the McGhees don’t think it will fit in their neighborhood. They say the area is already oversaturated with apartments.

“There’s an apartment complex right here and there’s a newly developed complex right off 60th and Sorenson,” Patty said.

The McGhees are also concerned about the traffic 210 apartments will bring to the one-way street. The unit’s parking lot will target their Kansas Avenue home.

“We have kids that live on this street here,” Sean McGhee said. “There are no sidewalks. They catch the bus in the morning, in the dark, and now we’ll have traffic going in and out of here.”

Omaha Planning Director Dave Fanslau tells 6 News the project is consistent with the city’s master plan, and city officials have made adjustments to ensure the complex will fit into the neighborhood.

“This project is built at those lower densities, so while the product itself looks like multi-family and there are multi-family buildings, the number of units-per-acre is equal to what a single-family subdivision would be. “

The McGhees are also concerned about out-of-state developers planning to build the complex, which will have eight separate buildings, a clubhouse and a pool. The couple says that when they checked the internet, they weren’t happy with his review and the complaints they read from the developer’s current tenants.

“If they’re not managing their properties well, if they’re not being honest and open and supporting their tenants, that’s going to be a problem. The development company, when it sent a letter to the community for a meeting, was very vague and misleading.”

Fanslau says the planning department doesn’t typically vet developers.

“This is an out-of-state developer,” Fanslau said. “I think it’s their first project in Omaha, so no, we don’t do that kind of research. We are not looking for people’s opinion if I am not a good operator or not. We look at them from the codes we are charged with enforcing.”

But Sean says he would prefer to see affordable single-family homes on the site instead of apartment units. He also told 6 News that people in his neighborhood are older and have lived in the area for decades and are also concerned about what might be built across the street.

“We’re not just talking about ourselves,” Sean said.

The project must now win approval from the Omaha City Council. A public hearing will be held on this matter. 6 News checked with officials today, and so far the project is not scheduled to be on the next city council agenda.