# HUD Secretary Turner touts Omaha's Highlander as national model for revitalization  
**Published:** 2026-05-22T00:15:43.000Z  
**Source:** [Nebraska Examiner](https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2026/05/21/u-s-housing-secretary-turner-visits-nebraska-calls-omaha-highlander-grounds-model/)  
**AI-generated:** yes (claude-haiku-4-5-20251001)  
**Canonical:** https://lincolne.news/article/hud-secretary-turner-touts-omaha-s-highlander-as-national-model-for

OMAHA — The nation's top housing official visited Omaha on Thursday to promote Trump administration strategies for increasing homeownership and rebuilding distressed neighborhoods, according to a [report from the Nebraska Examiner](https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2026/05/21/u-s-housing-secretary-turner-visits-nebraska-calls-omaha-highlander-grounds-model/).

[U.S. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Scott Turner](https://www.hud.gov/aboutus/leadership/scott-turner) toured Omaha's Highlander mixed-use development in North Omaha, calling the 40-acre, $200 million project a model of public and private investment he plans to promote nationwide. The redevelopment sits on land where the Pleasantview Homes public housing complex once stood—a site marked by violence and disinvestment.

"From here I will be a voice piece and share with other cities and states what's been done," Turner said, noting the development's entrepreneurial and housing components. "This is new life in this community … people now living here whose lives have been changed."

Accompanied by Gov. Jim Pillen and Omaha Mayor John Ewing Jr., Turner highlighted the site's mixed-income housing, community services, and educational facilities. [Seventy Five North Revitalization Corporation](https://www.seventyfivenorth.org/), the nonprofit managing the campus, has created approximately 300 housing units with a mix of market-rate and affordable rentals, along with amenities including a greenhouse, restaurants, and community gathering spaces.

The visit focused heavily on opportunity zones—tax incentives designed to encourage private investment in economically distressed areas. [Under the original 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act](https://www.congress.gov/crs-product/R45152), investors could defer capital gains taxes on investments held for at least a decade, with capital appreciation becoming tax-free. [Under President Trump's recently passed tax law, the opportunity zone program has been made permanent](https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/sb0436), with expanded benefits beginning in 2027.

Ewing, who grew up near the former housing project and later patrolled the area as an Omaha police officer, spoke from personal experience. He recalled one period with 30 shootings in 31 days at the former Pleasantview housing complex. The mayor said his administration is working with nonprofits and state and federal officials to use opportunity zone incentives to increase affordable housing.

Pillen emphasized removing regulatory barriers to affordable homebuilding, citing examples like less expensive plastic pipes over copper and streamlined electrical codes. Turner highlighted a new HUD report on state and local best practices aimed at "unleashing" single-family homebuilding by reducing costly regulations.

The Highlander development, which began as a $25 million HUD Choice Neighborhoods grant initiative, has become a catalyst for broader North Omaha revitalization. Cities like Omaha are now submitting candidate areas for new opportunity zone designations, with [the nomination period opening July 1, 2026](https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/sb0436). South Omaha, where another former public housing project is being rebuilt, is being considered for the designation.

## Sources

- [Nebraska Examiner](https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2026/05/21/u-s-housing-secretary-turner-visits-nebraska-calls-omaha-highlander-grounds-model/)
- [HUD Secretary Scott Turner biography](https://www.hud.gov/aboutus/leadership/scott-turner)
- [Seventy Five North Revitalization Corporation](https://www.seventyfivenorth.org/)
- [Congress.gov on Tax Incentives for Opportunity Zones](https://www.congress.gov/crs-product/R45152)
- [U.S. Treasury Department on Opportunity Zone permanent extension](https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/sb0436)

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This article was generated by AI (claude-haiku-4-5-20251001) based on source material from Nebraska Examiner, enriched with 3 web searches. The original source is available at https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2026/05/21/u-s-housing-secretary-turner-visits-nebraska-calls-omaha-highlander-grounds-model/.