Published June 24, 2025 | Updated April 14, 2026

Bluestem Prairie near 52nd Street and Sorensen Parkway is nearing completion on the site of what used to be the Wintergreen Apartments. The project is being led by Habitat for Humanity.

The 14-acre apartment complex originally named Myott Park opened in 1975. While it initially attracted both middle- and low-income residents, it was turned into low-income apartments by 1978. By that time the apartments were neglected while crime increased. The complex was purchased by an absentee landlord who renamed it Wintergreen Apartments. The apartments continued to deteriorate and the conditions in which the tenants lived worsened until the complex was demolished in 2007. If you’d like to learn more, read the full history on North Omaha History.

After the apartments were demolished, the property sat empty for the next 14 years, over which time it became a dumping ground. In 2021 the city sold the property to Habitat for Humanity for $1. At that point they began development on a new neighborhood called Bluestem Prairie. The new neighborhood aims to provide affordable housing that is designed to appeal to all ages, family sizes, and income levels.

Of the 85 homes, the majority have from three to five bedrooms; 10 are zero-entry villas that have no steps and 5 are accessory dwelling units (ADUs), commonly referred to as mother-in-law quarters. Included is a barrier-free park with amenities such as biking and walking trails, playground equipment, basketball and pickleball courts, picnic pavilions, and an amphitheater.

One of the key benefits of Bluestem is to provide homeownership opportunities to people who lack access to traditional housing and lending markets. Buyers must have a two-year employment track record, a certain amount of money in savings, and earn less than 80% of the median income. Click here to learn more: https://habitatomaha.org/bluestem-development/

When the project started, it was said that Omaha was short nearly 80,000 affordable housing units, with the gap potentially increasing to more than 100,000 over the following 20 years without significant intervention.

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More pictures

• Omaha World-Herald archives
• https://northomahahistory.com/2022/10/31/a-history-of-the-wintergreen-apartments/.