Makayla Roumph
A&E EDITOR
A hopeful new project is in the works by local real estate agent Kail Walker and his team to bring affordable housing and sustainability to Omaha through container homes.
“Container homes would bring a cool, unique and fresh concept Omaha hasn’t seen in housing yet,” Walker said.
With 10 million abandoned and unused shipping containers worldwide, bringing them to Omaha would support the environment and low-income families.
“We’ve seen this done on the retail side on North 24th Street and want to implement the residential side to further revitalize the North Omaha community,” Walker said.
Not only are container homes more affordable to build, but they are quicker to build as well. A standard home could take anywhere between 4-14 months to build compared to 2 months for a container home.
Container homes are currently being built in the south, including big cities like Austin and Dallas as well as cities in Arizona. Starting the project in Omaha would allow the city to compete with bigger cities and increase visibility.
Walker also started a group “riseOMA” to further accomplish the goal of putting Omaha on the map. The group was created with the vision to highlight the city’s diversity and to serve as Omaha’s premier networking experience.
“riseOMA’s mission is to put Omaha on the map, connect entrepreneurs, business owners, creatives, influencers, models, designers and artists to promote the talent here,” Walker said. “One way we can put Omaha on the map is through real estate.”
Walker started riseOMA’s first branch, the riseOMA Real Estate Group with PJ Morgan to help people buy or sell residential and commercial real estate, to get involved in different developments and projects and to expand its network and impact on the community.
“Omaha has so much untapped talent and potential here as well as undiscovered talent and potential,” Walker said. “Not only with people, but with opportunities and the city as a whole. It’s such an underrated city.”
With the city located in the heart of the United States, Walker said Omaha is the perfect destination for someone to live, to stay and to visit.
“I always refer to Omaha as America’s best kept secret,” Walker said. “It’s no longer going to be a secret in the next few years.”
Walker has been a real estate agent for two years but has been around the business for 20+ years through his mom, who is also a local agent.
“I decided I should get into real estate and work with my mom,” Walker said. “Turns out it’s my dream job.”
To see the container homes project and riseOMA’s plans come to life, follow @riseoma_, @riseoma_regroup and @kailxwalker on Instagram and Facebook. Support your locals, connect with your community and show your support for all of the amazing projects coming to Omaha.
