This is the future South Omaha Global Market at 5125 S. 24th St., which was a former second-hand store and a car dealership. A groundbreaking event Thursday marked the official start of transformation. The first phase, buoyed by a $4.3 million state grant, is to be done by the end of 2026. (Courtesy of B2Lab Architecture)

OMAHA — Groundbreaking for the South Omaha “global market” — a food-centric project fueled by a multimillion dollar state grant — brought a parking lot of supporters Thursday to a community known as a landing place for waves of Nebraska immigrants.

State, city and county officials joined grant recipients as they formally launched a $5.8 million award from the pandemic-related $235 million North and South Omaha Recovery Grant program administered by the Nebraska Departme

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