In 2009, the city launched the 30-year, $2 billion “Clean Solutions for Omaha” (CSO) project to separate household sewage from stormwater runoff, with the aim of preventing toxic E.

Gadsden executives said they would have taken the city to court if it had tried to foreclose on the project. Gadsden has been trying to develop the property since 2008, when the company agreed to ...