City advances land purchase for workforce housing

NEBRASKA CITY – City commissioners gave first reading to a resolution to buy 27 acres in southwest Nebraska City to kick start a workforce housing development with American Recovery funds.

City Administrator Lou Leone said the city has been looking at multiple locations where the price per acre was between $30,000 and $35,000, but the land near CHI Health and Morgan Drive is closer to $17,000 per acre.

He said the project also covers a second objective of extending the water line from Morgan Drive to the hospital.

 

Leone:  “The proposal is to buy the land, put in the infrastructure and do the platting, so that all of those costs are reduced and then the developer comes in. As long as the cap value is not above the state statute of $325,000, then it’s whatever square footage that they can do.”

Mayor Bryan Bequette said Nebraska has been talking about housing shortages since he moved here in 2009 and it has come to the point where small towns and municipalities must share the risk with developers.

Morgan Drive resident Nick Shimmel said it would make more sense to build a street to develop existing lots in portions of Orchard Park rather than supporting housing from the starting point of buying land. He questioned the role of government in the housing industry.

Tracy Wieckhorst of the Housing Authority said cities are partnering with housing developers across the state.

 

Wieckhorst: “There are a lot of discussions and that’s been it – where government starts and stops. I just can’t stress to you enough – if you go to a NIFA meeting or go to other housing endorsement meetings or housing organizations, this is exactly what they are doing all over the state, probably all over the country.”

Shimmel: “I think nobody has a problem with homes being built out to the hospital at some point, they just want to make sure they are of equitable value to the homes that are present.”

Dan Mauk of Nebraska City Area EDC said the new houses will likely have sales prices higher than the existing housing along Morgan Drive.

Mauk: “This is an opportunity to take a step towards allowing us to grow. We believe there is demand if we are able to provide a little help for developers by reducing the cost of getting started.”

Mauk said all the housing studies Nebraska City has done in the past 20 years have shown the city needs more inventory at every price range.

He said the land by Senior Patio Homes is the lowest cost per acre and is in an area that lends itself to future economic development.

Up to  80 new houses could be built in the project area.

Leone: “One of the reasons we’ve had difficulties with some development is that the initial costs are so high. With these being money that is not coming from the local taxpayer, we’re looking at trying to reduce those costs to try and encourage more development. It also makes the workforce housing more profitable.”

 Dave Richards, who owns property in the Kearney Hill area near an existing workforce housing project, said there are 40 lots there that can be developed. He said the city has not extended infrastructure to support development there.