The city of Hastings is hoping to get a portion of workforce housing funds to assist in the construction of duplexes or single-family housing in southeastern Hastings.
Before their work session on Tuesday, council members convened a special meeting during which they voted 6-0 to approve an application for Rural Workforce Housing Land Development funds for a project at D Street and Cedar Avenue. Council members Butch Eley and Jeniffer Beahm were absent.
The Community Redevelopment Authority has an option to purchase a 3-acre parcel at D Street and Cedar Avenue. The intent is to install a street through the middle of the parcel and build up to 24 townhomes for sale or rent for workforce housing. The CRA would acquire the parcel and partner with HEDC to provide Rural Workforce Housing Funds for the development of the parcel by local developers.
Members of the Hastings City Council previously unanimously approved submitting a letter of intent for 2022 Rural Workforce Housing Funds from the Nebraska Department of Economic Development for round three of the program.
The Nebraska Legislature approved $32 million for the third phase of rural workforce housing funds. Phase 1 was $7 million. Phase 2 was $10 million.
The maximum request amount in Phase 3 is $1 million.
The funds are a 0 percent-interest loan that will stay in the local rural workforce housing fund.
The matching amount has dropped to 50% compared to a 100% match in previous phases.
The city’s $500,000 match will come from the Hastings Utilities economic development incentive fund.
The application process opened Jan. 12 and closes Jan. 19. So local officials had to scramble to approve submitting the application on time, which is why the council convened the special meeting Tuesday.
Randy Chick, CRA executive director, said the plan is to build duplexes as well as single-family homes.
The CRA will develop the land. The organization then would find a local developer or Housing Development Corp. to take on the project.
What actually gets built there and by whom hasn’t been determined yet, Chick said.
He said what will be constructed will be smaller, starter homes that most likely wouldn’t be available in other new developments.
“We know we have a housing shortage,” he said. “So I guess we are trying to develop housing in areas that maybe have not had the same opportunities for development as the north end of town or east or west.”
Hastings has three years to develop the land.
Rural Workforce Housing Land Development funds are American Rescue Plan Act funds that are funneled down from the federal government to the state.
Chick said the funds are limited to qualified census tracts, which in Hastings is an area in the southeast portion of the community “that someone has deemed the people in this area have been disproportionately impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.”
“Whether anyone buys a home that is impacted, I don’t know,” he said. “It can only be used in that area.”
During the work session, Teresa Kreutzer-Hodson, executive director of the Hastings Museum, presented the museum’s annual report.
Council members also discussed council, citizen, staff and citywide communication.
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