Twin Cities Development has been awarded $915,000 as part of $9.7 million in statewide grants from the Nebraska Department of Economic Development for rural workforce housing development.
Combined with more than $918,000 allocated by cities in Scotts Bluff, Morrill and Kimball counties, the money will be used to create the Western Nebraska Rural Workforce Housing Grant Fund, which would financially backstop expansion of housing in and around contributing communities.
Last year, TCD Director Rawnda Pierce told officials in Gering the intent is to have a perpetual revolving fund that will help developers build spec housing, and the timing couldn’t be better, as available housing stocks are at a low level across the area.
The Nebraska Investment Finance Authority committed to adding funding to the selected applications, and contributed nearly $164,000 to the local matching funds to bring the overall starting total of the fund to more than $1.8 million.
The size of the NDED grant to TCD was only eclipsed by awards of $1 million each to organizations in Aurora and Grand Island.
