The Village of Utica celebrated the release of 14 new residential lots at a May 3 groundbreaking ceremony for Bronco Heights, a new subdivision planned across the 80F Spur, east of Centennial Public Schools, on the former site of the Utica Community Care Center.
The Seward County Chamber and Development Partnership is selling the lots, having purchased the land after the care center closed in November 2019.
“This is how we grow Utica,” said Jonathan Jank, president of the SCCDP, as he spoke about the project in front of community members, contractors, representatives of the planning commission and the Nebraska Department of Economic Development. “This is how we grow communitites, one lot at a time.”
The space is divided into lots for seven single-family residences and seven townhome residences – one triplex and two duplexes. The lots sit in a cul-de-sac formation.
Lots range in dimension from 3,260 to 13,328 square feet per unit and in price from $27,000 for a single lot to $64,000 for a townhome lot.
Lots are subject to Rural Workforce Housing Fund building price restrictions and Tax Increment Financing property tax payments. Construction must begin by early 2025.
Jim Swanson, chair of the Utica Village Board, said the project went through several iterations, including the possibility of turning the former care center into an apartment complex, before the building was ultimately razed and the land subdivided.
“This satisfies one of our real, real big problems in Utica,” Swanson said. “We need housing desperately.”
Brad Wiese, housing specialist with the Nebraska Department of Economic Development, spoke briefly about the Rural Workforce Housing Fund that is supporting the Bronco Heights project.
“It’s meant to get units built. We know that there are lots of communities that need housing, and we need housing quickly,” Wiese said. “There are some great things going on in Nebraska. We talk about ‘The Good Life,’ and the good life really starts with having safe and healthy housing for our citizens.”
Jank said purchase agreements are ready and will be made on a first-come, first-serve basis.
Those interested in purchasing a lot or those with questions should contact Jank at (402) 643-4189 or jonathan@cultivatesewardcounty.com.
