A preliminary plat for the new 170-lot Prairie View subdivision east of Seward was approved at the Seward City Council’s April 5 meeting.
Bob Benes of Aspen Builders in Lincoln brought the project to the council for approval in March, but the matter was tabled to allow time to address complaints about traffic flow in the area.
This will be Benes’ second subdivision in Seward, having just completed the Shoal Creek project this spring.
“We’re really excited about this one,” Benes said. “It was triggered by the amount of phone calls we received – about 10 calls – from people wanting to move here or upgrade from their current home.”
Benes said of those 10 callers, nine of them grew up in Seward and want to move back.
Benes has been working on plans for the subdivision for about a year, working with neighbors in the Ridge Run and Valley View neighborhoods to address drainage and density.
The new lots will be along Highway 34 as it curves east out of town.
Benes said the lots will be primarily for single-family homes, with the potential for a couple duplexes.
“Things like townhomes just didn’t fit this piece very well,” he said, but he hopes to find another property for townhomes or apartments in the future.
He said the lots will be sized to accommodate houses in all price ranges, from starter homes to $700,000 homes.
Benes said he hopes to begin dirt work this spring and have the first 35 lots ready to sell by the end of the year.
The project will be done in seven phases, with each phase expected to be annexed one at a time.
Mayor Josh Eickmeier said he is excited that this piece of land is finally being developed for housing.
“When I became mayor, I was told we were going to develop that property any day now. That was 12 years ago,” Eickmeier said. “I’m glad we finally saw some movement on that. It gives a sense that there are things happening in Seward.”
This will be one of the largest housing projects Seward has seen to date.
Dr. Ron Wallman, chair of the Planning Commission, said the project makes sense for the city and that it will go a long way in providing homes for Seward’s growing population.
“Over the years, one of the frustrations is that because of economies of scale, we see small developments. It’s hard to get a bigger picture,” Wallman said.
At the April 5 meeting, the council also approved two projects that will be completed in cohesion with the new subdivision.
East Seward Street will be paved from the city limits to Highway 34 through an interlocal agreement with the county, and the failing drainage system in the Evergreen and Valley View neighborhoods will be fixed.
City Administrator Greg Butcher said those two projects were slated to happen whether the subdivision was approved or not.
During a March public hearing on the subdivision, several residents expressed concern about additional traffic from the 170 new homes coming up East Seward Street and turning onto North Columbia Avenue.
The city has since met with those residents to come up with both a short-term and long-term plan to address traffic flow.
The council is expected to consider a resolution April 19 that would ban truck traffic on East Seward Street and some adjacent roads, with exceptions for local deliveries.
Long-term, the city is discussing building another north-south road east of town that would carry traffic from the new and existing neighborhoods in the East Seward Street area to the north side of town.
