A new $7.7 million, 48-unit apartment complex is planned for Seward.
Focus Properties 511 LLC will develop the complex at 1313 West Highway 34 on 2.5 acres across the street from Pac ‘N’ Save at the former site of NAPA Auto Parts.
Focus Properties’ shareholders, CPAs Shannon Meyer, Jeffrey Moore and J. Matthew Hawks, asked the Seward City Council to consider $1.58 million in Tax Increment Financing for the project on Oct. 17.
The council approved the request.
Meyer was present, along with Alison Borer of Cline Williams law firm, the city’s TIF attorney.
Meyer said Focus had already purchased the lot, which was previously planned to be used for the same type of housing by another developer.
“This was a pre-existing project,” Meyer said. “When that one fell through...my other business partners and I decided to pick that project up and keep it going forward because it’s something that I would like to see happening in Seward.”
He said the finances associated with the original plan just didn’t work, and that it wouldn’t work this time around without the city’s participation.
“The economics on this project do not work and the project will not move forward without TIF money,” Meyer said.
TIF can be used to assist with redevelopment projects in blighted areas. It allows the city to defer the taxes on the amount of property valuation increase created by a redevelopment project by using public funds to invest in private redevelopment.
The developer then pays property taxes on the increased valuation over the next 15 years to repay the investment.
The idea is that redeveloping blighted areas will increase the community’s tax base through higher valuation on such properties.
Borer said the project includes construction of two three-story apartment buildings.
Each building will consist of six one-bedroom, 12 two-bedroom and six three-bedroom units. Each unit will have a kitchen, living area, laundry unit and exterior deck.
Parking garages will be included on the property, and landscaping will be done to enhance the look of the area.
“This is a gateway into the community. We want it to look nice,” Meyer said.
The total cost will surpass $7.7 million, he said.
The property is currently valued at $208,710 and is estimated to jump to around $7.4 million upon completion of the complex.
The developers will invest $1.5 million and have secured $756,000 through LB840 funds and a Rural Workforce Housing grant. The rest, aside from the $1.58 million TIF request, will be financed through a local bank.
The TIF request equates to about $124,000 annually in deferred taxes.
Borer said construction is planned to begin yet this fall and should wrap up by summer 2025. Both buildings will be erected simultaneously.
The city Planning Commission approved the project as it falls in line with both the city’s Redevelopment Plan for blighted and substandard areas and the county’s most recent housing study.
The housing study from October 2019 showed 488 new housing units would be needed by 2024, with 242 of those in the city of Seward.
The county has put a large dent in that number, and this complex will knock out another 48.
“This meets some of the very specific housing needs that have been identified in the community,” Mayor Josh Eickmeier said.
Meyer said his colleagues have completed similar housing projects in other communities.
The apartments will be geared toward young working professionals to help curtail the shortage of rental housing in the county.
Lee Davies Architecture of North Platte and Nerud Construction of Crete are working on the project.
