Ribbon Cutting for Workforce Housing Project will be Aug. 10
Earlier this month, we blogged about the awesome workforce housing project we built in Phelps County. Now, you can see those three homes for yourself! Below is a news release from Legacy Purpose, LLC, about the homes and an upcoming ribbon cutting.
Phelps County Friends Find a Way to Help with Local Housing Needs Ribbon Will be Cut on Three New Homes Aug. 10
With a projected housing shortage of 170 owner-occupied units over the next five years, Phelps County, Neb. faced a real problem recruiting new workers to fill open jobs: those families can't find suitable homes.
Enter Legacy Purpose, LLC. The organization didn't start out in the home development business but saw an opportunity to give back to the community by kick-starting a workforce housing initiative.
The Legacy Purpose Homes team of Roger Allmand, owner, Janet Boehler, project manager, and Bronwyn Gillespie, marketing manager, purchased three lots in Loomis with a goal to build quality, affordable homes for workers to purchase and live in.
"We saw an opportunity to help ease the housing concerns in Phelps County, not that we are developers, but were hopeful we can encourage businesses and the general economy of Phelps County. We also like that these homes are centrally located in the county, eight minutes from Holdrege and eight minutes from Bertrand," Allmand said.
Allmand and Boehler teamed up with Big Prairie Homes out of Kearney, Neb. to research floor plans and building techniques that would be cost-effective yet meet the needs of today's home buyers. They selected three different house designs and built the homes on speculation. The new homes are priced between $189,000 and $225,000.
Big Prairie Homes served as the general contractor for the development and completed construction on the homes in July. The homes are factory-built, custom modular houses constructed in the Champion Homes factory in York, Neb.
All three houses are now on the market. An open house and community coffee will be Friday, August 10 from 9:30 to 10:30 a.m. with an official ribbon cutting on the new residences at 10 a.m. at 199 Bryan Street in Loomis.
"The three different home designs could appeal to a variety of buyers, from a single person to a young family or even a couple retiring from the farm. They are energy-efficient and well-built homes with attractive exteriors," said Boehler.
The Grandville is a three bedroom, two bathroom ranch home with 1,600 square feet. It features an open floor plan with a front living room and a great room that opens up onto the backyard to a sunset view. It has a full, unfinished basement with two egress windows adaptable for extra living space as well as a two-car garage.
The Baylor is a two bedroom, two bathroom ranch with a main floor laundry. A bay window on the front creates a dine-in kitchen nook, and the two-car garage opens onto the kitchen, making unloading groceries convenient. This 1,100 square foot home also features an unfinished basement with two egress windows suitable for two future bedrooms.
The two-story Piedmont with a front porch is the most distinctive of the three homes. Its 1,200 square feet has two bedrooms and two bathrooms on a corner lot with a two-car garage and full unfinished basement with one egress window.
All of the homes come equipped with major appliances and energy-efficient heating and air conditioning systems. They have easy-care interior and exterior finishes.
"Our hope would be to help solve a few of the current Phelps County housing needs. As far as the future, we'll see,” said Allmand.
Phelps County Development Corporation (PCDC) provided home building incentives to help keep the prices of the homes more affordable. A 2017 housing study prepared for PCDC estimates the total target demand for homes in Phelps County by 2022 is a total of 270 units. Of those, 100 additional rental units are needed along with the 170 owner-occupied homes. If local businesses continue to grow, that housing target demand might increase by an additional 90 housing units.
Legacy Purpose Homes was created with a desire to encourage the economy and development of workforce housing in Phelps County.
For more information, visit the Legacy Purpose website: https://www.legacypurposellc.com/lp-homes/
