Date:

June 18, 2003

For More Information Contact:

Diane Gonzolas, Citizen Information Center, 441-7831

Nebraska Housing Resources, 477-7181

Mayor Coleen Seng today led the dedication of Old Mill Village, a new affordable housing development with 133 single-family homes in the West “A” neighborhood in southwest Lincoln. She was joined by officials from the Nebraska Housing Resource (NHR), the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and other partners in the project.

“I am pleased that we are able to celebrate this public-private partnership project during National Home Ownership Month,” said Mayor Seng. “Many partners came together with the City to create this development, and we appreciate their dedication to providing more affordable housing opportunities for the families of our community.”

NHR is a non-profit organization created in 1999 by the Home Builders Association of Lincoln to address the need for affordable single-family homes. Its first three collaborative projects added 66 homes, adding about $6.5 million to the City’s property tax base. The projects were Cyrilla Court in 1999, Old Riley School in 2001 and Olympic Heights in 2002.

Other partners in the Old Mill Village project are:

• the Nebraska Department of Roads, which previously owned the land;
• the City Urban Development Department and the Nebraska Affordable Housing Trust Fund, which loaned funding for the site purchase;
• TierOne Bank, which also provided a loan for the site purchase;
• Neighborhoods, Inc., which will provide down payment assistance to qualified buyers;
• Habitat for Humanity, which will have lots in the new development on which to build;
• the Nebraska Department of Economic Development;
• the Nebraska Investment Finance Authority (NIFA): and
• Fannie Mae, the nation’s largest source of financing for home mortgages.

The seven home builders working on the project are Brighton Construction Company, Inc.; Cherry Hill Homes, Inc.; Hoppe Homes; Inness II, Inc.; Regal Building Systems; Rembolt Development, Ltd.; and Schwinn Homes, Inc. Homes will be priced in the range of $115,000 to $130,000.