Persistence paying off for East Ward Village

Tuesday, September 8, 2015

McCOOK, Neb. -- Building homes in McCook has not been an easy task over the last several decades. Seasoned developers, house-flipping specialists and even federally backed housing programs have all faced difficulties turning the tide against a declining housing inventory. Despite the seemingly uphill battle, recent success stories are beginning to pile up and the persistence of several organizations appears to be finally paying off.

Construction of the The East Ward Village senior housing complex in 2013 spearheaded recent developments in McCook but not without challenging local housing officials first.

"Building new housing is an undertaking I would not advise anyone to take on if they are faint-hearted. It is hard work, it is guess work, and everyone second guesses your decisions from the color of the appliances to the type of heating and cooling systems used," said McCook Housing Agency and East Ward Village Executive Director Rebecca Dutcher.

Dutcher said her group made the best decisions they could at the time and there were some changes she would make in looking back, however, the decision to rehab a former school building was not one of them.

"I would still rehab the former school building. New construction is nice but that old building is really the shining star of the project," said Dutcher.

Dutcher said she experienced so many difficulties she couldn't begin to name them all but the bottom line was they worked through them.

"While we probably lost a little of our sanity at times the experience was immeasurable. Looking back I have to wonder about the confidence the Housing Authority Commissioners must have felt in our abilities when they charged Shane Fagot and I with following the day to day construction of East Ward Village, making all of the decisions, big and small, and keeping everyone informed of the progress of the project. I am very proud of the project and the work Shane and I put into it but I am also amazed that we were able to pull it all off," said Dutcher light-heartedly.

There was significant interest at the time in whether or not the East Ward Village project could be completed on time, within the budget and even attract renters upon completion, according to Dutcher.

"I think our success has been the main reason that others are now willing to dip their toes into the pool," said Dutcher, adding there were still others that remained cautious about participating in similar projects.

Among the hurdles faced, East Ward Village required $105,000 in assistance from the McCook City Council to bridge the final financial gap. Now that the project is finished and rents are being collected Dutcher said financials are looking good.

"We will probably never realize a profit, but that was never important to the housing authority. For us it's all about helping those who need affordable housing find decent and safe housing," said Dutcher.

Adding the 27 unit property to the McCook Housing Agency portfolio has taxed Dutcher's staff, "sometimes to their limits," but she said it's beginning to settle down and run smoother as each month gets a little easier than the month prior.

"We have our challenges with tenants, landscaping, systems, and so on, but so far it hasn't been anything that we were not able to work through," said Dutcher.

Occupancy has been stable at East Ward Village since completion and some tenants have benefitted from housing vouchers which subsidize rent for low-income individuals. Dutcher said the use of tax credit funding places many constraints on the residential operation and is largely the basis for selective tenant requirements.

East Ward Village limits tenants to a head-of-household age of 55 and older and the average tenant age is 71. Most applicants at that age are not going to have minor children or adult children at home and Dutcher said the majority of the units must be households whose age is more than 55 and meet the 60 percent fair market rents for Red Willow County.

Dutcher said the requirements for tax credit properties are rigid which can frustrate applicants at times.

"It does not matter if you are $2.37 over the income guidelines or only 54 year old. We cannot break our promise to the IRS," said Dutcher.

The persistence of Dutcher, her staff and many others who supported the project, has turned a vacant building and overgrown city block into a vibrant senior housing community which is unlikely to have a shortage of tenant applications anytime soon.

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  • Great job by Becky, McCook Housing Authority, the McCook City Council and the MEDC that provided the gap financing needs to complete the project!

    -- Posted by dennis on Tue, Sep 8, 2015, at 9:51 PM
  • Great job by Becky, the McCook Housing Authority, the McCook City Council and the MEDC that provided the final gap financing needed to complete the project.

    -- Posted by dennis on Tue, Sep 8, 2015, at 9:53 PM
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