NWL offers real estate developers flexible financing for the construction and rehabilitation of owner-occupied workforce housing within qualifying census tracts in Lincoln. These low-interest loans are meant to incentivize this work and must be repaid.
Program Requirements:
- Projects to be financed with the Fund will be located within qualified census tracks (QCT, ca. 2000) in Lincoln, Nebraska.
- Units built with fund support must be owner-occupied;
- Appraised value(s) must fall between $125,000 and $325,000;
- Rehabilitation costs must exceed 50% of the unit’s value;
- Housing units to be financed with the Fund may not utilize financial support from Low Income Housing Tax Credits, Community Development Block Grants, HOME Funds, or Nebraska Affordable Housing Trust Funds.
Eligible Activities and Forms of Assistance
Assuming compliance with program requirements, borrowers may utilize financing from the Fund for any of the following uses, based upon specifics outlined in the loan application and the executed loan documents:
- Acquisition of land and buildings
- Predevelopment expenses
- Site control (options or purchase) and expenses associated with purchase (e.g. title work)
- Property stabilization and site preparation (clearance, demolition, excavation, etc.)
- Architectural and engineering plans (site plans, floor plans, specifications, etc.)
- Preliminary budgets and feasibility analyses
- Market studies
- Grant/financing application fees
- Environmental site assessments
- Permitting, surveying, and platting
- Appraisal
- Organizational (Partnership/LLC), Land Trust, and/or HOA legal expenses;
- Construction Expenses
- Public and Private Infrastructure (streets, water, sewer, electrical) necessary to accommodate the eligible workforce housing project(s)
- Construction financing or development lines of credit
- Financing Considerations
- Permanent loan (primary or subordinated loans with regular, periodic principal and interest payments)
- Construction take-out financing
- Bridge lending
- Other forms of assistance and costs that are allowed in the Act and approved by the NWL Board.
The NeighborWorkforce Loan is overseen by a volunteer loan committee comprised of finance and development professionals. They are charged with fund strategy and deal evaluation and make recommendations to the Board of Directors, who are the ultimate arbiters of the fund.
- Robin Ambroz, Nebraska Investment Finance Authority
- Julia Gale, Nebraska Housing Resources
- Rich Herink, Lincoln Community Foundation
- Wynn Hjermstad, City of Lincoln
- Lara Huskey, Midwest Housing Development Fund
- Kile Johnson, Johnson Flodman Guenzel & Widger
- Brad Koch, US Bank
- Nathan McKown, First National Bank of Omaha
- Steve Peregrine, Nebraska Housing Resources
- David Schmidt, Concorde Management (retired)
- Jeremey Shiers, West Gate Bank
- Terry Uland, Downtown Lincoln Association (retired)
Loan Fund Network
The NeighborWorkforce Loan is managed in collaboration with three separate Lincoln funds of similar purpose held by NeighborWorks Lincoln, Nebraska Housing Resources, and the South of Downtown Community Development Organization. Together, the funds total $6Mn in available capital and are committed to working together to advancing critical workforce housing projects.
Ready to apply? Contact a member of our team today.
