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DED Awards Federal Housing Funds to CenterPointe Project in Lincoln

Photo: a rendering of CenterPointe’s future facility at 2202 S. 11th St. in Lincoln.

A grant from the National Housing Trust Fund, awarded by DED last month, will help CenterPointe develop housing and service facilities for people in need.   

An award from the Nebraska Department of Economic Development (DED) will support a Lincoln-based provider in its vision to develop new housing and space for programs that serve people in need.

DED awarded $3.1 million in National Housing Trust Funds (HTF) last month to the CenterPointe South Street Project, LLC. An addiction, mental and physical health services provider based in Lincoln, CenterPointe purchased Trabert Hall at 2202 S. 11th St. in 2018, with plans to convert the five-story former nursing dormitory into very low-income housing and provider facilities.

“There’s a definite need for more health care and low-income housing options in southwest Lincoln,” said Topher Hansen, CenterPointe CEO. “Thanks largely to the financing we’ve secured through DED, the Nebraska Investment Finance Authority and other sources, we’re in a position to fill that void by renovating and repurposing this space.”

Planned modifications will transform the building’s top two floors into 32 efficiency-style rental units reserved for very low-income tenants.

“Sixty percent of the people we serve make less than $1,000 per year,” Hansen said.

Other floors will house CenterPointe’s primary care and physical and mental health services, a pharmacy, office and administrative space and conference rooms. Meanwhile the garden/reception level will host meetings, community-based education and other activities. There will even be a full-service “teaching kitchen” where people will learn to prepare healthy meals.

Funding from the Nebraska Investment Finance Authority (NIFA) is complementing CenterPointe’s HTF award to fund the project’s housing component. Low Income Housing Tax Credits and Nebraska Affordable Housing State Tax Credits are also involved in the project, alongside public-private contributions. CenterPointe is currently seeking additional sources of financing.

The project represents just the latest use of HTF funding in Nebraska to convert or redevelop existing buildings into multiunit rentals for underserved, vulnerable groups. A federal program administered by DED on behalf of the State of Nebraska, HTF is designed to finance safe, quality rental housing for very-low income individuals and families, specifically those at or below 30% of the area median income, including the homeless. The 92-unit Skyline Apartments in Norfolk are another recent example of HTF dollars being put to work to fund very low-income rental development.

“The National Housing Trust Fund is an essential tool in our mission to provide safe, quality, available housing opportunities for every resident of Nebraska, including our most at-risk or vulnerable individuals,” said DED Director Anthony L. Goins. “We applaud CenterPointe and all of our recipients who have found ways to leverage this vital resource to address the needs of the people they serve.”

For more information about the HTF, contact Mechele Grimes, Housing Specialist, at mechele.grimes@nebraska.gov or 402-309-4536.