Nebraska Department of Economic Development to Provide Disaster Recovery Housing Funds

The Nebraska Department of Economic Development (DED) has announced that it will make available Disaster Recovery Housing Project Funds to aid communities impacted by the March flooding disaster.

“Nebraskans weathered the storm together and now we’re going to rebuild together,” said DED Director Dave Rippe. “This resource will help position communities to address local housing needs in the wake of the disaster.”

The Department will award a total of $3,005,000 to eligible applicants based in counties that received a flood-related disaster declaration by the Nebraska Emergency Management Agency (NEMA). Eligible applicants include governmental subdivisions; public housing authorities; community action agencies; community-based, neighborhood-based or reservation-based nonprofit 501(c)(3) or 501(c)(4) organizations; and for-profit developers and contractors applying alongside a previously mentioned eligible applicant.

DED will review and score applications to ensure the most impactful distribution of limited funding. Awarded applicants will be eligible for up to $500,000, with a 10% cash matching requirement based on the total funding request. Eligible activities include:

• New construction; rehabilitation; reconstruction; or acquisition and rehabilitation of rental housing units.
• New construction; rehabilitation; reconstruction; or acquisition and rehabilitation of units for homebuyers or homeowners.
• Acquisition and rehabilitation/conversion or reconstruction of property into housing units.
• Demolition of housing units damaged by the flooding, when included with a housing project (e.g., demolition of units located in or near the floodplain in conjunction with housing units on property outside of the floodplain; demolition of structures to allow for new housing construction; demolition of mobile homes with development or rehabilitation of eligible units).

The available funding has been made possible by the Nebraska Affordable Housing Trust Fund (NAHTF). As with the NAHTF, eligible projects must serve persons whose annual income is 120% or less of the area median income, as determined by the Federal Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).

To apply for funds, eligible entities must first submit a pre-application, due by 5:00 p.m. CDT on Wednesday, June 5, 2019. A full application will be due no later than 5:00 p.m. CDT on Wednesday, July 31, 2019.

DED will host optional pre- and full application workshops to assist interested applicants in navigating the application process. The workshops will be held via WebEx at the dates and times specified below:

• A Pre-Application WebEx Workshop will be held Wednesday, May 15, 2019, at 10:00 a.m. CDT.
• A Full Application WebEx Workshop will be held Tuesday, June 11, 2019, at 2:00 p.m. CDT.

For pre and full application information, visit:

https://opportunity.nebraska.gov/program/nebraska-affordable-housing-trust-fund/#guidelines

For more information, contact Evan Clark, Housing Specialist, at evan.clark@nebraska.gov or 402-471-4679; or, Kylee Bischoff, Application Coordinator, at kylee.bischoff@nebraska.gov or 402-471-2843.

NEMA County Declarations can be found at:

http://nema.maps.arcgis.com/apps/opsdashboard/index.html#/0bc3537ed2a145bba2ffbd37b54209ed

HUD data on median area income is available at:

https://opportunity.nebraska.gov/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/2018-120-Income-Limits.pdf.