According to Brett Weis, an owner of the property at 2013 Ave. A, Kearney City Council recently completed bid letting, which allows the city to select a contractor to work on the project.
The contractor will be selected Tuesday.
“On Feb. 14, the general contractor will be awarded the bid from the City Council,” Weis said. “The final bid was just over $1 million.”
Last year, the council authorized City Manager Michael Morgan to oversee a grant process for Brigham Lofts, a 14-apartment housing project just south of the Kearney-Buffalo County Law Enforcement Center.
Weis and Walter Martin, both of Kearney, own the property, which was formerly a wholesale grocer and meat locker called Brigham Co. Wholesale Groceries and Kearney Locker and Cold Storage.
The building once was home to the Kearney Area Children’s Museum.
The city was awarded the grant for the apartments from the Neighborhood Stabilization Program, a funding category within the Community Development Block Grant program through the Nebraska Department of Economic Development.
The grant totals about $977,000 for construction of affordable housing plus about $39,000 for general administration for a total grant amount of $1 million.
Weis and Martin will contribute the remaining funds for the project, which should be about $200,000. There is no fiscal obligation to the city because no matching funds are required.
Weis said construction will begin March 1 and will be complete next winter.
“It should be about an eight-month project so that puts us at December,” he said.
The three-story building will be renovated into two one-bedroom and 12 two-bedroom apartments. The units will be open to income-eligible renters.
The income levels will be at 120 percent of the area median income. The limits range from $52,800 for one person to $60,000 for two people.
Weis said potential tenants will apply for the units before being selected based on state-provided criteria.
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