OMAHA, Neb. (KMTV) — Heartland Family Service has found itself a new home. The organization purchased the Archdiocese of Omaha campus that was up for sale after they moved into a new location last November.
John Jeanetta, president and CEO of Heartland Family Service says they are super excited as they were growing out of their current spaces and were even turning down opportunities to serve people in the community.
Heartland Family Service has been helping people in the community for almost 150 years. They have 20 different offices across East Central Nebraska and Southwest Iowa. The new location will allow them to better serve the community with everything under one roof.
"The buildings are beautiful, and the exterior is in great shape; the location is fantastic, there are four major bus lines that operate on that route," said Jeanetta. "Last year 65%, of the people we served made less than $10,000 per year, so having a location that is accessible to our clients is really important."
The new space is more than they need, 92,000 square feet of office space and about eight acres of land. The extra space gives them the opportunity to grow.
But before they can move in, it will need renovations.
"Do we need to gut the building or can we renovate with what is there?" Jeanetta said. "Maybe it is some mix, but it really depends on where we stand on code."
But those renovations won't be coming anytime soon.
"Because of COVID-19, and the impact it has had on our economy, some of our major donors are saying it will be 2021 or later before we are able to make big donations for capital projects, so that could push the timeline out considerably," Jeanetta said. "We have budgeted for holding costs to be able to maintain and keep the building."
Last year they helped more than 50,000 people. Their programs include everything from education programs, child welfare to emergency housing needs.
Their former buildings were all leased; having everything under one roof will save them about $500,000 per year.
They are looking for input from staff, clients and the community for the new building as they look to the future.
