BLAIR, Neb. (KMTV) — Construction is underway near the intersection of Highway 30 and 133, where the new 132-unit apartment complex is taking shape.
- Video shows handout drone footage from Ronco Construction.
- Blair is using just over $2 million in TIF funding for the development and improvements to the surrounding highway system.
- The first building in the apartment complex is scheduled to open in early summer 2025.
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
Blair is building its first new apartment complex in 25 years, a 132-unit development that city officials say will help address a critical housing shortage and spark economic growth in the Washington County community.
Construction is underway near the intersection of Highway 30 and 133, where the new apartment complex is taking shape. City Administrator Phil Green said he immediately supported the project when developers approached the city.
Blair has struggled to attract new development compared to nearby Douglas and Sarpy counties, Green said.
"And Washington County is just a little bit farther outside of everyone's thoughts and so it just ends up being a place that not as many people have thought about developing in the past. We hope that changes going forward," Green said.
A Washington County study from the Gateway Corporation found Blair needs to build more than 520 new housing units to keep up with growth. Since 2021, the city has only added about 50 units.
"During that time, Dollar General Distribution Center came in, 650 new jobs. The majority of them were living south in Omaha, not because they wanted to, that just there wasn't any place up here," said Mike Rooks, executive director of the Gateway Corporation.
The project required tax increment financing from the city to move forward, Rooks said.
"And that's truly because we had to put all the new roads and everything and the infrastructure in for it," Rooks said.
Blair is using just over $2 million in TIF funding for the development and improvements to the surrounding highway system.
The project has already attracted two new businesses to the area, and city officials expect more development to follow.
"We're hoping this becomes kind of the beginning development for some future retail development in that area," Green said.
The first building in the apartment complex is scheduled to open in early summer 2025.
