Falls City moves to pursue rural workforce housing project at 606 Morehead Court

Falls City officials authorized staff to submit an application for a rural workforce housing project at 606 Morehead Court, a second-phase effort tied to the city’s earlier 1612/Fulton Street project.

City staff said the workforce program carries a $325,000 cap on build costs (the cap does not include the lot). The lot for the proposed house is valued at $34,000; program rules include a lot-cost rebate equal to 5 percent of the build cost (cited by staff as about $16,250 under the $325,000 limit). The housing fund supporting the program holds about $1.6 million across participating communities, with roughly $496,000 remaining to be allocated among Falls City, Henderson and Nebraska City, staff said. Falls City previously contributed $200,000 to that pooled fund.

The proposed unit is a three-bedroom, two-bath house with an attached three-car garage and an unfinished basement roughed in for future expansion. Staff said the unfinished basement and garage configuration were intended to improve marketability while keeping upfront costs down. On design details, a council member asked whether the basement would be a walk‑out or have only egress windows; staff said there is a walk‑out basement and that other finish options could be negotiated with a buyer before construction.

Council members pressed staff on program mechanics: who pays what up front, how resale or repayment to the fund works, and whether the city would guarantee a sale before construction begins. Staff explained the city’s $200,000 sits in a revolving pool that is reused as houses sell; if a house sells for more than the build cap, the surplus stays in the pool, but if sales fall short the pool could be at risk. Staff also noted the program restricts construction cost to $325,000 and that buyers could add optional finishes above that cap through separate private agreements.

Housing board members and staff said the city would use the same general contractor as the earlier Fulton Street project and would encourage local subcontractor participation. Staff said they will seek to close on the property after the application is approved by the administering agency and before construction begins. If the council approves submission and the application clears CAC review, the mayor would be authorized to sign purchase and construction documents to proceed.

The council made a motion to approve authorization to submit the application and discussed next steps; procedural votes and final procurement steps were to follow as staff completes the application and secures any needed program approvals.