Interest Is High In New Apartments At Former Swimming Pool Site

The Burr Oaks Place apartment complex under construction in Glenwood is attracting heavy interest from potential residents and even compliments from some neighborhood residents who originally opposed construction.

“We have over 40 people who have wanted applications and we really don’t have any marketing other than in the newspaper,” developer Travis Overhue said during an interview last week.
Overhue said most of the applicants are from the Glenwood / Mills County area.

Burr Oaks Place is a 40-unit complex being built on the former city swimming pool site along North Elm Street. The complex will have 36 2-bedroom units and four 3-bedroom units, featuring vinyl plank flooring in the living room, kitchen and hallways, stainless steel appliances, master bathrooms, large walk-in closets and concrete balconies with rod iron railings.  The two-bedroom units will have 1,176 square feet of living space and the three-bedroom will be 1,535 square feet.

“As far as the actual units, it will be nothing different than west Omaha – something that’s nice,” Overhue said.

Overhue said the apartments are spacious and will actually provide more living space than a typical split-level house.

Burr Oaks Place will be the first large apartment complex to be built in Glenwood in four decades. Overhue noted there’s long been a need for more apartments in Glenwood, but the city’s hilly geography creates challenge for developers.

“For a community like ours, that’s growing, it’s not normal to go more than 30 years of not getting anything developed,” he said. “Part of that is our lay of land isn’t ideal because of the hills. It’s similar to Plattsmouth.”

The hilly terrain has created some challenges for Overhue, as have requirements from the U.S. Department Of Housing and Urban Development block grant program, including a larger than normal holding tank for storm water drainage.

The Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program provides funds on a formula basis for the  development of affordable housing for low- and moderate-income persons.

The CDBG program requires that at least 51 percent of the tenants be classified as low to moderate income (LMI). Overhue said the program was initiated in 2020 and income limits may have changed slightly, but he believes the LMI criteria is right around $48,000 maximum income for a single person and $60,000 for a couple.

LMI residents will also qualify for a cap on their monthly rent and a utility deduction. In Glenwood, Overhue said the market rate for rent is based on figures for the Omaha metropolitan area.

In the case of the apartment complex, the grant funding is also tied to the 2019 flooding that displaced hundreds of Mills County residents. Burr Oaks is required to offer the apartments to persons impacted by the flood  before opening up the units to the general public.

“The money was given by FEMA to the state then the state gives it pretty much to the city to give to projects,” Overhue said. “How it works, anytime you have a disaster, FEMA will give money to the state and it’s up to the state to decide how it will spend it. Nebraska spent their money on infrastructure. Iowa said, ‘We have issues with housing, let’s do housing.’” 

Another stipulation tied to the CDBG program is that the apartment complex be equipped with a storm shelter. Overhue said the shelter, which is being built on the back of the building that will house 3-bedroom apartments, will have more than adequate room for all residents of the complex should severe weather occur.

Overhue noted that the apartment complex will also be environmentally friendly with electric charging stations, reduced water consumption and a large holding tank for storm water to prevent flooding.

When the apartment complex idea was first introduced for the site, several neighbors in the area voiced concern about the project. Overhue said nearly all of the comments he’s hearing now are positive, particularly about the appearance of the buildings.

“I had one person tell me, ‘If I knew it was going to look like that, I would have never been opposed to it,’” he said.