LA VISTA, Neb. (KMTV) — Finding affordable housing has been difficult for many of our neighbors – especially with the pain we’ve felt on our wallets these last few years.
Streck, a local bio-tech company, felt it firsthand when trying to recruit new employees.
So, the company took matters into its own hands. Providing its own affordable housing, within walking distance of the company's facilities, at The Nest Apartments.
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“I don’t think it’s an issue that will be handled by the city. I don’t think it’s an issue that will be handled by the state. I think it’s our jobs as employers to be sure that we have adequate housing for our employees,” Streck CEO Connie Ryan said.
Ryan spearheaded the creation of the Nest Apartments here in La Vista.
The 84-unit complex has now been open to the company’s employees for a little over a year., and are within walking distance from work.
“Having housing near your facility will guarantee you have enough employees for the future,” she said.
Of course – cost is important too.
The company looked at what the average rent was in the area for similar apartments – and then created a tiered system to make it even more affordable.
“At different salary ranges we gave additional discounts," Ryan explained. "So there was one salary range where you paid the full price. Then we kept moving down and kept giving them discounts as they had lower salaries.”
With plenty of units still available – Ryan decided to begin partnering with other companies to allow their employees to live at the nest with similar discounts.
“There are a lot of companies with that level of employee that are in this area. We need to get to at least 80 percent full. So we will do that and will still have places for our own people as we grow.”
She says none of this was possible without the partnership with Burlington Capital for taking on the project and running the complex.
“We do not build apartment buildings; we manufacture hematology controls," Ryan said. "Picking a good partner, who then picked a good contractor, who then worked with me through the whole project — it was critical to the success.”
She says this isn’t another way for to make money, rather it’s an investment in the company’s employees and its future.
“I feel really good about what we did and I hope we see more of it.”
Reporting in La Vista I’m Zach Williamson.
