In 2008, the Wayne Community Housing Development Corporation (WCHDC) partnered with Rob Woodling Investments (RWI) of Omaha, to develop the Wayne CROWN Project, also known as Cardinal Estates, LLC.
CROWN is an acronym for Credits to Own, a specialized program to help lower-income families transition from renting to permanent homeownership. While participating in the CROWN Project, a portion of each tenant’s monthly rent is placed into an escrow savings account. After a set period of time, typically 15 years, these funds are used toward a down payment on the home.
The WCHDC/RWI partnership was supported by grant funding from the Nebraska Department of Economic Development (DED) and the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) HOME Investment Partnership Program (HOME Funds).
To launch the project, DED and HUD awarded WCHDC a total of $365,000 in HOME Funds. WCHDC then loaned these funds to RWI, which contributed an additional $1.757 million, bringing the total project investment in Wayne to $2.122 million.
Using this investment, RWI completed construction in 2009 of 10 homes in the Western Ridge subdivision, west of Greenwood Cemetery. During this time, RWI formed Cardinal Estates, LLC to manage the rental homes and escrow a portion of the tenants’ monthly rent payments.
For the past 17 years, RWI and Cardinal Estates, LLC have managed the CROWN Project. Earlier this year, RWI and Cardinal Estates, LLC began the process of selling the homes to the tenants. Initially, eight of the ten homes will be sold, with the remaining two scheduled for sale in two years. The delayed sale of the final two homes is required under the HOME Funds guidelines from HUD and DED.
As the homes have been sold, RWI transfers the proceeds to WCHDC to repay the original loan plus interest. Once all homes have been sold and RWI has paid off the loan, WCHDC will be able to reinvest these funds into future housing projects.
The Wayne CROWN Project is a great reminder that economic development is a marathon and requires extensive partnerships to be successful. WCHDC’s partnership with RWI on the Wayne CROWN Project has led to other housing opportunities in Wayne and WCHDC will continue to leverage partnerships and programs to help Wayne America grow.
If you ever have questions about economic development, or the activities and programs overseen by Wayne America, Inc, call 402-375-2240 or email lvirgil@WayneAmerica.org.
