The former Ruby Tuesday location in Kearney, (Brian Neben, Central Nebraska Today)
KEARNEY — The former Ruby Tuesday’s location will soon be remodeled into offices after the Kearney city council approved a request for tax increment financing during their meeting on Tuesday, April 8.
Kayla James, Director of Finance, appeared before the council and said Stonebridge Wealth Systems is considering a remodel of the former Ruby Tuesday’s location into an office space. The building is located at 108 1st Ave. Place.
Stonebridge Wealth Systems is requesting tax increment financing to help with the project.
Tax increment financing (TIF) in Nebraska is primarily designed to finance the public costs associated with a private development project. Essentially, the property tax increases resulting from a development are targeted to repay the public investment required by a project.
The property’s current valuation is $792,410, with the new valuation being around $1,153,800 when the project is complete.
During their meeting on April 7, the Kearney Community Redevelopment Authority moved that the project be granted a total of $70,939 in TIF for landscaping, fencing, exterior lighting and concrete patio and drainage curbing.
James said the city staff recommended approval of the request, the city council followed suit and voted unanimously to approve the TIF project.
The council also voted to approve a rezoning application submitted by Lean Brandt, owner of Countryside Mobile Park, Inc.
Brandt said he was seeking to rezone the property at 802 E. 30th St. to R1-D, with the goal of tearing down the dilapidated structure and building a duplex in its place.
A request from Evangelical Lutheran Good Samaritan Society, with a subdivision vacation, rezoning request and preliminary and final plats for a Good Samaritan Village property, had requested to be postponed until the April 22 meeting, which was approved.
During the reports, Brenda Jensen, City Manager, said around 7,000 people attended the open house of the SportsPlex facility on Saturday, April 5.
She noted that their first event took place on Sunday, April 6 saw 110 volleyball teams utilize the facility with 2,500 people in the building for the two sessions.
A formal ribbon cutting for the facility is Thursday, April 11 at 5 p.m.
