An open house was held on Tuesday, April 7 to tour the new BonnaVilla duplex in Holdrege, (Brian Neben, Central Nebraska Today)
HOLDREGE — Additional housing is being added to the Holdrege community through new duplexes that are being built by BonnaVilla.
A community open house was held during the early afternoon of Tuesday, April 7 to allow the community to tour the new duplex that had been built on the east side of town on 10th Ave.
Jeff Hofaker, Executive Director of the Phelps County Development Corporation, said an important part of economic development is being able to house the workers of established and new industries.
Hofaker said the duplex represented a partnership between developers, contractors and the City of Holdrege.
When asked after his official remarks, Hofaker said that the duplexes would be built and then sold, with four to five more being built in the area. Gesturing to the area south of 10th Ave., Hofaker said additional residences could be built in the area.
He noted that their goal is to build roughly 15 to 20 new homes every year. Hofaker said that established businesses within Holdrege have been expanding.
It was also noted that DG Fuels, a US-owned synthetic fuel company selected Phelps County, Nebraska for its first Midwest production facility
When it comes to housing, Hofaker said it was important to build as many and as diverse residential offerings as possible.
Holdrege Mayor James Liffrig said that housing has been an issue in Holdrege, like many other communities throughout Nebraska.
Liffrig said it takes a special type of collaboration to bring this type of housing to the Holdrege area.
The duplex had been constructed by BonnaVilla, a division of Chief Industries.
“Chief Industries, with a legacy in construction and manufacturing dating back to 1954, leveraged its extensive expertise to establish BonnaVilla in 1970. BonnaVilla is our dedicated manufacturing housing division, specializing in the creation of premium factory-built homes,” per the BonnaVilla website.
Mike Morrow, general manager of BonnaVilla, said that they have a commitment to helping address the housing issue and noted Holdrege was a community who was willing to collaborate and tackle the problem.
Morrow noted that these duplexes are built as modular units at their facility in Aurora and then are transported to be finished on site.
The duplexes are two bedroom, two bathroom and feature an unfished basement and a two-car attached garage. They are 2,280 square feet.
