come visit seward, nebraska! why seward you may ask? it’s€¦ · down barriers to growth for...
TRANSCRIPT
Come visit Seward, Nebraska! Why Seward you may ask? It’s simple, this city sets the standard for a high quality of life and has the statewide and national rankings to prove it. Here in Seward, we certainly “Live the Good Life” every day.
Seward is making strides to set an example of economic progress for Nebraska. The City of Seward and the Seward County Chamber & Development Partnership (SCCDP) have been hard at work knocking down barriers to growth for current business owners and aspiring entrepreneurs.
The City of Seward continues to be ranked in the top ten on lists recognizing the best places to live in Nebraska, and in some cases, the United States. The City of Seward’s Playbook is a visual demonstration of the many reasons why Seward has this reputation.
The Seward County Chamber & Development Partnership has assem-bled a website that highlights all communities within Seward County. The site features videos and information that exhibits why Seward and other communities throughout the county are fantastic places to work, live and play. Check it out at CultivateSewardCounty.com.
Get involved in the economic future of Seward! To learn more about the City of Seward, please visit CityofSewardNE.com. For further information about Seward County, check out this website atSewardNebraskaTourism.com.
THE SEWARD TRADITION
PAST CELEBRATION: Seward has celebrated Indepen-dence Day since it first began in 1867. Over the de-cades, the city has since hosted the Midwest’s pre-mier 4th of July celebration. Before the automobile was created for popular use, special trains were run to bring people to the event. In 1973, Governor J. James Exon issued a proclamation that designated Seward as ‘Nebraska’s Official 4th of July City.’ In 1979, the U.S. Congress named Seward ‘America’s Official 4th of July City - Small Town USA.’
PRESENT CELEBRATION: Seward is the perfect place to host an Independence Day celebration. With an active and passionate community, local business-es and citizens come together to make each 4th of July better than the last. Each summer, the celebra-tion brings over 40,000 visitors to the city, and its popularity continues to grow. Aerobatics, craft fairs, carnival games, musical performances, fireworks, parade and street pole vault competitions are just a few examples of the festivities happening on the 4th. The 4th of July celebration is just one of the many things that demonstrates the vibrancy of the community.
The Seward CommunityScouting Report
In 2014, the Seward Memorial Library completed its $1 million privately-funded basement renovation. The construction features stairs to a lower level where patrons are able to find additional library resources and comfortable reading space.
The City of Seward is committed to quality of life for its residents and recently became operators of the Seward Community Golf Course. Seward recreational facilities include the Dowding Municipal Pool, Plum Creek Park & Trail, Plum Creek Sports Complex, City Bandshell, Blue Valley Camping Area and the Cattle Athletic Training Center. The Plum Creek Trail & Gar-den Area will be expanded to a full seven-mile loop around the city by 2019.
Recently, Ridgewood Rehabilitation & Care Center completed its $10.5 million renovation project. The project nearly doubled the size of the facility and added new amenities. Before construction, Ridgewood’s facilities totaled 39,400 square feet. After the project was completed, the entire campus totaled 67,500 square feet.
The Seward CommunityScouting Report
Seward is a growing city. The city’s population has grown over 10% since the 2000 census.
7,219Population (2016):2,928
Seward is the largest and fastest growing com-munity in Seward County. Its downtown features a traditional county courthouse square with a thriving business district.
Seward provides a complete and quality educational experi-ence at every scholasatic level. Educational institutions in-clude a public elementry school with a preschool and special needs classroom, middle school, high school and alternative education center, which offers specialized services for sec-ondary students. Seward also features two parochial school in St. Vincent de Paul and St. John Lutheran.
2017 season HighLights
CNG, Incorporated has completed developing the Old Seward Middle School site at 237 S. 3rd St. Through a Tax Increment Financing application, CNG has com-mitted to invest $7 million in redeveloping the area. Additional developments to the site include a new lo-cation for The Rock Lutheran Church, as well as a new housing development on the south side of the property.
St. John Lutheran Church and School completed con-structing and furnishing the new Child Development Center (CDC) north of their church campus at 919 North Columbia Ave. Construction was completed in 2016. At full capacity, the CDC serves around 140 children ages 6 months through age 13.
Union Bank & Trust (UBT) built a new bank branch in downtown Seward. Completed in 2016, the facility has expanded UBT’s ability to service their customers. It in-cludes, multiple drive-up lanes, additional office space to accommodate future staff, and easier parking acces-sibility. This development has helped kick offthe Old Mid-dle School Property Project.
Tradition of Excellence
The Jones National Bank & Trust Company conducted a large-scale renovation of their main offices on the Seward downtown square. Improvements include, in-creased public parking that is available to the Seward community. The renovations, finished in 2014, totaled $5 million.
In 2012, the Seward Public Schools District completed a new Middle School in the north part of the city. Con-struction began after passing of an $18 million bond. The Seward Middle School serves 400+ students in the new facility.
Concordia University recently completed construction of the Walz Human Performance Complex. The facility features a state-of-the-art gymnasium, weight rooms, locker rooms and a full-size 200 meter indoor track. The total investment on the project was $24 million.
Tradtion of Excellence
The iconic Rivoli Theatre is a movie theater located on the historic downtown square. Owned and operated by the Wisehart family since 1979, the Theatre has become the place to see a movie in Seward County. Recently, they completed renovations and added a second screen, enabling more films to be shown per day. The original screen seats 231 and the brand new screen seats 70.
In 2014, the Nebraska National Guard Museum was moved to Seward, Nebraska. It is housed in the former Seward armory building. The building renovation and landscaping have been paid for with a $2.1 million fed-eral grant. Since its opening, multiple exhibits have been added in the Museum through generous donations from Seward area donors.
Cobblestone Hotel & Suites, a well-regarded national hotel chain, opened its doors in south Seward in 2014. The new hotel offers 36 rooms and includes an indoor swimming pool. Cobblestone is known for building hotels in smaller communities across the U.S. to deliver attrac-tive hotel-stay experiences.
Signature WInMemorial Health Care Systems
Memorial Hospital will soon celebrate its 65th year as a respected provider of medical services to the communities of Seward County. Although the original building has been remodeled, modernized and stretched in many directions over the years, its primary purpose has remained the same to provide the best medical care to the people of Seward County. “It’s important to contin-ually study the services offered by Memorial Health Care Systems, as well as how and where they are provided,” says Roger Reamer, CEO of MHCS. “Outpa-tient services are rapidly outpacing inpatient stays.” The scope of the project includes the construction of a 15,319 sq. ft. outpatient services facility to be located between the entrances of Memorial Hospital and the Seward Fam-ily Medical Center. The facility will be the new home of Memorial Center. This facility will be the new home of Memorial Hospital Specialty Physicians Clinic on the first floor. The lower level will provide ample space for the addition of aquatic physical therapy services.
Renovations totaled $9 million.
Excerpts from an article in the Seward County Independent: August 12, 2015.
The Recruit
This 300-acre rail served industrial property located in Seward, Nebraska is a shovel-ready site in close proximity to I-80. All utili-ties are adjacent, it abuts the BNSF railroad mainline, and has enough room to fit an entire unit train on a potential rail loop design. Current commercial and industrial lots are available for sale next to Nebraska Highway 15. Contact Jonathan Jank for more details.
Regional Population
City of Seward6,964 -
16,750 - Seward County285,407 - Landcaster County370,000 - Seward and contiguous counties
Within 50-mile radius500,000 -
Transportation
Highway & Interstate Access:0.0 miles NE HWY 15 - North & South
0.5 miles US HWY 34 - East & West4.5 miles to Interstate 80
other facts
306 total acres300 adjacent acres availableLevel topography
Within City service limitsInternal rail loop possible
RECOGNITION
“Little but fiercely patriotic, Seward finishes first due to some amazingly low tax rates, crime rates, weather, and employment. This just proves that great things do come in small packages.”
“The divorce rates in Seward are unbelievably low, at 3.6% for males and 7.9% for females. The residents here also spend less money than average on housing.”
“Seward boasts rapid growth [42.9%], a high median household income [$58,989], and a GreatSchools rating of 8. What’s not to love for a growing family?”
“These days, the city of 7,165 is also known as Nebraska’s safest city, and experienced only four cases of violent crime and a paltry 54 cases of property crime per year.”
Seward’s historic downtown square received a brand new business in 2013 with the Red Path Gallery & Tast-ing Room. It features art exhibits, unique beverages, and a music studio. Special guests and performances are frequent and more information can be found on the com-pany’s website. The gallery features Nebraska-based artists showcased on a rotating basis.
Founders Gerald Homp, Jason Berry, and Brewmaster Ryan Koch, the three owners of Bottle Rocket Brewing Company, LLC, opened their new facility in October 2015. The company went through an extensive renovation pro-cess of their building that was formerly The Flower Mill, a long-time locally-owned flower shop. They added an event space in 2016 to accommodate larger events.
Junto Wine, located east of Seward on U.S. Highway 34, is a wine tasting room that serves drinks produced from their own vineyard. They host live music and private events on a regular basis. Junto’s new Event Center ac-commodates 200+ guests. Their vineyard overlooks the beautiful and rolling Garland Hills.
Stay Hydrated in Seward
Fast Mart has committed to invest $2.7 million to im-prove their service and quality. Hence, they created a new and improved gas station. This inclues a new con-venient store, car wash, and new gas pumps. Project is anticipated to finish in late 2017.
In 2017, PolyTech chose Seward to consolidate their cor-porate office and manufacturing facility under one roof. PolyTech manufactures a product called RAAFT that pre-vents center pivots from getting stuck.
New Recruits
In 2017, FullField Ag purchased a facility to locate their corporate headquarters and expand their services in Seward County. FullField Ag provides field data analysis by certified crop advisers, aerial imagery using state-of-the-art UAV technology, smart soil sampling, and on-site installation, service, and training.
Stay fit on the Seward TrailSave on gas and travel by foot or bike on the Plum Creek Trail be-ginning near the Plum Creek Sports Complex on Karol Kay Bou-levard and ending near the Water Treatment Facility on South Columbia Avenue. The trail itself extends for 2.7 miles total. In 2004, the concrete trail was completed. The Trail is currently in the process of lengthening to 7.5 miles long, circumferencing the city of Seward. The completion of this project, also known as the Hiker/Biker Trail is scheduled to be completed in 2019.
Stay in contact with the team
MAYOR JOSH EICKMEIER
(402) 730 5225
JONATHAN JANK
PRESIDENT & CEO
GREG BUTCHER(402) 803 9301
CITY HALL, 537 MAIN STREET
CITY HALL, 537 MAIN STREET
CIVIC CENTER, 616 BRADFORD STREET
(402) 570 8020
CITY ADMINISTRATOR