City paying people 50K to move, there are 115 requests in 2 weeks

Fans of “Parks and Recreation” can finally live their dreams of living in Pawnee – in a way.

Pawnee City, Nebraska, about 90 minutes south of Lincoln, Nebraska, and two hours north of Kansa City, Missouri, offers $ 50,000 to new residents that qualify.

Between March 14, when the program was announced and March 27, 115 people applied, said Aaron Sawyer, head of the Pawnee City Chamber of Commerce, told Business Insider.

The city plan, nicknamed Vision 2030, begins with a commitment to build 25 new unifamilial houses on currently empty land. Plans on the Vision 2030 Style Ranch Style Show website with three bedrooms, two bathrooms, two-cars and spacious backyard at the price of $ 325,000. (The average value of the house in Pawnee City is $ 102,705, according to Zillow.)

Payments of $ 50,000 in the program will be used for a deposit for buyers of new houses.

Applications are open to families, single professionals or retirees. Buyers of qualified houses must do less than certain income ceilings, which vary from $ 69,450 for a person’s household to $ 115,100 for a household of six people.

The buyers of interested houses must complete a request form which requests their current employers, their monthly income and their cleaning sizes.

In November 2024, workers inaugurated the first house, which should be ready to move in this summer, according to the Vision 2030 website.

Remote work can be a source of tension between employers and their workers, Amazon and JP Morgan recalling employees at the office five days a week five years after their initial COVI-19 closures. But for those who still have flexibility, the opportunity to move somewhere with a financial incentive can be attractive on the costly housing market today, where older houses can cost as much as new constructions.

Pawnee City dreams of a “rural renaissance”

The downward assistance initiative is part of the efforts of Pawnee City to trigger a “rural rebirth” which could rejuvenate the city, according to the Vision 2030 website.

Its population has decreased. Pawnee City has 865 residents, according to the most recent data available from the American census. The city experienced a 50 -year drop against a summit of 1,280 inhabitants, according to the civic group Pawnee Bold.

For such a small place, Pawnee City has still produced Several notable personalities, including the first governor of Nebraska, David Butler; Vintage Hollywood star Irish McCalla; And the famous actor Larry the Cable Guy.

“It is an ideal place to grow and raise children,” said Sawyer, who has links with the city through his grandparents. Pawnee City has its own school, hospital, two parks and a brand new amphitheater that has just opened last year, he added, which is remarkable for a city of its size.

This summer amphitheater The programming will include a group in Polka, a rock concert and a projection of “cars” which presents a visit to the hero of the hometown himself: Larry the cable.