Mission investments support community housing needs

The nursery and flower shop was opened in the 1940s by Masami and Haruye Utsumi after they fled the West Coast during World War II to avoid detainment in an internment camp for Japanese Americans.

By 2012, the pink, teal and yellow panels on the Chevy vans had faded, and their son Hitoshi Utsumi closed the business after he and his wife were diagnosed with cancer.

For years, the property sat in disarray. More than a decade later, the owner at the time took on the large job of demolishing the greenhouse and cleaning up the land located in the southeast Lincoln neighborhood.

Charlie Wesche, CEO of NeighborWorks Lincoln (NWL), a nonprofit community housing development organization, would find himself driving past the empty site, dreaming of what might take root.

“As long as I’ve known it’s been a vacant piece of property, but a lot of people tell me it’s where they used to get their prom corsages,” he shared.

Charlie’s dream began to take shape when NeighborWorks Lincoln purchased the former Azalealand site in September 2024. Since then, NWL has been working alongside neighbors to develop the 2.9 acres into 18 affordable homes for first-time homebuyers, two market rate homes and neighborhood amenities.

As the predevelopment work began, Charlie reached out to Lincoln Community Foundation’s Strategic Partnerships Consultant, Rich Herink, about a possible mission investment loan from LCF’s endowment pool to help finance the acquisition and predevelopment phase of the project.

Mission investments provide both a financial return and support social benefits to the community. “They are often structured as loans, loan guarantees and equity investments infused directly into projects, or through intermediaries that invest in these projects,” explained Rich.

“I initially asked Rich for a $900,000 loan for predevelopment expenses,” said Charlie. “That’s a much bigger request than we’ve made in the past.”

LCF committed to funding half of the requested loan amount, while also connecting NWL to Community Development Resources (CDR), a Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) that provides capital and technical assistance to develop affordable housing in Nebraska, to secure the rest of the financing.

“When all was said and done, we had financing at 4%, which is better than we could have done getting a market loan,” said Charlie. “That was the power of LCF coming to the table to provide the initial half and making the connection to CDR.”

Beyond the Azalealand property, a low-interest loan from LCF also helped NWL finance the acquisition and predevelopment expenses for a mixed-income project at 46^th and Pioneers, which is now wrapping up construction.

“Money costs money,” shared Charlie. “But with a mission investment loan from LCF, we’re saving money on the entire project, which allows us to deliver more homes at an affordable price.”

When the loans are repaid, LCF can reinvest the funds into new community projects. As Rich stated, “it’s a home run.”

“We like working with nonprofit developers, landowners and home builders, knowing that they will reposition properties to remain affordable for the long-term,” he continued. “We’re not just concerned about affordability now but maintaining affordability in the future.”

LCF’s mission investments have not only supported the creation of affordable housing, but also have helped entrepreneurs start and grow their businesses and provided support for local nonprofits to expand their services.

“Seeing these funds redeployed to seed new ideas in our community creates a cycle of good,” said Rich. “By putting our philanthropic capital to work, we can open more opportunities for Lincoln to grow and thrive.”