Every year around this time I write about state legislative issues and how they may or may not impact our local businesses, based on guidance Aurora Development Corporation receives from the Nebraska Economic Developers Association (NEDA) and the Nebraska State Chamber.

This year, my schedule has been no different, and I spent a couple of days in Lincoln working on behalf of our local businesses.  One week I participated in two council meetings with the state chamber on the topics of Agribusiness, Environment and Energy.  Then I met with NEDA to discuss economic development bills we support or oppose and then we headed to the capital to meet with senators.

I correspond with Senator Lippincott a fair amount, so I was able to text with him that morning to let him know that I would be stopping by the capital and we decided to meet in the rotunda because he was introducing a priority bill later that morning.

For individuals who don’t connect with their senator as often, it is also possible to schedule a meeting by phone or email ahead of time through their office staff.  The other way to speak with a senator while they are in session, is to check in with one of the individuals wearing a red coat in the rotunda.  You can fill out a white slip of paper indicating which senator you would like to speak with and what topic you want to discuss, and they will deliver it to the senator, so they can come out to speak with you when they are free.

While I have made numerous trips to the capital to talk with senators over the years, I have never used this method for connecting with a senator, which is why I made the mistake of wearing a red coat myself to the capital.  Since it was a busy morning for Senator Lippincott, I waited in the rotunda around 30 minutes to speak with him.  Due to my clothing choices, I was handed a white slip of paper to pass along to a senator, while I was waiting.  In the end it was a fellow NEDA member giving me a hard time for wearing a red coat.  So, learn from my mistakes and don’t wear a red coat to the capital.

If you aren’t interested in navigating the endless hallways of our capital or the dynamics of the rotunda, you can also communicate your business related concerns to our office and we will pass them along to Senator Lippincott on your behalf.

I am one of several people who receives the building permit list from the city each month.  Some months I am looking for projects I have worked on that finally reached the building permit stage and other months I am surprised by projects that I had no idea were in the works.  I don’t typically talk about building permits, since the Aurora News Register does a great job of covering this topic, but I continue to track this information each month in a database that started back in the year 2000.

When I was asked to give a quote about building permit totals for 2025, the brief information provided was that total permits were $17.3 million, down from last year’s $53.6 million.  This information is true and will likely be the headline, but it made me curious to look further back, knowing we had amazing building permit totals in 2023 and 2024.

Looking back over the past 25 years, building permit totals have ranged from a low of $1.7 million in 2002 to a high of $255 million in 2007.  Taking out the four years that were over $20 million, the annual average comes out to $7.9 million.  It is also important to note that this year’s total is the 5^th highest building permit total in the last 25 years.  Given that perspective, I think it is safe to say that building permit totals of $17.3 million in 2025 is something to celebrate.

Something else that is important to point out and celebrate is the type of development that has happened in 2025.    The majority, if not all, of the building permits issued in 2025 came from within the community.  This means that there was growth in the residential, commercial, and industrial sectors which are already located in Aurora.

When people think of Aurora Development Corporation, we are usually tied to the new businesses that are attracted to the community.  While we do work on those projects, our greater goal is to make sure businesses and residents located in Aurora and Hamilton County are successful, whether they just moved to the area or have been here for decades.  When we have a year where most/all of the growth comes from within, and it was a significant amount of development at that, we know we are reaching that greater goal of success for our entire community.

There is no greater sales pitch than proven community success.  I think it is safe to say that 2025 provided great evidence that opportunity grows here.

Something I do each week is drive around Aurora and check on Aurora Development Corporation (ADC) properties.  Between commercial and residential lots, ADC owns ground in five different areas of Aurora that I check.  I drive around once a week for many reasons, but one of the highlights is seeing developments take shape over time, particularly in housing.

Currently ADC plays a supporting role in housing efforts as the Aurora Housing Development Corporation (AHDC) has hit the ground running since receiving Rural Workforce Housing Funds in 2021 and 2023.  As a supporter of housing efforts, ADC mainly helps with some development costs, holding lots and office resources in updating housing materials.

One thing that always sticks out to me on my weekly drive, is how fast housing development can happen.  One week there will be a basement dug, the next week concrete will be poured, shortly after that the walls start going up, and before you know it there is a stone with a new last name on it and a trash can, which is a sure sign that someone is living there.

Since I started driving around in 2020, there have been 9 new homes built in the Northridge subdivision, which is located north of the 4 Diamond Sport softball/baseball complex. In the Streeter Subdivision, which is everything west of Westfield Quality Care, there have been 27 single-family homes, 18 duplexes (36 living units), and a 12-unit apartment complex built in the last 6 years. This is an amazing amount of development for a community of less than 5,000 people.

Using average assumptions, this housing development has moved more than 180 people into Aurora.  Now, I know that some of those people already were in Aurora, but the house they left was then opened for people moving into the community or up in housing.  This is actually the scenario that we envision for the new duplex townhomes, built on Cottage Park Drive.  We assumed people would move into these duplexes to downsize, which would open their previous larger home for families.  In reality, most of those residents are new to the community, moving to Aurora to be centrally located to other family members.

Looking at the economic impact of this housing development, we know that in addition to increasing our population, this has also created $20.3 million in new investment in the community through construction costs.  Additionally, with a median household income of $66,588 in Aurora, the economic impact of this new housing is adding more than $5.6 million to the local economy each year.

I am excited to see new housing and commercial development as I continue my weekly drive around Aurora.  While it is easy to see commercial and business development happening in our community, it is important to remember that housing is also a key piece of community growth.  Over the past 6 years, Aurora has excelled at housing development and that is a trend we plan to continue in the future.

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