St. Catherine’s Property: What’s Being Proposed — and Why It Matters for Housing in McCook

MCCOOK, Neb. — After sitting vacant for more than a decade, the former St. Catherine’s Apartments and convent property may finally be moving toward a new future — one that could help address McCook’s growing need for affordable and workforce housing.

During Monday night’s meeting, the McCook Community Development Agency (CDA) discussed a proposed structure that would allow the property to move out of long-term limbo and into a redevelopment process led by McCook Economic Development Corporation (MEDC) in partnership with Vert Development, a private housing developer.

While the discussion included legal and financing details, the goal is simple: create a realistic path to bring housing back to a property that has stood empty for nearly 15 years.

Why St. Catherine’s has been stuck for so long

Since closing in 2010, the St. Catherine’s property has changed hands multiple times, with several private redevelopment efforts falling through. City officials and economic development leaders say the scale of the building, combined with environmental issues such as asbestos and lead paint, has made redevelopment too costly for private investors to take on alone.

As a result, the property has continued to deteriorate, becoming both a safety concern and a missed opportunity for housing.

Who is leading the effort

While the City of McCook and its Community Development Agency play a necessary legal role, the redevelopment effort itself is being led by MEDC, working alongside Vert Development, a Colorado-based firm that specializes in rehabilitating older buildings into housing.

Each entity has a distinct role:

• McCook Economic Development Corporation (MEDC)

  
  

  • Identified housing needs in McCook

  • Initiated conversations around St. Catherine’s

  • Secured and allocated Rural Workforce Housing funds

  • Coordinating the project with the developer

  
  

• Vert Development

  
  

  • Private developer with experience in affordable and mixed-income housing projects

  • Responsible for redevelopment planning, financing and construction

  • Has completed similar projects, including redevelopment of a former junior high school in Ogallala

  
  

• McCook Community Development Agency (CDA)

  
  

  • A public redevelopment entity created under Nebraska law

  • Proposed to temporarily hold title to the property

  • Allows access to grants and financing tools unavailable to private owners

  
  

• City of McCook

  
  

  • Provides oversight through the CDA

  • Will not use local property tax or sales tax dollars for the purchase

  
  

Why temporary public ownership is part of the plan

One of the key challenges with redeveloping St. Catherine’s is environmental remediation. Certain grants — including potential EPA Brownfields funding — require the property to be publicly owned during specific phases of cleanup.

Under the proposal discussed Monday night:

• The CDA would temporarily acquire the property

• MEDC would provide a non-recourse loan using Rural Workforce Housing funds

• Vert Development would retain an option to repurchase the property once redevelopment milestones are met

City staff emphasized that the structure is designed to:

• Unlock funding opportunities

• Limit financial risk

• Return the property to private ownership after redevelopment

What kind of housing is being considered

While plans are still preliminary, discussion centered on affordable and workforce housing, potentially mixed with market-rate units. Officials noted that McCook continues to face housing shortages across multiple price points, including for working families, seniors and individuals relocating for employment.

MEDC representatives said that even if the original building ultimately proves impossible to rehabilitate, the property is zoned for residential use — meaning housing would still be the long-term outcome.

What happens next

The discussion Monday night did not finalize redevelopment plans. Instead, it authorized the legal and financial framework needed to move forward with:

• Environmental assessments

• Grant applications

• Detailed feasibility studies

• Continued coordination between MEDC, the CDA and Vert Development

Future steps will return to public meetings as the project progresses.

Why this matters

For years, St. Catherine’s has represented a difficult question for McCook: how to deal with a large, deteriorating property that private investment alone couldn’t revive.

This proposal represents a shift toward collaboration — using economic development tools, private expertise and limited public involvement to address a long-standing housing challenge while protecting local taxpayers.

Whether the project ultimately succeeds will depend on funding, feasibility and future approvals, but for the first time in many years, city and economic development leaders say

there is a realistic path forward.

Amanda Engell, Director of Housing Development for the McCook Economic Development Corp. shared, “The MEDC has worked tirelessly over the past two years to address the long standing nuisance of St Catherine’s through communication with the property owner, state officials, and other community leaders around the state to work toward a viable housing solution.

We are pleased to be moving forward with a non-taxpayer funded solution utilizing Rural Workforce Housing Funds to provide a loan to the Community Development Agency.  We are committed to providing solutions to McCook’s housing needs and are working diligently now to identify and apply for funding opportunities to help our community with the costs associated with the remediation of the buildings. This is a positive step forward for St Catherine’s and the surrounding neighborhood.” 

Rural Workforce Housing Funds were awarded through a competitive state grant provided by Nebraska Department of Economic Development in 2020. These funds have been used as a revolving loan fund throughout the community to assist in providing opportunities for housing development and rehabilitation.