WAKEFIELD, Neb. -- The housing market in Nebraska and all over the country is a prominent issue, but the town of Wakefield is making strides in northeast Nebraska. 

The town celebrated the opening of three new living areas across town. Gov. Jim Pillen represented the government's role in helping fund these projects with a ribbon cutting. 

“Really today we are just celebrating housing within Wakefield,” Economic Development Director Megan Weaver said. 

Weaver spoke on Wednesday’s special occasion, about being able to provide a home to hundreds of people. 

“Today we are celebrating three housing projects, which is pretty monumental for a community of our size,” Weaver said. “We are roughly between 1,700 and 2,000 in population.”

The three locations that opened up are different from one another. One of which is a 4-unit converted project that sits on top of a coffee house, one being a triplex townhome, and the other is a brand new multi-family apartment complex.

“All together, the investment was probably close to $17 million,” Weaver said. "So that again is significant. And that is both on the private side and the public side.”

The money came from a combination of grant dollars, tax increment funding and private investment by developers. Weaver expressed how important it was to Wakefield’s economy. 

“Being able to do this helps our businesses grow, our economy grow,” Weaver said. “We are 10 miles from Wayne, which is a college town and that also helps their community as well as the other surrounding communities in the area.” 

With the governor in attendance, they initiated the ribbon cutting followed by a ceremony at the Wakefield Civic Center. Weaver was grateful for Pillen’s appearance. 

“We are extremely grateful to Gov. Pillen and his staff for making this work today,” Weaver said. “He has another speaking engagement right after this, but just having the governor recognize what we're trying to do in our community and the impact that those dollars have that the legislature has allocated towards affordable housing. And it's just always good to have somebody like the governor here.”

Thirty additional units are expected to be built in the coming years.