Sutherland housing is on upswing

By George Lauby 
The North Platte Telegraph
December 8, 2001

SUTHERLAND - On the northwest corner of Sutherland near the foot of
the Sandhills along Prairie Trace Road, new homes are starting to fill
up about 50 lots. They are going up much quicker than expected.

"We started about three years ago," said former grocer Dean Kealy. "We
were going to build one home each year, but demand has been
good. We're averaging about five per year."

The homes are going to former residents of such towns as North Platte,
Hershey and Wallace. One home buyer moved from Auburn to work at the
Gerald Gentlemen power plant south of town, Kealy said.

In all, 17 new homes are either complete or under construction,
including a large home overlooking the valley on the north and
duplexes for rent on the south.

"We're trying to cover the gamut, trying to fill the needs," Kealy
said.

On Friday, during a warm December spell, crews poured cement and put
up siding at separate sites on the 55-acre subdivision.

Kealy, 50, became a developer about seven years ago. He built
Sutherland's grocery and convenience stores in the 1980s and then
operated them. He got the home-building bug in 1996 when he bought a
fixer-upper in Hershey.

Kealy said he learned lots of building skills during the six months it
took to rebuild the home. He re-sold it and looked around for another
one, without success.

"I did all my own work (on the fixer-upper) in Hershey," Kealy
said. "I really enjoyed that. I said 'I need another one of these,'
but everyone was doing that too and I couldn't find any more in the
area. So I said, 'let's build a house.' Evidently there was a pent-up
demand."

That was the beginning of the Cherry Hills subdivision.

Cherry Hills is being built by an all-Sutherland hometown crew, except
for a man from Hershey who does the sidewalk work, Kealy said. Welding
and repair shop owner Levon Scott does the grading work, including the
subdivision's two new streets. Matt Springer, the industrial arts
teacher at the school, is the head carpenter. Sutherland plumbers,
electricians and roofers are also involved with the construction..

Kealy pitches in to fill the gaps, including painting and hanging
insulation.

Friday afternoon, Kealy used a skid-steer loader to backfill around
some foundations, then worked at his home where he has about 1,000
feet of wood trim laid out to stain.

"That's what I'm doing," he said, "if the sun doesn't go down too
early today."

Sutherland Chamber of Commerce President Pat Thomas said the project
has been a pleasure for the town.

"It's surprising to everyone how well it's gone," Thomas said. "It's
been a win-win deal. The subdivision has been annexed into the village
limits, so that gives it access to sewer and water, and it helps the
city tax base. It's obviously benefiting the community."