BEATRICE – The head of Main Street Beatrice says there’s been some interest in a huge downtown former hotel and retirement center in Beatrice.

The City of Beatrice and the local business group have been working on getting a developer or developers to take over the Paddock-Kensington, which closed as a senior living center more than a year ago. 

Main Street Beatrice Executive Director Michael Sothan said contact has been made with 23 different prospective developers…and about eight have toured the building, some multiple times.   He says a handful of developers are taking a close look at submitting a plan for the building.   One issue is the cost to redevelop the multi-story building….which has grown to an estimated of $7 million to $10 million.

Legislative reauthorization of an historic tax credit program that raised the cap on credits and eligible expenditures could help with finding a developer or developers who want to take on the Kensington project.  The building is on the National Register of Historic Places.