WOOD RIVER, Neb. -- A child development center, a library, a food pantry and a senior center will soon be under one roof in Wood River. 

 “We have the room here," said Eric Nielsen, Wood River City Council president. "We have this building why not move them all together? And we can create this intergenerational experience between these facilities and the Stick Creek kids."

Nielsen said the idea was born after Good Samaritan Society vacated its building and the Stick Creek Kids Child Development Center was completed.

The first of its kind, the facility will soon have renovated space and house the Maltman Memorial Library, the Wood River Food Pantry and the Wood River Senior Center. The child development center is adjacent to the project.

The facility hopes to bring all residents together to access services and support. 

Pastor and Legacy Station Committee Member Matt Troyer-Miller said the new food pantry will be bigger. 

“The new one will be a lot bigger," he said. "It’ll be a lot better suited. We’ll have expanded storage, expanded refrigeration and freezing capacity. We’ll have more privacy and we’ll have an overhead door that we can just roll cars in rather than having to carry boxes - it’s what we have to do in the past," he said.

Gov. Jim Pillen highlighted the project as an example of positive community development as he kicked off Nebraska's Community Development Week in Wood River.

The $3.1 million project is still in the fundraising phase. So far, they've received some grants and raised $1.7 million. 

City Council Member Heather Rotter said Legacy Station will benefit the community.

“It’s going to just bring more people together," Rotter said. "It's going to allow other community members, as well as those members outside of the community, to come in. Right now our school system...is part of Alda as well, so we bus those kids in. So, we’re going to reach out farther than just Wood River itself."

City leaders hope to break ground on the senior center porting sometime during the fall and hope to have the project finished in 2024.

If you would like to donate visit. https://www.gobiggive.org/legacystation