(1) Except as provided in subsection (2) of this section, the Department of Economic Development shall use the Site and Building Development Fund to finance loans, grants, subsidies, credit enhancements, and other financial assistance for industrial site and building development and for expenses of the department as appropriated by the Legislature for administering the fund. The following activities are eligible for assistance from the fund:

(a) Grants or zero-interest loans to villages, cities, or counties to acquire land, infuse infrastructure, or otherwise make large sites and buildings ready for industrial development;

(b) Matching funds for new construction, rehabilitation, or acquisition of land and buildings to assist villages, cities, and counties;

(c) Technical assistance, design and finance services, and consultation for villages, cities, and counties for the preparation and creation of industrial-ready sites and buildings;

(d) Loan guarantees for eligible projects;

(e) Projects making industrial-ready sites and buildings more accessible to business and industry;

(f) Infrastructure projects necessary for the development of industrial-ready sites and buildings;

(g) Projects that mitigate the economic impact of a closure or downsizing of a private-sector entity by making necessary improvements to buildings and infrastructure;

(h) Public and private sector initiatives that will improve the military value of military installations by making necessary improvements to buildings and infrastructure, including, but not limited to, a grant for the establishment of the United States Strategic Command Nuclear Command, Control, and Communications public-private-partnership facility;

(i) A grant to a city of the second class that is served by two first-class railroads, that is within fifteen miles of two state borders, and that partners with public power utilities for purposes of expanding electrical system capacities and enhancing redundancy and resilience;

(j) A grant of two million dollars to a city of the first class located in the third congressional district if the property previously housed a university or college that is no longer extant and if the improvement and revitalization of the real property is for purposes of supporting the housing, employment, and program needs of youth exiting the foster care system. In addition, the real property may be used for youth exiting juvenile court supervision in an out-of-home placement;

(k) Public and private sector initiatives that will improve the value of cities of the second class that have partnered with the United States Department of Defense or its contractors on upgrades to ground-based nuclear deterrence. Such improvements include the construction of electrical, drinking water, and clean water infrastructure;

(l) Identification, evaluation, and development of large commercial and industrial sites and building infrastructure to attract major investment and employment opportunities for advanced manufacturing, processing, trade, technology, aerospace, automotive, clean energy, life science, and other transformational industries in Nebraska by means of the department providing grants to or partnering with political subdivisions, including inland port authorities under the Municipal Inland Port Authority Act, or nonprofit economic development corporations and entering into contracts for consulting, engineering, and development studies to identify, evaluate, and develop large commercial and industrial sites in Nebraska;

(m) A grant of one hundred thousand dollars to a nonprofit organization for building rehabilitation for purposes of food distribution in a county with a population of more than one hundred thousand and less than three hundred thousand inhabitants as determined by the most recent federal decennial census or the most recent certified count by the United States Bureau of the Census;

(n) Grants to political subdivisions and nationally and state accredited golf associations to construct golf facilities and related infrastructure. Such facilities shall be located within the boundaries of a city of the metropolitan class;

(o) For fiscal years 2027-28 and 2028-29, grants to employers to support capital improvements related to site and building development relating to the retention and recruitment of employees following a change in ownership and control as defined in subdivision (3) of section 77-6546. Any such grant shall be made at a rate of five dollars per square foot of capital improvements related to site and building development. The Department of Economic Development shall not award total grants exceeding two million five hundred thousand dollars in any fiscal year. Grants awarded under this subdivision may be used for capital improvements made during the twenty-four months prior to the change in ownership and control as defined in subdivision (3) of section 77-6546 through the end of the fiscal year in which the grant was received. For purposes of these grants, capital improvements include, but are not limited to, any spending on tangible personal property or services to build, repair, renovate, rehabilitate, restore, modify, improve, or replace any infrastructure, building system, fixture, furnishing, equipment, technology, and site and land improvements in this state; and

(p) For fiscal years 2026-27 and 2027-28, grants or zero-interest loans to cities of the first class to acquire land, infuse infrastructure, or otherwise make large sites and buildings ready for industrial development if such city (i) has a population of less than fifty thousand inhabitants and (ii) has been impacted by a sudden and significant private-sector entity closure or downsizing. The Department of Economic Development shall not award grants and loans exceeding a total of two million five hundred thousand dollars in any fiscal year.

(2) The Department of Economic Development shall use the subaccount of the Site and Building Development Fund described in subsection (2) of section 81-12,146 to provide financial assistance to any inland port authority created under the Municipal Inland Port Authority Act to help finance large shovel-ready commercial and industrial sites developed under such act.