Kansas City approves millions in funding for affordable housing redevelopment project
Kansas City dollars will close a funding gap to kickstart redevelopment of Parade Park Homes, the historically Black-owned former housing cooperative on the east side with over 1,000 new units of housing with a focus on affordability.
The City Council approved a funding package on Thursday from multiple sources for the first phase of the project, which will add 480 units of housing, including:
A $12 million loan from the Housing Trust Fund for affordable housing that will be paid back over six years, replenishing the fund. The fund currently has about $20 million in the bank.
$2 million from city funds for demolition of dangerous buildings.
Directing the city manager to find financing with an estimated present value of $3.9 million.
Supporting an application for $5 million to the Central City Economic Development board, which would have to approve the application separately.
Gavriel Schreiber, general counsel for the mayor's office, told officials earlier this week that the funding represents the City Council 'walking the walk' with an investment in areas of the city that deserve it with safe, dignified housing that everyone in the city deserves.
'This is a crown jewel of Kansas City — of Kansas City's east side, and historic parts of Kansas City that have historically been under-invested in and underrepresented,' he said.
Construction could begin in the summer. The first phase of the $300 million project will include a mix of apartments, flats and townhomes in various sizes at more affordable levels.
Forty-two of the units will be for residents making up to 30% of the area median income; 48 units will be for residents making up to 50% of the median income; 150 units will be for residents making up to 60% of the median income; while the remaining 240 will be for residents making between 60 and 80% of the median income.
According to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, 50% median income would be $51,550 for a family of four.
Plans have been in the works for years to redevelop Parade Park Homes, one of the country's oldest Black-owned housing co-ops until 2022. The complex, in the 18th and Vine Jazz District, faced high vacancy rates and poor conditions in some units in recent years, and community leaders have pushed to find a way forward.
Flaherty & Collins Properties and Twelfth Street Heritage Development Corp. took ownership of the site last spring, and the city approved plans in the fall. Current residences will be demolished and replaced with mixed-use commercial space, new amenities and a mix of housing units at various price points, including market-rate units, affordable units and senior housing.
There were 164 households in Parade Park when ownership changed and relocation is underway. The 510 existing townhomes will be demolished, and the three-phase redevelopment project includes protections for tenants from displacement and rights to return to the new units with priority.
Mayor Quinton Lucas said in a statement that the funding 'ensures Kansas City will continue to honor Parade Park's legacy while also creating modern, affordable housing that keeps this community intact and thriving.'
'Parade Park Homes represents both Kansas City's heritage and our future, and I am proud and honored to be the mayor privileged to ensure this historically Black neighborhood will be strong for generations to come,' Lucas said.
Officials announced earlier this year that the Parade Park project received $15.5 million from the federal government from a senior housing grant.
Developers sought funding from the Missouri Housing Development Commission this year but did not receive it.
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