Two affordable housing units are set to open — thanks to this Kansas City nonprofit

A local nonprofit is hoping to hit the restart button for dozens of Kansas City families, one affordable, stable house at a time.

Two units opened last week in the Historic Northeast’s Indian Mound neighborhood as the first step in reStart Inc.’s effort to build or restore 100 homes across Kansas City neighborhoods for families who need them most. The organization typically provides services and shelter to people in crisis in need of emergency housing, but these homes are for long-term residences.

The homes are geared toward families living at or below 30% of the area median income — aiming to fill the biggest gap in Kansas City’s housing stock. The city is short 64,000 units of housing for its lowest income renters.

A family of four would need to bring in $34,000 a year or less to qualify for one of the homes, according to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

The long process to be move-in ready

The units at 412 Drury Ave. have been under construction for about a year.

While the groundbreaking for the property was last spring, the process to get there took even longer. Stephanie Boyer, the chief executive officer for reStart, said the process began about three years ago, after years of conversations.

ReStart had several checkboxes to check off before it could begin construction: it had to acquire lots, find a comfortable design that could accommodate multiple families without overwhelming the area, and check the property for any potential issues. When preparing the land, it found lead and asbestos in the soil left from previous homes, which Boyer said is normal for urban development, especially on lots where homes or other developments were demolished in the past.

Despite the obstacles, families will be moving into the two units within the next few weeks and will be able to stay for as long as necessary.

“Having a place that you can truly afford and stay there is just gonna be life changing for them and their children,” Boyer said. “They may never leave here. They may live here for three years, they may live here for five years, but there’s no time limit to that.”

If families end up gaining more income, Boyer said reStart can help relocate them if they’d like, and would place a new family in the permanent home.

Energy-efficient duplexes big enough for families

The duplexes are big enough for families, unlike many of Kansas City’s more affordable rental units. They feature three bedrooms, two and a half bathrooms, a kitchen, an extra closet, other storage space and a porch on each side. ReStart partnered with Trakas + Trakas, an architecture firm, and Capital Builders, a construction management agency, to create the homes.

Capital Builders Superintendent Drake Winn is leading the project, dubbed upStart. The affordable housing initiative is a first for the construction company, which prioritized energy efficiency to keep utility costs down. The design in particular combined multiple elements to keep energy inside.

“It’s normally a detail that you only see on high-end custom homes. But we were able to do it here for these incredible homes, which is going to be awesome for the consumer to enjoy the benefits of,” Winn told The Star.

The units will stay under the ownership of reStart, which has paid for the homes in full to avoid expensive debt. Funds come from dozens of sponsors, including fundraising efforts from U.S. Rep. Emanuel Cleaver. Families will only need to pay for maintenance and utilities, which is estimated to be around $1,000 a month.

“There is nothing cheap or affordable about new construction, right? And like I said, we invested in the energy side of it and other things as well with the intention of creating that affordability long term,” Boyer said.

With a goal to build 98 more homes in five years, reStart plans to acquire and reinvest into already existing houses alongside its construction projects.

The upStart affordable housing initiative comes at a time when housing costs keep climbing in Kansas City and income growth is disproportionate, according to The Beacon. Roughly $100 million is being poured into The Kansas City Regional Housing Fund to create thousands of similar affordable housing units.

Neighbors look forward to welcoming new families

Russell Roberts stopped by the units toward the end of the ribbon cutting event to check out the inside. As a resident of Indian Mound for 18 years, Roberts always saw the overbearing patches of grass in empty lots and hoped the city would step in to make the properties more attractive.

“You can’t even walk on the sidewalk,” Roberts said. “It makes the neighborhood look bad. And it just needs to be taken care of.”

Roberts hoped he would get to meet the families at the event, and is looking forward to welcoming them when they move in in a few weeks.

“We needed a change in the neighborhood, and I can’t wait to meet the new neighbors,” he said.

Other neighborhoods pushed back on the project

Boyer and her team looked at multiple neighborhoods before landing on Indian Mound. In other communities, the project received pushback from local residents, despite the areas having a lot of vacant land.

“They didn’t want these people here. They didn’t want rentals. They only wanted homeownership,” she said. “ We could have moved forward without their support, but did I want to put families in a neighborhood that wasn’t welcoming of them?”

And while other neighborhoods pushed back, Indian Mound was excited as soon as they learned about the project. Winn said he met neighbors at every phase of the project who were curious about the units, and excited to get rid of the “unsightly” patches of grass.

“This is the first time where I have truly felt the love in a community from a new build of construction,” Winn said.

Roberts said his neighbors have helped him, and he does the same for others. Boyer hopes that warmth will continue for the new additions too.

“That’s why I’m super excited for these families to move in because they are gonna have an immediate extended family in this neighborhood,” Boyer said.

ReStart currently has 13 families in their temporary housing facility, two of which will soon be moving to the new units. The organization is also preparing to open up a family lodge that can temporarily shelter 45 families at a time on July 21.