Kansas City is giving millions to an affordable housing fund. What does that mean for your future?
Last week, Kansas City Council decided to allot $10.5 million to an affordable housing fund instead of to a tax break for a Chicago-based developer that was planning to build a big apartment complex on Armour Boulevard and Main Street.
This decision was a big deal for the council, and Kansas City social media was full of hot takes both celebrating and criticizing the decision.
Those who pushed the council to reallocate this money to the city’s Housing Trust Fund—led by the Midtown Tenants Union and KC Tenants—see the move as a step in the right direction for affordable housing in Kansas City.
But what does it actually mean for the future of housing and development here?
And honestly, what even is a Housing Trust Fund?
What is the Housing Trust Fund?
Basically, it’s a pot of government money that can be used to help build new affordable housing units or to renovate or preserve affordable places where people already live here in Kansas City, to make sure they stay affordable.
Developers, nonprofits and other groups can apply to get financial help from the city for housing projects through the fund, which is part of the city’s overall housing plan.
Kansas City Council created the Housing Trust Fund in 2018 with hopes of it being a $75 million fund, but didn’t actually put any money in it.
The fund sat empty for years until $12.5 million of federal COVID relief funds from the American Rescue Plan were allocated to it.
“We’ve been talking about the housing policy and the Housing Trust Fund for almost five years now,” 3rd District Councilwoman Melissa Robinson said. “It is, you know, literally embarrassing, given the housing situation that we’re in, that our only source of resources is federal rescue plan dollars.”
How does The Housing Trust Fund work?
The fund can give grants or low interest loans to developers or other community groups that apply.
Those first federal funds have helped the Housing Trust Fund support two projects so far:
A development in the Ivanhoe neighborhood with more than 100 affordable units received just over $2.6 million.
A 52-unit project at 2732 Forest in Beacon Hill, which received $1.5 million.
The process for how to approve projects changed a lot when city council passed an ordinance in November that added more criteria for what the fund will prioritize, at the urging of KC Tenants.
That ordinance also called for the creation of an advisory council to review applications and recommend projects for the city council to approve. Mayor Quinton Lucas needs to appoint who will be on that by March 4, and they’ll review applications twice a year.
They’ll consider applications based on the amount of affordable units per trust fund dollars invested, valuing projects that have more affordable units. Projects that promise to stay affordable for longer periods of time and projects that aim to be affordable for lower income residents will get priority.
The Housing Trust Fund can also give money to projects beyond just new developments, including programs that rehabilitate existing housing, help tenants purchase their building and become owners, and programs that help lower income homeowners to maintain and keep their homes.
So what’s next for the fund?
A lot is still up in the air, since it’s just now getting money, and it hasn’t gone through an official application process with the new rules passed in November.
The $10.5 million the council decided to allocate to the Housing Trust Fund last week is the first local money it will get. It will be distributed over 25 years.
The city council also stated that it plans to add another $12.5 million of city money to the pot next year, but that will depend on if the sitting council agrees to that since it will be after the next city election.
Even with that, the Housing Trust Fund will still not have close to the $75 million it was intended to have, and no consistent funding source is in place to keep putting money in.
Wilson Vance, an organizer with KC Tenants said that the union has an even bolder vision for the kinds of affordable housing it wants to see in Kansas City, but that getting the Housing Trust Fund working is a starting point.
“We know that our version of the Housing Trust Fund is not going to be one overnight,” Vance said. “So in the meantime, a good step would be ensuring that the housing that is invested in from the Housing Trust Fund, is truly affordable.”
Do you have more questions about housing in Kansas City or something else you’ve been curious about in the city? Ask us at kcq@kcstar.com or with the form below.
This story was originally published January 30, 2022 at 5:00 AM.
