Rent starts at $455 in new apartments aimed at Kansas City’s affordability gap
Guadalupe Centers unveiled its new affordable housing development on Wednesday as the Westside-based social services organization furthers its reach across Kansas City.
The four-story Villa View, at 1616 Hardesty Ave., is right by Guadalupe’s elementary school campus in Kansas City’s Historic Northeast. It features 50 apartment units with one or two bedrooms, including 42 units designated affordable for residents with lower incomes, and the rest market rate.
Rents vary, based on a unit’s income level. The units, which have already been leased out, are geared toward providing affordable housing for teachers and local families, and residents are preparing to move in.
Eight units are for households with incomes less than 30% of the area median income, which is about $23,000 for one person and about $33,000 for four people. Those rents range from $455 for a one bedroom to $540 a month for a two bedroom apartment.
Thirty-four apartments are for households with incomes less than 60% of the area median income, which is about $47,000 for one person and about $67,000 for four people. Those monthly rents are $810 for a one bedroom and $910 for a two bedroom.
The last eight units are market rate, with no income limits. A one bedroom is $925 a month, and a two-bedroom is $1,100 a month.
Villa View opens as the Kansas City region faces a gap of 64,000 affordable units for renters with low incomes, according to the Mid-American Regional Council.
“Affordable housing is a challenge across the country. This is just one more example where Guadalupe Centers meets the needs of our families,” Beto Lopez, president and CEO at Guadalupe Centers, said in a statement. “When families have access to affordable, high-quality housing, it strengthens our neighborhoods and fuels long-term economic development in Kansas City.”
Units include in-unit washers and dryers, central air and fully-equipped kitchens, while the site includes amenities like a rooftop patio, a courtyard and a community room. Residents will also have access to Guadalupe services like educational programs, health screening and counseling and job training.
The site where the apartments now sit, overlooking the Kansas City skyline, was once the Saint Paul School of Theology area campus before moving to Leawood about a decade ago. Guadalupe Centers purchased the campus in 2014.
Saint Paul’s is where Rep. Emanuel Cleaver, D-Kansas City, studied for his Master’s degree in the 1970s.
“What you have done here is absolutely amazing,” Cleaver said of Guadalupe’s work on the campus at the ribbon cutting on Wednesday.
Financing for the project included $12.5 million in federal low-income housing tax credits and $5.6 million in state tax credits. The project also received incentives through the Planned Industrial Expansion Authority.