In 2016, Mayor Wolgast formed the Affordable Housing Task Force to work on the issues surrounding affordable housing in Topeka. Pioneer Group was invited to join the Task Force as a representative affordable housing development, as was the Topeka Housing Authority. Both groups develop affordable housing in Topeka and are considered valuable partners to the City’s Neighborhood Relations Department.
In the summer of 2017, Pioneer, THA and Neighborhood Relations began discussions regarding the potential for a scattered site affordable housing project and the possibility of a public/private partnership to facilitate the development of the project. Pioneer Group, operating as Pioneer Midtown Homes LLC, will serve as the developer, Topeka Housing Authority will serve as the property manager once the project is complete and the City will facilitate the development with the contribution of real estate.
The proposed public/private partnership will result in approximately 81 new affordable housing units in the community and a project/improvement estimated at approximately $10 million dollars. The project will include the Van Buren area properties listed below and potentially another location in Central Topeka that the developer is working to acquire.
The Van Buren School property located at 1601 SW Van Buren, the residential lot at 1606 SW Van Buren St., 1601 S. Kansas Ave. (SW corner of 16th and Kansas Ave.) and the North West corner of 16th St. and Kansas Ave. is being proposed to be sold to the developer for $1 and other valuable consideration. The County’s appraised valuation of these properties is approximately $63,700.
The project is located in the Monroe NIA. Staff has been in steady contact with the Monroe NIA President Todd Huston, beginning in late October regarding the potential for a project in the neighborhood. Although details of the project could not yet be disclosed at the request of the developer and related to their efforts to acquire surrounding properties for the project, information was shared that there was a potential affordable housing project being worked on between Neighborhood Relations and two of our local development partners. Staff, Pioneer representatives and THA representatives had tentatively planned to attend the November and December NIA meetings to share project details. Unfortunately, the project was not yet at a stage to disclose details in time for either meeting. Mr. Huston was contacted December 21, 2017, and information was shared including the identity of our partners and more specific details on the project. Mr. Huston requested that plans be made to attend their January meeting to share project details so that residents could be notified that may be interested in attending the January meeting to learn about the project.
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