Homestead looking at expansion into Derby

As Holton’s Homestead Afford­able Housing watches over the con­struction of new senior housing complex in its home city, the com­pany has also set its sights on the construction of a new complex in the south central Kansas commu­nity of Derby.

If the Derby City Council gives its approval to certain incentives being proposed by Homestead president and CEO Tom Bishop, the city could be looking at the completion of a new 64-unit senior housing complex by late summer 2017, Bishop said. The proposed housing complex will be similar to the housing complex currently un­der construction at the south edge of Holton, he noted.

Homestead already has two similar senior housing complexes in nearby Mulvane and Haysville, both of which are already full, Bishop said. Many of those two complexes’ residents came from Derby, he added.

“We’ve got a waiting list of about 35 people at Mulvane, and a waiting list of 39 people at Haysville,” he said. “I think there were nine from Derby who moved to Mulvane when we opened it a few years ago.”

According to the Derby Informer newspaper, Bishop and Derby’s Community Development Advisory Board have been mulling over Bishop’s proposal to initiate con­struction of a 64-unit affordable housing complex for seniors on an 80,000-square-foot plot in that city, which is located just south of Wichita.

The Derby City Council is ex­pected to review Homestead’s plans on Tuesday, Aug. 11, ac­cording to the Informer. The coun­cil could vote at that time to hold a public hearing on Tuesday, Sept. 8, then vote on a resolution which Homestead would submit to state officials for consideration.

The proposal, as Derby Devel­opment Manager Taylour Tedder told the Informer, would give Homestead a 10-year, 100-percent tax break and industrial revenue bonds from the state, as well as giving the city a 4-percent return on its investment. Tedder noted that while the return rate is lower than city policy would recommend, the Derby council can make exceptions based on the benefit the proposed development would bring the city.

Tedder also noted that having affordable housing for seniors is a priority for the city. Bishop agreed, adding that Homestead staff in the area “certainly knew that it was a need.”

Even before the initial proposal to Derby city officials was com­plete, Bishop said that Derby resi­dents who had already expressed concern about the lack of available senior housing had already asked to be placed on a waiting list for housing at the complex there.

“We’re going to be kind of overwhelmed with response,” he said. “We’ve told people at this point that the taking of preliminary applications is going to wait until the city endorses the issuance of bonds and tax abatements like they did here for us in Holton.”

Even if the housing complex is approved, it would be about two years before its first residents could start moving in. Bishop estimated that if Derby city officials give the project their blessing, Homestead would have to complete market and environmental studies on the pro­ject and submit documents to the state in January of next year, and if the state approves it, construction would likely begin that August and take about a year to complete.

Meanwhile, back in Holton, con­struction of Homestead’s Prairie View Senior Residences complex at the southern edge of Holton con­tinues to move along at a good pace despite being delayed this past spring due to rain. Framing of buildings that make up the 32-unit complex located south of First Street and Pennsylvania Avenue is “moving rapidly,” Bishop said.

“We have roof trusses up on the community building, and the con­tractors think the trusses will be up on all of the framed buildings by the time we have our construction inspection meeting on Tuesday,” Bishop said. “The framing should be under way very soon on the three four-plexes, because all of those floors have been poured now.”

A street that runs through the housing complex has also passed an initial compaction test, and Bishop said construction crews were pouring concrete curbs and gutters for the street on Friday.

“Once they get the curb all poured and installed, they’ll be pouring in the base layer of the street, which will help us, if and when it gets muddy again. And there’s been a lot of ‘when it gets muddy again,’” he said. “They’re still behind a little bit, but they’re working with us on finding ways to move it forward.”

Bishop said he expects Prairie View’s community building to be open sometime in October, along with a pair of duplexes and a four-plex for housing. The pace of con­struction has also attracted more attention from potential residents, he added.

“When the framing started, we got a lot more folks calling and saying, ‘We see it’s really moving along. What do the dates look like?’” he said.

Homestead currently has 10 af­fordable housing complexes com­prising 414 housing units at various locations around Kansas, Bishop noted. In addition to housing com­plexes in Holton, Haysville and Mulvane, the company also man­ages properties in Atchison, Augusta, Harper, Junction City and Wamego, it was reported.