January 2024 | Breaking Ground:
Unlocking Home with Kansas Housing
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The new year is upon us! One of my most memorable New Year’s moments occurred mere hours before the ball dropped in December 2022. My family was taking a tranquil moonlit walk with my brother’s dog through a frozen pasture when a skunk surprised us. The skunk, protecting her territory, clearly did not appreciate our festive holiday hike and my brother’s loveable, albeit not-so-bright, canine so badly wanted to make a new friend. Our family was on the precipice of ringing in a new year with a memorable disaster! Fortunately, we escaped unscathed and didn’t ring in the new year with a tomato juice bath.
But isn’t that a new year in a nutshell? Every January we start a new journey with endless opportunity and optimism: we’re going to be healthier, happier, more productive, less distracted, and lose those pesky holiday pounds. But life never goes quite as planned: our proverbial skunks cause us to pivot, to backtrack, maybe even to run!
Our housing journey is no different. We kick off another new year with KHRC, putting on our hiking shoes and so excited for the fresh start! Housing needs have never been greater - our mission never more important. We can’t anticipate every surprise that 2024 will throw at us, but we’re in this great journey together … one step at a time. Unlocking Home. Even if it takes dodging a few skunks along the way. Let the journey begin!
- Ryan Vincent, Executive Director
Breaking Ground is a quarterly newsletter from Kansas Housing Resources Corporation (KHRC), the state's housing finance agency. We hope you'll follow along to keep up on the latest Kansas housing news! Update your subscription preferences anytime.
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Our 19th annual Kansas Housing Conference will bring together housing professionals from across the state and region to network, learn, and explore the latest trends and innovations in affordable housing. Presenters will offer compliance training for housing administrators, sessions on expanding affordable housing opportunities in Kansas, and breakout content for housing advocates, community leaders, social service providers, and more!
Aug. 20-22, 2024 | Overland Park Convention Center
Coming soon:
- Call for presentations
- Sponsor/Exhibitor registration
- Conference registration opens in late spring
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Weatherization Assistance Program Updates | |
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Allocations from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law have expanded Weatherization Assistance funding to KHRC, enabling us to weatherize more homes than ever! To increase awareness and encourage more households to apply for services, we produced an outreach video and created a statewide application for the Weatherization Assistance Program webpage in 2023.
Weatherization reduces utility costs by improving energy efficiency while ensuring health and safety. Services are customized for each individual residence but may include:
- Weatherstripping
- Caulking around doors and windows and other air leaks
- Repair or replacement of inefficient or dangerous furnaces
- Insulating walls, ceilings, and floors
- Lighting and ventilation upgrades
Eligibility for the Weatherization Assistance Program is based on household income. Applications are accepted year-round, and services are provided free of charge.
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Solar For All
KHRC applied for the Solar for All opportunity through the US EPA Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund (GGRF) on Oct. 11, 2023.
If KHRC is awarded the funds, this program will serve qualified low-income households and disadvantaged communities, starting in 2025. We appreciate all the partner organizations that provided letters of support. Please visit the EPA webpage for information about the federal Solar for All program.
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Kansas Homeowner Assistance Fund closes, leading the nation in disbursements and prevention of foreclosures | |
Nearly $49 million assists more than 4,300 Kansas homeowners.
The Kansas Homeowner Assistance Fund, (KHAF) a federally funded, temporary emergency program to support homeowners experiencing hardship during the COVID pandemic, has stopped accepting applications and is now closed.
KHAF was established with American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds to help qualifying Kansas homeowners get current on their mortgages and avoid foreclosure. Since the program launched on April 18, 2022, KHAF has provided nearly $49 million in assistance, preventing foreclosure for more than 4,300 homeowners.
The KHAF program's impacts were felt across the state:
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98 of 105 Kansas counties assisted
- 93% of homeowners assisted were below 100% of their area's median income
- 275 mortgage servicers collaborated with KHAF
- Homeowners were offered HUD housing counseling and/or legal services
Read more.
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Kansas Housing awards final round of
State Affordable Housing Tax Credits
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In July, Kansas Housing received 12 4% Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) applications equating to over $206 million in Private Activity Bonds (PABs) for the final of three application rounds. Of the three applications awarded, the approved LIHTCs and PABs will build 114 new units and rehabilitate 223 existing affordable units.
Collectively, the three rounds are projected to provide approximately 1657 affordable units for Kansans, and over $239 million in PABs will be utilized. The 2023 Qualified Allocation plan states that 40% of the PABs will be for new construction and 40% for rehabilitation. KHRC awarded 59% of PABs to new construction applicants and 41% to rehabilitation projects.
The Kansas Affordable Housing Tax Credit Act was enacted by H.B. 2237 in 2022. All 4% and 9% LIHTC projects awarded in 2023 will receive Kansas Affordable Housing Tax Credits in addition to the federal LIHTCs as an equal match. With the additional resources provided by the state credit, Kansas Housing saw an increase in 4% LIHTC applications, particularly in the new construction set-aside.
Read more.
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Listen to KHRC's Executive Director Ryan Vincent, Mollea Wainscott of Dodge City Economic Development, and Matt Gillam of Overland Property Group discuss the impact of the Kansas legislature's $62 million investment in Moderate Income Housing on the Kansas Reflector Podcast! | |
Read about the new Boulevard Lofts development in KCK: "For the first time in 30 years, a new apartment building is nearing completion and will offer affordable housing to residents in downtown Kansas City, Kansas." |
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Check out our News page for an archive of KHRC News. | | | | | |
