City Commission to consider tax breaks for 121-unit west Lawrence affordable housing project

Lawrence city commissioners on Tuesday will hold a public hearing and consider tax breaks for a 121-unit permanently affordable housing project that’s slated for K-10 and Bob Billings.

Floret Hill is in partnership with Tenants to Homeowners. The project will also include the construction of 12 permanently affordable townhomes, available for purchase to moderate income households, according to the agenda.

Floret Hill is asking the city to authorize industrial revenue bonds and a property tax abatement for the development.

An analysis provided for commissioners to consider estimates that the city would lose out on an estimated $78,000 in sales tax revenues on project construction materials, plus about $308,400 from a 100% property tax abatement over the next 10 years for a total of about $386,400.

The city’s Affordable Housing Advisory Board has also awarded the project grants of $1.3 million (in 2023) and $500,000 (in 2025). AHAB members annually consider applications, typically from developers and local nonprofit agencies, seeking a portion of the city’s affordable housing trust funds to help pay for projects. The funds come from a city sales tax, which voters in November 2024 doubled to also support homelessness initiatives.

The term “affordable” may seem subjective, but it’s defined by numbers in this context. AMI is the area median income, a value set each year by the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development used to determine someone’s eligibility for affordable housing.

The current AMI for a household of four in Lawrence is $103,500. “Affordable” housing under government standards consumes no more than 30% of a household’s income.

The Floret Hill project will target people with incomes between 30% and 60% of the AMI. For a household of one, that would equate to an annual income between $21,750 and $43,500; for a household of four, that would be a household income between $31,050 and $62,100.

Proposed rents for the one-, two- and three-bedroom units in the apartment complex would range from $519 at the low end of a one-bedroom unit up to $1,514 at the high end for some three-bedroom units, according to the agenda.

The project site would also include a commercial building. Developers plan to seek a child care facility as a potential tenant for the space, according to the agenda item.

Commissioners will hear comments from the public, typically after a presentation from city staff members and the developers. See below for meeting info.

Hamm sale

In other business, the owners of Hamm Landfill wish to sell Hamm Landfill and Hamm Material Recovery Facility to Allied Waste Systems.

Commissioners will also be asked for their approval for the city manager to sign off on a letter consenting to the sale, which is anticipated to take place later this month. The agenda materials say there is no change to the agreement the city currently has with Hamm, and that it will continue with the new owner.

Meeting info

City commissioners will meet at 5:45 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 3 at City Hall, 6 E. Sixth St.

The commission accepts written public comment emailed to ccagendas@lawrenceks.org until noon the day of meetings. The commission also hears live public comment during meetings, both in person and virtually.

City commission meetings are no longer livestreamed on YouTube. In order to watch the meeting online remotely, attendees must join via Zoom at this link, which also allows participants to provide public comment virtually. Meeting recordings are uploaded to the city’s YouTube channel the next day.

See the commission’s complete meeting agenda at this link.

Mackenzie Clark (she/her), reporter/founder of The Lawrence Times, can be reached at mclark@lawrencekstimes.com. Read more of her work for the Times here. Check out her staff bio here.

• Bluesky
• Facebook
• Instagram
• Twitter
• LinkedIn

Latest Lawrence news:

MORE …