Lawrence’s Affordable Housing Advisory Board will hear presentations from 12 applicants requesting a combined total of about $3.3 million from the city’s affordable housing trust fund.
The board has $700,000 to allocate for the 2027 funding cycle.
City residents in November 2017 voted 62% in favor of a 10-year, .05% affordable housing sales tax. Lawrence voters in November 2024 approved doubling the affordable housing sales tax to one penny for every $20 spent in town. The funds have supported numerous projects over the past several years.
Potential 2027 projects include new homes and apartments for households that make a fraction of the area median income.
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The AMI is a value set each year by the federal government.
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For fiscal year 2026, the AMI for a household of one in Lawrence is $77,312, and for a household of four, $110,400. 80% of the AMI would equate to an annual income of $61,850 for a household of one, and 50% of the AMI would equate to $38,650. For a household of four, 80% of the AMI would equate to $88,300 and 50% would be $55,200.
AHAB will meet to hear presentations at 5:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 8 in the city commission room at City Hall, 6 E. Sixth St.
Here are the projects the board will hear about:
New development applications
Tenants to Homeowners, SENT Inc.: $350,000 requested
• Project: 24 family homes in the Holcom Villas development at 2500 W. 25th St., consisting of 12 detached single-family homes and 12 rowhouse units
• Bedrooms: Three or more beds in all detached single-family homes; six two-bedroom and six three-bedroom rowhouse units
• AMI: 12 homes for households at or below 80% AMI, six at or below 100% AMI, and six at or below 120% AMI
According to the application, the homes are intended for people who face greater housing insecurity in Lawrence, including single mothers and female-headed households, families with young children dealing with overcrowding, working families and young professionals, and households of color.
Low-Income Housing Tax Credits from the Kansas Housing Resources Corporation will support an additional 20 two-bedroom units for seniors, 10 duplexes and a community building within the Holcom Villas project.
Ninth Street Missionary Baptist Church: $305,000 requested
• Project: Six rental units, including two ADA-accessible units, replacing an existing fourplex at 913 Tennessee St.
• Bedrooms: Two three-bedroom units and four two-bedroom units
• AMI: All at 30% AMI or below
The fourplex has served Lawrence Family Promise clients since 2008; the six replacement units would do the same. The project is seeking $1.22 million in total funding; once that is secured, the plan is to relocate current tenants, demolish the building and build the six units onsite.
Cohen-Esrey Development Group: $500,000 requested
• Project: 94 apartments for senior residents in a six-story building at 711 New Hampshire St.
• Bedrooms: Six studio, 73 one-bedroom and 15 two-bedroom apartments
• AMI: Studios ranging from 30-60% AMI, one-bedrooms ranging from 30-80% AMI, and two-bedrooms ranging from 30-70% AMI (see this link for the specific breakdown)
The apartment building would include underground parking for residents; a community room, business center and fitness center; and in-unit washer/dryers, among other amenities. The site is currently a downtown parking lot, which the city is still considering selling to Cohen-Esrey.
Jon Davis and Paul Werner: $462,000 requested
• Project: One apartment and two mixed-use buildings offering 69 housing units, as part of a development project on the 500 and 600 block of Locust Street in North Lawrence; 28 apartments, or 40% of the units, would conform to LIHTC affordability requirements
• Bedrooms: 19 one-bedroom units and nine units with two bedrooms, out of the 28 affordable units
• AMI: Nine units at 40% AMI or less and 19 units at 60% AMI or less, out of the 28 affordable units (see this link for the specific breakdown)
The Locust Street proposal includes an apartment building plus two mixed-use buildings which each have room for small commercial spaces.
Flint Hills Holdings Group – East Heights: $360,000 requested
• Project: 12 new duplexes with one-car attached garages, plus a rehab of the former East Heights Elementary School property at 1430 Haskell Ave. to create 16 apartments
• Bedrooms: All new duplexes would be three-bedroom, and the former school would become 14 one-bedroom units plus two units with two bedrooms
• AMI: Three units at 30% AMI, six units at 40% AMI, 11 units at 60% AMI and eight units at market rate
The Lawrence school district board approved selling the former school to Flint Hills Holdings Group in May 2024. The apartments slated for the old school are intended for smaller households, and there would be an onsite daycare.
Flint Hills Holdings Group – New Hampshire Lofts II: $400,000 requested
• Project: A four-story apartment building with 32 apartments and six commercial live-work condos at 1041 New Hampshire St., across from the original New Hampshire Lofts
• Bedrooms (for the 32 apartments): 24 one-bedroom and eight three-bedroom units
• AMI (for the 32 apartments): Four units at 30% AMI, eight at 40% AMI, 12 at 60% AMI and eight at market rate (see this link for the specific breakdown)
The developers are including market-rate apartments to “support a financially sustainable mixed-income community,” according to their application.
Education, housing stabilization and rehabilitation projects
• Lawrence Tenants, a local renters union, is requesting $148,000 to continue a program that the trust fund has previously supported, which provides outreach and education to low-income renters. See more at this link.
• Lawrence-Douglas County Housing Authority wants $75,000 to support the New Horizons Transitional Housing Program, which gives rental assistance and case management services to families experiencing homelessness in the county. Alongside funding from the county, the program would help six or seven households at 0-60% AMI. See more at this link.
• Douglas County Housing Stabilization Collaborative’s application asks for $350,000 to continue providing “emergency rental, utility, and move-in assistance to very low-income households experiencing housing instability,” per the application. They expect to serve 168 Lawrence households from 0-60% AMI.
• Independence Inc. seeks $75,000 to help seniors and people with disabilities modify their homes so they are more accessible. They estimate the money would help at least 10 households, meting out to $7,000 per household, all from 0-80% AMI.
• Friends of the Senior Resource Center is requesting $25,000 to support calls from seniors with low incomes who need help with repairs, maintenance and accessibility modifications. The funds would go to six to 10 homes, focusing on households from 0-60% AMI.
• Lawrence Habitat for Humanity hopes for $205,000 to support necessary home repairs for low-income households, including work on roofs, windows, heating/cooling systems, plumbing and more. The money could support 13 households ranging from 0-80% AMI, with an average project cost of $15,000.
People can submit written public comment to [email protected] until noon Tuesday, Oct. 6. Folks can give live public comment at the meeting or virtually via Zoom at this link.
See the board’s full meeting agenda at this link.
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Wulfe Wulfemeyer (they/them), reporter and news editor, has worked with The Lawrence Times since May 2025. They can be reached at [email protected].
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