A majority of Lawrence city commissioners on Tuesday pledged their support for tax breaks to offset development costs of an affordable housing project planned for the far western edge of town.
Floret Hill is a 121-unit permanently affordable housing project that’s slated for the land southeast of Kansas Highway 10 and Bob Billings Parkway.
Commissioners on Tuesday voted 3-1 to commit to future tax incentives for the project through a resolution. Presenters said it’s a good faith gesture so developers can go back to their investors and tell them the city plans to issue the tax breaks for the project.
“Affordable” housing under government standards consumes no more than 30% of a household’s income for rent payments.
Don’t miss a beat … Click here to sign up for our email newsletters
Click here to learn more about our newsletters first
The Floret Hill project will target people with incomes between 30% and 60% of the AMI, or area median income. That’s a value set each year by the federal government. For a household of one in Lawrence, that AMI range 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.
Support local news
Please subscribe to support The Lawrence Times so we can keep doing this work.
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 numbers from the meeting agenda.
The project is from developers Wheatland Investments Group in partnership with nonprofit Tenants to Homeowners, and it will also include the construction of 12 permanently affordable townhomes, available for purchase to moderate income households.
The designation of “permanently affordable” means that if the project is given the tax incentives it seeks, as part of the agreements, it will remain affordable for 99 years or beyond. Many affordable housing projects go to market rates after a predetermined period, such as 15 or 30 years.
Lea Roselyn, the city’s affordable housing administrator, expressed excitement about the project.
“I really can’t say enough about how incredible this project is in terms of advancing city and community goals,” Roselyn said. “In my mind, this is an ideal project that can be a model for our community moving forward.”
She said the project would remain an asset for future generations through the Community Land Trust. It would also be the first large-scale affordable housing development on the west side of town.
Kolbe Krzyzanowski of Baker Tilly Municipal Advisors gave commissioners a presentation.
The incentives developers are requesting from the city would include a 10-year, 100% property tax abatement on the increase in value, estimated at $1.265 million; a sales tax exemption on construction materials, estimated at $2.81 million; and an additional $2.8 million in other requests and waivers, including construction of a road to link the site to Lake Estates Drive and Bob Billings Parkway, totaling about $6.9 million, according to the presentation.
The city’s Affordable Housing Advisory Board has awarded the project grants of $1.3 million (in 2023) and $500,000 (in 2025).
Mayor Brad Finkeldei said this property was important to the city. It’s going to be difficult and expensive to develop because of the land and the limestone bedrock of the site, presenters said, but Finkeldei said it was important to the city that the land was far out west, near Langston Hughes Elementary and close to the Lawrence Loop trail system.
Finkeldei and Commissioners Kristine Polian and Amber Sellers voted to support the resolution, and Vice Mayor Mike Courtney opposed it. Commissioner Mike Dever was not present for the meeting.
The developers anticipate starting construction soon, with units becoming available to rent in mid-2027.
If local news matters to you, please help us keep doing this work.
Don’t miss a beat — get the latest news from the Times delivered to your inbox:
Click here to learn more about our newsletters first
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.
Nathan Kramer (he/him), a multimedia student journalist for The Lawrence Times since August 2024, is a senior at Free State High School. He is also a news photo editor for Free State’s student publication, where he works as a videographer, photographer and motion designer. See more of his work for the Times here.
Latest Lawrence news:
Nathan Kramer / Lawrence TimesCity Commission pledges tax breaks for west Lawrence affordable housing project
Chloe Anderson/Lawrence Times
