Bert Nash will not be able to develop a supportive housing project in Lawrence, and the Affordable Housing Advisory Board voted 4-1 Thursday to recommend the city claw back $558,000 in funding.
Bert Nash Community Mental Health Center had been planning for years to develop two dozen units of permanent supportive housing for people experiencing homelessness and serious mental illness on land at 530 Rockledge Road and 2222 W. Sixth St.
Lea Roselyn, the city’s affordable housing administrator, told board members Thursday that there had been a number of changes in Bert Nash’s scope of the project and construction timeline, and the center was still looking for full financing to make the project viable.
She said the project was put on hold indefinitely at the end of last year because of financing issues, and that Bert Nash CEO Kirsten Watkins had since confirmed the project would not be moving forward.
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Matthew Herbert, chair of the Bert Nash board, told AHAB members that he and other board members have been dedicated to finding a buyer for the property. He said they’ve approached the Lawrence-Douglas County Housing Authority as a potential buyer because they believe that agency can fulfill the original intent of the money the city had provided.
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. AHAB recommended that Bert Nash be awarded funds for this project in 2022 and 2023.
Mathew Faulk, director of housing with Bert Nash, said the center spent a little more than 90% of the $558,000 in total funding from AHAB on design and an environmental review, both of which could potentially be transferred to a partner. An archaeological search of the site was also completed.
Asked whether Bert Nash had a confirmed partner that would be able to take on the project, Faulk responded that “I guess I would say nothing in writing — no one’s signed anything.”
Faulk said he’s trying to determine how Bert Nash can pivot and still try to address the need for supportive housing. However, he said there’s not an immediate impact to Bert Nash’s clientele.
“There were no units,” he said. “We’re kind of still where we were before.”
Roselyn told the board this was the first time an AHAB-funded project hasn’t been completed.
Board member Mariel Ferriero said the board had the choice to either dissolve the agreements and not recoup the money or to request the money back.
“In the spirit of our discussion in this meeting and the transparency of wanting to make sure that projects that are funded are seen through, my hope is that by making this recommendation to request the funds back, that it is not due to the effort that has gone into this project, the work that has been done, and the difficulty of not being able to complete a project,” Ferreiro said, “but merely our purview as a board is not to look beyond anything other than are the agreements of being met or are they not. Unfortunately, we don’t have a future for this project.”
Board members Christina Gentry, Ferreiro, Faith Lopez and Barry McMurphy voted to recommend that the city initiate the clawback of the funds, and Mark Buhler voted in opposition. Monte Soukup and Donnavan Dillon were not in attendance.
The final decision will be the city commission’s to make.
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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.
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