A new kind of housing option likely is coming near 21st and Webb Road

There’s a new kind of senior housing community potentially coming to the 21st and Webb Road area.

Minnesota-based Real Estate Equities Development wants to bring one of its Village Cooperative communities near the northeast corner of the intersection, just east of where Opti-Life closed in May.

This company has no connection to Real Development, a group of former downtown developers from Minnesota better known as the Minnesota Guys.

This new company is proposing a 55-home senior housing cooperative, which means residents would own the community. That’s unlike most other senior housing options, where residents are renters and not owners.

On Thursday, the Metropolitan Area Planning Commission voted unanimously to recommend approving the community, though the company is still working out some details with the city before it goes to a final vote at the Wichita City Council.

Real Estate Equities Development has been doing the cooperatives, which it describes as a simple form of home ownership, for more than a couple of decades. It has 43 communities in 10 states, including about 10 in the Kansas City area.

The communities require at least one resident per unit to be 62 or older, though if that person is married to someone younger, that’s not an issue.

There’s no information yet on what it will cost to become a resident.

Once all the details are worked out with the city, the company is going to begin drawings, and construction will start next year with a planned 2024 opening.

Look for more information as soon as it becomes available.

This story was originally published August 22, 2022 at 4:47 AM.