Affordable housing development planned for Wichita suburb. Here are details
Work will start this summer on a mixed-use project in Goddard that will include 40 affordable housing rentals and 12,000 square feet of space that could include anything from restaurants and small shops to offices.
Overland Property Group plans to break ground in August on what will be its second Wichita-area project. It just finished the The Residence at Heritage West, an independent living facility in Andover for those 55 and older.
The first phase of the Goddard project, called The Reserves at Meadows 25, will include the first-floor commercial space and a total of 60 apartments on the second, third and fourth floors, according to Austin Kack, director of development for Salina-based Overland Property Group.
The project will be built near Kellogg and 183rd Street south of Walmart and will include 40 affordable housing units, also known as income-restricted units because tenants won’t be able to earn above a certain amount, and 20 apartments that will be rented at market rates, Kack said.
The $17 million project is being financed, in part, by tax credits offered through the Kansas Housing Resource Corp. and the Kansas Department of Transportation economic development program, according to Goddard City Manager Craig Crossette.
To qualify for the income-restricted units, a tenant must not earn more than 60% of the area’s median income, Kack said. Qualifying tenants will pay approximately $660 for one-bedroom units, $870 for two bedrooms, $1,150 for three bedrooms and $1,400 for four bedrooms, Kack said. Information on how or when to apply for any of the income-restricted units was not immediately available.
The Department of Housing and Urban Development determines what “fair market rent” is for these projects each year, Kack said. But, in general, HUD says that no more than 30 percent of a resident’s income should go toward rent.
Overland Property Group’s target completion date for this project is late 2027, with residents beginning to occupy in early 2028, Kack said. Because of that time frame, he said, the rents for the market rate units could fluctuate between now and when the property is finished. But, currently, market rates are set at approximately $1,100 for a one-bedroom unit, $1,300 for two bedrooms, $1,500 for three bedrooms and $1,600 for the one four-bedroom unit that will be available at market rate.
“There’s a lot of trepidation over what that can look like or mean,” Kack said in reference to terms such as affordable housing or income restricted. “This isn’t a Section 8 program.”
“We’re absolutely thrilled about it because housing affordability is a big issue,” Crossette said. “This is a huge win for us. This project is going to be beautiful. Because it has (market rate units) it has to have beautiful finishes.”
Kack said Crossette has been extremely helpful in making this project a reality. Overland Property Group started putting the project together in late 2024.
The commercial space on the first floor of The Reserves at Meadows 25 could be anything from restaurants to local shops.
“We are zoned for any kind of commercial use,” Kack said. “You think of small law practices, things like that. We’ve seen that work very well.”
Depending on how well the first phase goes, Overland Property Group has enough land to add another building that would look a lot like the first phase, Kack said.