TOPEKA — A cheese manufacturing plant in western Kansas created hundreds of new jobs, but developers needed help building enough housing for the plant’s workers.
The state program that helped fund 40 homes in a 227-home workforce housing development project in Dodge City did not receive any funding from the Kansas Legislature in its most recent session.
“We’re concerned,” said Ryan Vincent, executive director of the Kansas Housing Resources Corporation, a public nonprofit charged with administering state and federal housing assistance.
“Historically, we’ve received some funding for moderate-income housing for a decade plus,” he said during a Tuesday webinar focused on updates about the state of housing in Kansas.
The housing industry in Kansas faces a rollback of funding on the state and federal levels, rising building costs, inflation and tariffs, which could affect the progress made to address a dire need for housing in communities across the state.
“I think a little bit of the challenge is that there’s this perception from the Statehouse, from lawmakers, policymakers that, ‘Well, we’ve given you money. We’ve given you enough to fix the problem,’” Vincent said.
But they’ve only touched the tip of the iceberg, he said.
Typically, the Legislature allocates $2 million on average in the state budget to the housing corporation’s moderate-income program. The program helps fund homeownership and rental opportunities for Kansans who earn too much to qualify for federally subsidized housing but still struggle to afford market-rate housing.
In Dodge City, the Hilmar Cheese Company, one of the world’s largest cheese manufacturers and whey suppliers, is driving economic growth and employment opportunities, said Emily Sharp, communications director for the state housing corporation.
Upon opening in March, the plant employed nearly 250 people, according to Gov. Laura Kelly’s Office.
“Which is really exciting,” Sharp said, “but it also means that there is a huge need for housing to support all those workers, and all of those industries and the development and growth that’s happening there.”
The project will eventually bring hundreds of homes for the plant’s workers, ranging in price from $22,000 to $197,000. More than 90 homes are complete so far. The development will consist of 127 single-family homes, 25 townhomes, 10 tiny homes and eight “barndominiums,” which are metal homes known for their cheap price point and durability.
In Cottonwood Falls, developers converted an old school into 10 moderate-income units. Some of the first tenants in the development were Kansas Highway Patrol troopers, Sharp said.
The way the housing corporation sees it, without state funding for the moderate-income program, projects like those in Dodge City and Cottonwood Falls will be more difficult to build.
Regions outside Kansas’ metro areas need about 4,000 houses built annually, according to the housing corporation’s 2021 state needs analysis.
“If we want our employers to be able to expand, if we want our downtowns to be revitalized, if we want our communities to ultimately be successful, we need the economic impact of housing,” Vincent said.
