Pathway at Heritage Park, a novel development of workforce housing in Olathe, officially got underway Monday morning with a ceremonial groundbreaking.

The 14-home development at 15885 S. Black Bob Road is a first for Habitat for Humanity of Kansas City. The nonprofit, which is better known for its work on building individual homes, will create a whole pocket neighborhood from the ground up.

Because of the “land trust” model Habitat is working with, prices can be kept within the budgets of income-qualified buyers, who otherwise might have trouble finding a home in pricey Johnson County.

“The importance of shelter”

On Monday, about 120 people crowded into a tent on the property to listen to several speakers recap the project’s progress.

“This is a good reminder to us of the importance of shelter. How different a celebration would we be having this morning if we didn’t have this tent?” asked County Commission Chairman Mike Kelly as the leading edge of a winter storm flapped at the tent sides and rain sought out the gaps.

Kelly said the development would provide an opportunity for people in service jobs to live where they work.

“They want to live in the neighborhoods and communities in which they grew up and find themselves facing a marketplace for housing that is so daunting,” he said.

Kelly also cited other efforts by the commission on housing issues, including an expanded voucher program and the plans to purchase a Lenexa hotel for housing people without permanent addresses.

The Habitat housing project has faced pushback

The Pathway project was controversial early on, as neighbors worried about their property values and whether the building style would fit in with surrounding homes. Some criticized the process as lacking in transparency.

Lindsay Hicks, of Habitat for Humanity of Kansas City, said Kevin Schutte, pastor of the Pathway Community Christian Church near where the project will be, had expected some resistance.

“He said we’re probably going to get some NIMBYism (not in my backyard) which we have,” Hicks said. “But he said the opportunity here is we can flip the script and have ‘God in my backyard.’”

Hicks added that many families have reached out about living in the development. Those families are excited because, “Now there’s an opportunity for them to live in Johnson County, to live in the community they work in, to have access to the education that they need for their kiddos,” she said.

The housing will provide “a better life for themselves and their families and that’s what this project is truly about,” she added.

How this project got off the ground

The Habitat project was made possible by an advantageous sale of land adjacent to the Pathway Community Christian Church. The land trust arrangement means qualified home buyers purchase the structures while the land they lie on is owned by Habitat and leased  back to them.

When the residents sell, they can retain the equity they’ve built plus part of the market appreciation. The remaining appreciated value stays with the home, so that it can remain affordable to the next buyers.

Homebuyers also will receive zero-interest loans from Habitat, with their mortgages limited to no more than 30 percent of their monthly income.

Advocates of affordable housing have cited Johnson County’s high home values as a reason it is unaffordable to service workers and others in lower-paying jobs.

United Community Services of Johnson County reported that about 40% of renters and 20 percent of homeowners in the county pay more than 30 percent of their income on housing. The average resale price in the county was $473,000, while a new home average selling price was $678,000, according to the most recent county revaluation report.

Go deeper: Click here to read more about the 14-home development

Roxie Hammill is a freelance journalist who reports frequently for the Post and other Kansas City area publications. You can reach her at [email protected].