Developers have rolled out a $55 million plan to rehab a historic pocket of homes in De Soto with the aim of turning the area into a site for affordable housing near the new Panasonic EV battery plant.
Gardner-based Wheatland Investment Group made its first public presentation of the plan at the De Soto City Council meeting on Aug. 15.
The proposal includes an application to create a Kansas Reinvestment Housing Incentive District at the site of the Clearview Village complex at 36000 W. 103rd St.
Clearview Village, also commonly referred to as Clearview City, is located across the street from the $4 billion, 4.7-million-square-foot future Panasonic plant, which sits on a small portion of the one-time Sunflower Army Ammunition Plant.
Clearview Village currently houses about 600 residents, roughly 9% of De Soto’s population.
The proposed housing district, sometimes called an RHID, would allow the city to reimburse the developers with revenue generated by property taxes in the new development that could then be used to pay for some eligible improvements, including replacing water lines, repairing sewers and resurfacing streets in the area.
The area has historic designation
Formerly known as Sunflower Village, the 78-acre Clearview Village property was built in 1943, originally to house workers at the new Sunflower Army Ammunition Plant.
The village went on to serve a variety of needs over the succeeding decades, including housing for U.S. Army veterans, as well as providing homes for military members working at the plant during subsequent wars.
It was placed on the National Register of Historic Sites in 2014. Because of that, it currently receives federal and state tax credits.
Wheatland Investments Group has owned the village for 20 years and now wants to renovate it to meet what it expects will be a growing demand for housing with the new EV battery plant.
“It is in need of significant renovation, rebuilding and repair,” the company said of Clearview Village in its application for the incentive district presented to the city council.
“De Soto is also experiencing increased housing demand, and this project will help satisfy a small portion of that demand,” the application went on to say.
The project will bring big changes to the complex
Speaking to the city council earlier this month, David Rhodes, co-founder of Wheatland Investments Group, explained their estimated $55 million plan to rehab the village, including renovating its 242 existing structures and adding 99 new units.
Other changes include:
- Installing new fire hydrants
- Repairing and/or replacing storm and sanitary sewers
- Replacing water lines
- Adding a water connection point on Sunflower Road
- Resurfacing and repairing streets
The group would work on the changes to the pipes and sewers first before working on the buildings, Rhodes said.
Though they’re maintaining the 85-year-old pipes, sewer and water lines, Rhodes said approval of the housing incentive district would help pay for expenses to improve them.
“We feel like we need to improve the infrastructure under the ground before we do all this improvement above ground,” he said.
Council had questions about current tenants, rent
During the city council’s discussion, Councilmember Courtney Tripp expressed worry about where current tenants of Clearview Village would go during the rehab process.
“We have spent hours on logistically coordinating what we’re going to do with residents that currently live there on whether we’re doing phases, how many units are we going to do in a phase, how we’re going to relocate them,” Rhodes responded. “All those things are in the process of being logistically planned.”
The hope is that residents would only have to move out of their current unit once to go to a new separate building on site, Rhodes added.
Tripp also had concerns that rent prices would be raised once the project was complete.
“I know that for those residents, even a small change in rent can be significantly impactful,” she said.
It’s too early to say what the cost of rent will be, Rhodes responded.
“We know that the state agency has a cap on what rents can be, less utilities, so we have to stay within those guidelines,” he said.
What’s next?
Wheatland Investments Group officials will pitch the plan next to the USD 232 school board at its meeting on Sept. 9. The school district and Johnson County both have the power to deny an RHID.
The development group is also setting up meetings with neighbors to get their feedback and answer questions.
“There’s all kinds of rumors that fly around about what’s going on in Clearview, and we want to kind of dispel that,” Rhodes said.
Other De Soto housing news: Panasonic plant spurs 800-unit apartment and retail proposal in once-quiet De Soto
