A local nonprofit that specializes in affordable housing for adults with disabilities is planning a new apartment building in downtown Overland Park.
Friends of Johnson County Developmental Supports has, for more than 25 years, been remodeling and building single-family homes in the community to make them suitable for adults with disabilities. In all, the nonprofit has completed nearly 25 homes for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities who are served by Johnson County Developmental Supports.
Now, Friends of JCDS wants to build a 17-unit apartment building at the northwest corner of 79th and Floyd streets, its first bigger-scale multifamily project, as part of a new strategy.
On Monday, the Overland Park Planning Commission voted 10-0 to recommend approval of a certificate of conformity, finding that the apartment plans comply with the special zoning overlay in the downtown area (called the Downtown Form District). Commissioner Rob Krewson was absent.
“We hope that this development should be making downtown Overland Park more vibrant and better for everyone,” said Commissioner Kip Strauss, who chairs the planning commission.
Friends of JCDS building 17-unit apartment building
The nonprofit group has proposed a total of 17 apartment units in the building, with the majority reserved for individuals who receive support from JCDS. The remaining units would be available to be leased by additional individuals who have disabilities or who have very low/ extremely low income based on federal standards.
Friends of JCDS CEO Janel Bowers told the Post that she expects the majority — if not all — of the tenants to use federal housing vouchers, but the rents will be about a third of a tenant’s monthly income with utilities included. Most of the units will be one-bedroom, but a couple will be two-bedroom units.
The lower level of the roughly 18,000-square-foot residential building would be occupied by an art studio and gallery space, community rooms for the tenants to use and offices for Friends of JCDS staff. The backyard will also be designated for urban agriculture for tenants to help grow produce, Bowers told the Post.
Bowers said she expects it to be “a really cohesive space to call home” and that she sees it as an opportunity to provide “inclusive housing.”
The property in question is undeveloped, and it sits near a Firestone shop and some single-family homes. Since the property is vacant, the city considers it to be an infill development project, a key priority laid out in the special zoning district covering downtown Overland Park.
Why downtown Overland Park?
The location is everything, Bowers said.
Downtown Overland Park, which has seen a surge in development and redevelopment activity over the past several years, offers numerous amenities that many people would want, she said, such as easy access to transit, shopping, dining, and a farmers market. On top of that, it’s pretty walkable, making it even easier to access those things.
“For people that don’t drive, that are relying on public transportation, the ability to walk to the grocery store is really pretty amazing,” Bowers said.
Plus, Friends of JCDS spotted the undeveloped lot sitting in the heart of all of that, and better yet, it was for sale.
“So it kind of was just, ‘Here’s this opportunity. Here are these good circumstances that have presented themselves. We should do this,’” Bowers said.
Members of the planning commission on Monday agreed, with Commissioner Matt Masilionis saying, “I think you couldn’t find a more perfect opportunity for something to happen here.”
Friends of JCDS looking at future multifamily projects
After decades of focusing primarily on single-family home projects, Friends of JCDS has started emphasizing other types of housing development under its updated strategic plan.
With that in mind, the nonprofit is renovating a duplex in downtown Shawnee and is planning the apartment building in downtown Overland Park. Both of those offer another independent housing option for adults who have disabilities.
These multi-unit projects also open the door to more housing affordability solutions for individuals who are and who are not served by JCDS specifically. For instance, the apartment building will set aside some units for very and extremely low-income individuals. There could also be opportunities to connect clients of Johnson County Mental Health to housing through this project, Bowers said.
With that framework in mind, she said Friends of JCDS is also looking at other opportunities to do multifamily projects, specifically mentioning a desire for more duplexes or potentially triplexes.
All of that doesn’t necessarily mean that Friends of JCDS is done doing single-family projects for adults who have disabilities entirely, Bowers said; it just means that they’re putting the focus on something else.
Next steps on the downtown OP apartments:
- The certificate of conformity for the downtown apartment building goes to the Overland Park City Council for consideration next, likely during the July 7 meeting.
- Later, Friends of JCDS will need to get site plan approval and then take the project to bid.
- That puts the anticipated groundbreaking sometime in the late fall, Bowers said. She expects the project to take about 18 months to build.
More downtown Overland Park news: Apartments and retail coming to site of old Winstead’s in downtown Overland Park
