The money raised through the 2025 Overland Park Mayor’s Holiday Fund will support a local nonprofit that’s building a new affordable apartment complex in downtown Overland Park.
Friends of Johnson County Developmental Supports, a nonprofit organization that specializes in affordable housing, has been remodeling and building housing in the community to make it suitable for adults who have disabilities.
Now, as the nonprofit embarks on a new 17-unit apartment building on some vacant lots near the northwest corner of 79th and Floyd streets in the heart of downtown Overland Park, it could get a boost from some festive charitable giving.
Janel Bowers, CEO of Friends of JCDS, said she was floored when she found out earlier this year that Friends of JCDS would be the beneficiary of the holiday fundraiser in Overland Park this year.
“It was elation and excitement, and what a tremendous honor to be thought of so highly,” Bowers told the Post of her initial reaction to hearing the news. “What perfect timing, because we’re going to start building this apartment, and these funds will come just at the right time.”
Give to the Mayor’s Holiday Fund through Friday, Nov. 21
Community members can give to the holiday fund through the Friends of JCDS website or on the Downtown Overland Park Partnership website. The deadline to give through the holiday fund is Friday, Nov. 21.
“They’re just an amazing organization doing great work across the county,” Skoog said, but it’s the nonprofit’s forthcoming downtown Overland Park project that caught his eye this year. “I just think that it’s a perfect fit for the community’s vision of downtown Overland Park, and [I’m] excited to have the opportunity to help them raise some money to make it happen.”
The city has no specific fundraising goal; however, the money raised will all go to Friends of JCDS. (In 2023, Overland Park raised $10,000 for the Golden Scoop through the Mayor’s Holiday Fund as the sweets shop prepared to open its second Overland Park location at 103rd Street and U.S. Highway 69.)
It all leads up to the Mayor’s Holiday Festival in Thompson Park at 5 p.m. on Friday, where Skoog and the community will light the holiday tree for the season.
Outside of the holiday fundraiser, Friends of JCDS is always accepting donations and the support of volunteers. Find out more here.
Making downtown Overland Park “better for everyone”
The nonprofit plans to reserve some of the units in the apartment building for individuals who receive support from JCDS. The remaining units would be available to be leased by individuals who have disabilities or who have very low or extremely low income based on federal standards.
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.
Plans for the apartment building started working their way through the city’s planning process earlier this year.
“We hope that this development should be making downtown Overland Park more vibrant and better for everyone,” said Planning Commission Chair Kip Strauss during a June meeting where the project was discussed.
Keep reading: Nonprofit plans apartments in downtown OP for tenants with developmental disabilities
