$1.7M federal grant will bring new housing to downtown Bonner Springs

Federal funding will help redevelop the site of a former blighted business in downtown Bonner Springs into new housing. 

The former Thriftway and Dollar General buildings at 112-120 Oak St. in downtown Bonner Springs were demolished in May. Chad Schimke, president of Katfish Inc., plans to make the site into apartments.

Katfish will create a four-story, 100-unit apartment complex with commercial space on the ground floor to be used as a leasing office. 

The project received a $1.7 million grant from the Moderate-Income Housing Program (MIHP) through the Kansas Housing Resources Corp. (KHRC). The grant will cover roughly 10% of the $17 million project. The grant is partially funded through federal allocations from the American Rescue Plan. 

The apartments will range from studio to two-bedroom units, with 50 earmarked for moderate-income renters and the remaining 50 units to be leased at market rate.  

The MIH program helps meet the needs of moderate-income households that don’t qualify for federal housing assistance. MIH grants are awarded to cities and counties with populations of fewer than 60,000 residents to create more housing options. 

Based on the 2020 Census and the city’s 2022 Housing Needs Analysis, more than 50% of households with fewer than four people in Bonner Springs qualify for this program. City staff anticipate the number of qualifying households will be closer to 60% by 2030. 

The Bonner Springs Zoning Board will consider parking variances on Tuesday night. Once plans are finalized, the company hopes to break ground on the complex in the spring with plans to open in the fall of 2025. 

NSPJ is the architect for the project. 

In Franklin County, the Legacy Lofts project by Premium Properties will receive a $400,000 MIHP grant to create 11 moderate-income apartment units in Ottawa.  

The new housing developments are two of 20 projects across the state to receive part of the $19 million allocated by KHRC to create housing options for moderate-income renters in rural Kansas.