WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW)—An apartment complex in Wichita that offers affordable housing for people with disabilities is in the middle of renovations. “The Timbers” does not have funding for the final construction phase.
They have few options if funding doesn’t go through.
The Timbers’ old apartments, built about fifty years ago, are being knocked down and rebuilt. The Cerebral Palsy Research Foundation of Kansas, which runs the apartments, is building new ADA-compliant ones.
The big project is being completed in three phases. However, sufficient funding sources are scarce for a project of this scale.
The new construction started with a need for renovations in the old.
“We had a number of the buildings that had significant foundation issues, and the floors were actually dropping, the concrete floors were separating from the footing, so we need to have some emergency repairs done,” said Patrick Jonas, President and CEO of Cerebral Palsy Research Foundation of Kansas.
When the process of repairs started, it quickly became apparent that the problem was deeper.
“It would be much more cost-effective to actually demo the buildings and start from scratch,” Jonas said.
The new units are ADA-compliant, but they’re also costly. The whole project costs about $32 million.
Funding for the third and final phase isn’t on hand yet.
“We always have concerns about securing funding,” Jonas said.
Phase 3 will cost an estimated $8 million. The goal is to obtain that from the low-income housing tax credit program.
“There’s a good chance that everything will have to be put on hold if we’re not successful in that application,” Jonas said.
Alternatives are few.
“Between federal home loan bank, the City of Wichita, and perhaps taking on an additional second mortgage would be the only way to get this done, but it’s not practical,” Jonas said.
Residents say that with the lack of accessible housing in the area, renovations are needed.
“We went through other places left and right. There wasn’t no other place like this that was accommodating,” said Joshua Friedel, a 12-year resident of The Timbers.