Affordable housing development breaks ground on Kansas City’s east side

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — KSHB 41 reporter La’Nita Brooks covers stories in Kansas City, Missouri, and stories offering solutions on crime. Share your story idea with La’Nita.

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Leaders broke ground Thursday on a new affordable housing development on Kansas City’s east side, a project expected to bring 85 new housing units to the community.

The development is geared toward families who are often priced out of the housing market.

Supporters said the project is about more than adding homes, it is about creating stability and strengthening the surrounding neighborhood.

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“At its core, people need to feel grounded and rooted in a place, in a space,” said Alana Henry, executive director of the Ivanhoe Neighborhood Council.

Troy Nash, CEO and founder of the Nash Group, said the development will provide an essential resource for families struggling with housing costs.

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“It’s going to serve the community by providing the most important asset, which is housing,” Nash said.

Nash said many families are spending an unsustainable portion of their income on rent or mortgage payments.

“People today are severely cost burdened,” Nash said. “They’re spending 50, 60, 70, and in some cases 80% of the money they have on a mortgage or rent.”

The project is part of a larger effort by Kansas City, Missouri, to create 10,000 new housing units.

Henry said access to stable, affordable housing can have a ripple effect throughout a community, including improving overall well-being.

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“Housing and health, housing and safety, and housing and stability,” Henry said. “This project and any other development project, particularly here on the east side, I think represent health for the community, health for families, safety and stability.”

State Sen. Barbara Washington, D-9th District, said adding housing can also help support local schools, businesses and neighborhoods.

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“Having that means schools won’t be boarded up, so now you got some babies that can go to the local school, teachers can still be hired and keep their jobs,” Washington said.

Washington said affordable housing can also help keep people from experiencing homelessness while giving families more financial flexibility.

“So, housing is vibrant, it is efficient and it can keep people off the street, which we want to continue to reduce our crime in Kansas City,” Washington said.

Supporters said the new development will also help turn a vacant property into an opportunity for growth on the east side.

Construction is expected to be completed by summer 2028.

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