by Carina Branson, Zena Taher/KSN
Two new housing developments broke ground in Harper County on Wednesday. Combined, the developments will create dozens of homes aimed at middle-income families.
Like other small communities across south-central Kansas, the cities of Harper and Anthony are home to major manufacturers and hope to continue economic expansion. However, attracting new residents is difficult without adequate housing.
“They have a significant portion of their employees that travel into our community, and they are continuing to grow, which is great. They were partners in our grant application to show for their continued growth, they needed workforce,” Tiffany Cooperrider, the Harper City Administrator, said.
To address that need, two new housing developments are underway. Each will have two plots with houses built by a developer. The remaining lots are available for free, provided recipients hire a licensed builder to construct a single-family home on the property.
The projects are supported by both state and federal funding. Representative Kyle Hoffman of the Kansas Legislature noted that rural areas often struggle to attract contractors and skilled labor.
“In an urban area, it’s a lot easier to get those contractors to work in those urban areas,” he said.
Recognizing the shared need, the city administrators of Harper and Anthony collaborated to make the developments possible.
“If you can build the base of an economy bigger if you have additional taxpayers that can relieve the tax burden on existing properties,” Cyndra Kastens, the Anthony City Clerk/Administrator, said.
One development in Anthony plans to include 16 homes; the one in Harper will include 11. Both cities have invested in key infrastructure, such as electricity and site grading, to get the projects started.
“The ability to partner together as two small communities sharing those resources, sharing staff, that’s what really makes a difference here in being able to go out after some of these grant sources,” Kastens said.
The state says the request for state funding from the partnership comes at a time when Kansas is focused on expanding housing to keep up with growth.
“One thing that always stands out to me in Harper County is how much they collaborate and just work as a whole community, countywide. Anytime someone shows that true regionalization, you want to reward appropriately,” Matt Godinez, the assistant secretary of commerce of Kansas, said.
So far, each development has a developer committed to building two homes. Most of the remaining lots are still available and offered at no cost. To qualify, recipients must build a home using a licensed contractor. Participants may also be eligible for tax incentives.
“The strongest takeaway, the biggest communication piece of this project, is that partnership between communities and that support from the state level to meet this housing issue across the state of Kansas,” Kastens said.
By working together, Harper and Anthony have managed to launch these projects under budget. Now, they’re looking for individuals and families ready to build—and put down roots—in Harper County.
This article was republished here with the permission of: KSNW-TV