The extensive renovations at Twin Elms are complete and now residents of this Community Builders of Kansas City senior living community can enjoy their life in comfort, supported by the many social services and enrichment programs coordinated by Horizon Housing Foundation.
Founded 25 years ago, Horizon’s mission is to support seniors, families and veterans through programs that promote economic self-sufficiency and improve their quality of life. For Twin Elms residents those programs include social gatherings, healthy meal events, fitness and balance classes, financial literacy workshops, employment support and assistance with utility and rent payment. Residents also will have access to a monthly mobile food pantry, nutrition and cooking classes as well as an annual wellness check-up.
The success of an affordable housing community is not only about the quality of the property itself or even the amenities that come with it. As important is bringing resources that help to ensure the residents are healthy and stable.
Located at 41st & Paseo, the 54-unit affordable housing development meets a huge need for affordable senior housing in the urban core. In Missouri, nearly 30 percent of senior households are low-income. Twin Elms serves residents with very low income to those with up to 60 percent of area median household income.
It takes patience, experience and expertise to navigate the financial and development hurdles involved in opening quality affordable residential communities on Kansas City’s East Side. Over the last 35 years, CBKC has provided nearly 1,000 housing units.
Among those challenges are appraisal gaps and escalating building costs.
On the East Side, rents and appraisals are frequently lower than the cost of construction or rehabilitation, which affects lender underwriting. Nationally, as in Kansas City, persistent devaluation in majority-Black neighborhoods widens the gap a financial projection must bridge. The cost and availability of materials knows no boundaries and only adds to the financing challenge.
CBKC deals with these obstacles with development savvy and experience in playing the long game with various regulatory and financing entities as well as navigating the technical requirements for tax credits and other subsidy support. For example, CBKC was awarded Missouri Housing Development Commission low-income housing tax credits (LITEC) for the $8.8 million Twin Elms retirement community renovation. It also worked with the Kansas City Area Transportation Authority as a financing and transit partner leveraging START bond proceeds as part of the redevelopment finance package.
Delivering affordable housing in the urban core requires deeper capital stacks, coordinated land strategies and strong community partners. Fortunately for our senior community members, Twin Elms had enough of that mix to complete the renovations and will continue to benefit from the work of Horizon Housing Foundation that is serving as the primary social service and program coordinator for all residents at the property.