Emporia has been trying to develop interest — pun fully intended — in infill housing for the central and east parts of town. It now has a potential partner working on plans to foster that interest.
Kansas Spanish Speakers began preliminary public conversations with the Emporia Land Bank at the Land Bank’s last meeting in early March. Kansas Spanish Speakers CEO LeLan Dains says there is a notable need for housing when immigrants and others gaining work come to Emporia, sometimes with no place to stay, in other times staying with acquaintances or family. So Kansas Spanish Speakers is working on the framework for what it’s calling ReCasa.
If approved, ReCasa would be open to anybody who qualifies. City Housing Specialist Jeff Lynch says this has the potential of helping residents through the Land Bank’s work.
Admittedly, there is a lot to hammer out with this plan — but Lynch and Dains both see benefits to the city, including increased property tax collections and revitalized neighborhoods. Lynch also sees new residences that don’t need costly new infrastructure.
Dains is praising the Kansas Health Foundation, the largest donor to Kansas Spanish Speakers, for its willingness to both verbally support the potential program and contribute up to $500,000 in a low-interest loan, depending on how things unfold from here. Dains says that funding could transform five properties at the start.
Dains says Kansas Spanish Speakers’ nonprofit status helps because of its ability to accept donations, and Dains says he has fielded interest from people inside and outside of Emporia who are interested in funding housing projects. Dains also says secured funding options also open up the prospect of loans, lines of credit and other traditional financial mechanisms. Kansas Spanish Speakers has formed an advisory committee to help flesh out details, including contracts and memorandums of understanding, within the next three months.
Lynch says the Land Bank Board has a few key points it wants to see in the near future.
Since the Land Bank is separate from the city and has titles to the properties it owns, Lynch says the plan simply needs Land Bank approval and does not need to go to the City Commission to be activated. As this plan moves forward, Lynch says the Land Bank will continue its work to purchase properties for infill development. Dains, meanwhile, says the overall goal with ReCasa is not to duplicate or mirror the model of Habitat for Humanity, which typically works on one or two homes per year and works with a known buyer with sweat equity as a core component of a home purchase.
On top of the residence program, Dains says ReCasa will have a second component: the reclamation and salvage of household items like furniture, building materials and appliances with the goal of having those items available for purchase or donation to Kansas Spanish Speakers — possibly as part of a community-wide sale. There are already plans being discussed to have at least one ReCasa Move-Out day at Emporia State University when the spring semester ends in May.
