Kansas City knows affordable housing is an essential building block of healthy neighborhoods and has much to do with shaping the quality of life in a community. In fact, improvements in housing have been linked to improvements in schools, community safety, transportation, and job access.

Kansas City’s housing strategy is designed to preserve existing housing units as well as encourage new housing construction. It calls on all levels of government and on the private and non-profit sectors to work together to achieve major housing objectives. The city’s housing goals include:

• Rehabilitating and/or constructing 10,000 housing units in the River-Crown-Plaza area by 2010
• Preserving at-risk and vacant buildings within downtown and Kansas City’s urban core neighborhoods
• Helping 500 renters achieve the security that comes with homeownership and fostering homeownership among woman-headed households.

Kansas City has poured more than $600 million into housing development. And its investment is being reaped by residents of all economic backgrounds. In an effort to help more citizens become home owners, the city and the Heart of America Family Services have established a $1 million Individual Development Account (IDA) fund, which uses city, federal, and private funds to assist residents with purchasing a home. Families agree to save regularly and attend financial literacy classes. In return, their savings are matched by IDA funds with the goal of accumulating a down payment for a home.

Other unique housing initiatives include:

HOPE III Program
The authority acquires properties in foreclosure, rehabilitates them, and then makes them available for purchase to first-time home buyers.

Police in Neighborhoods (PIN) and FLAME Programs
The PIN and FLAME Programs are designed to offer special incentives to local law enforcement officers and firefighters willing to reside within specific neighborhoods in Kansas City. The financing incentives include a below-market interest rate on 20% of the total sales price of the home.

Targeted Neighborhood Housing Development
This program is designed to help approved Community Development Corporations construct single-family housing on vacant lots within their service area. The program offers the agency construction financing assistance, enabling the organization to keep the purchase price at an affordable rate while assisting in overall neighborhood revitalization.

Kansas City’s dedication to affordable housing initiatives helps attract people to the city. And the community’s efforts are complimented by its low cost of living. In fact, the National Association of Homebuilders ranked Kansas City number one in housing affordability among metropolitan areas with populations over one million.