Local
officials open Harrisonville senior’s complex
Harrisonville Mayor Kevin Wood and Cass County Commissioners Gene
Molendorp, Jim Meara and Jon Seabuagh joined a large crowd to officially
open the Hawthorn Estates Apartments in morning ceremonies held Nov.
18. The 40-unit development for seniors, located adjacent to Wal-Mart
off Highway 291 in Harrisonville, was developed by the West Central
Missouri Community Action Agency. (WCMCAA). The complex includes 28
one-bedroom apartments renting at $385 per month and a dozen two-bedroom
apartments renting for $450 per month.
The affordable housing development was financed by the Missouri Housing
Development Commission, the state’s housing finance agency, with a $1
million federal HOME loan at one percent interest for 30 years, a $2.1
million construction loan and $264,733 in state and federal Housing Tax
Credits. The USBank Community Development Corporation also helped
finance the project. The low-interest loans and Housing Tax Credits are
designed to keep the cost of the development at a manageable level in
order to keep rents low.
“We could not have undertaken such a massive task without the
help of our partners,” said Amos Jackson, West Central Executive
Director. “It truly required a strong partnership with the community of
Harrisonville, MHDC and USBank. We are very happy to join these
partners in celebrating this achievement.”
The complex includes a large community activity center and kitchen area
with an on-site supportive services coordinator.
The Missouri Housing Development Commission was established by
the 75th General Assembly in 1969. Since that time, MHDC has encouraged
and assisted in the production of affordable rental housing and provided
homeownership opportunities for thousands of families.
It has invested almost $4 billion in Missouri housing, covering every
county of the state, for rental housing developments, home mortgages,
home improvement loans, loans to landlords for renovations, grants to
neighborhood housing groups and other programs.
MHDC does not build or renovate housing itself; rather, it functions as
a bank, providing financing directly to borrowers or through a network
of private lending institutions. Most of MHDC's programs operate as a
public-private partnership.
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