Community leader Chris Harris noticed a lot of people in Kansas City's Ivanhoe neighborhood, where he grew up, had full-time jobs but still couldn't afford homes for their families.
So, he hatched a plan to build houses for working families on land he now owns by the park.
“I was just saying, ‘There has to be something that can be done for working people that have been on their job (for) 5 to 10 years and they're still struggling to find a place affordable to live.’ I just felt like I had to try to do something,” Harris told KCUR’s Up To Date.
Harris owns Harris Park Midtown Sports and Activity Center, which includes a golf course and provides sports programs for youth.
Now, he is close to completing the first of 22 homes planned to be built in the area. The developments are targeting families making between $34,000 to $70,000 a year, and plan to charge just 30% of residents' gross income.
“The funding from the houses will go to the park so that the park can self-sustain, and then the park will continue doing its fundraising to help the houses," Harris said. So we're just going to make this nonprofit spin for everything."
The first two houses contain three bedrooms and a storm shelter instead of a basement, but Harris plans to build more with a variety of layouts. After the first two single-family homes, construction will start on four duplexes that will contain eight units.
But Harris doesn’t want to stop there. He’s working with The Way Home, which is a nonprofit affordable housing agency in Kansas City. The organization is buying up more lots in the neighborhood to eventually build more affordable housing.
He raised around $1.5 million for the first two homes and received help from the Health Forward Foundation. He says he continues to raise funding by knocking on doors and sharing his mission with local foundations.
As he works to finalize the application for the homes, Harris says those interested in the housing can email the organization at HarrisPark45@gmail.com.
