The new rental houses completed earlier this year in St. John and the currently under construction in Macksville are part of the nine house county-wide rental housing Stafford County Economic Development (EcoDevo) started building in September 2021. The first house was built in Hudson and completed in February 2022. Three houses in Stafford were completed in June 2022. The three houses in St. John were completed in January 2023. And the final two houses in Macksville should be completed by August 2023.
EcoDevo is having to slow down its plan for a New Housing Development Program that would have built 10 more houses. Its fall 2022 application for a Moderate Income Housing Grant was not awarded funding. The Kansas Housing Resource Corporation received around $19 million in Moderate Income Housing grant requests in its fall grant cycle and was only able to award about $5 million in funding.
Stafford County Economic Development has engaged Housing Opportunities Inc (HOI) a nonprofit in Great Bend to take over property management of their rental properties effective March 1. Stafford EcoDevo’s rental portfolio has grown from three units to eleven in just over a year with two more houses still under construction.
Our VISTA’s service year has come to an end! Over the past year, Falon Runnebaum’s work has focused on housing and childcare which are crucial for developing a strong and robust workforce.
The three houses in St. John are taking shape as part of our Praire View Rental Housing! Two at the corner of 1st and Monroe and one on S. Broadway. They will be completed later this fall.
This is the audio from our monthly radio show: Focus on Stafford County. This show aired live at 11:30 AM CT on Thursday, June 23, 2022. Kathleen talked about the current state of housing in Stafford County and the new housing development program EcoDevo is working on.
Take a look at our current housing stock in Stafford County and see what is affordable affordable for our area.
We hosted an open house on February 5 & 6 at 304 S. Main Street in Hudson. This is the first of nine additional rental houses we are building county-wide based on the house built in conjunction with K-State at 8th and Broadway in St. John.
Stafford County Economic Development, Inc.
We are a 501(c)3 non-profit organization.
Our Office
311 N Broadway St, Saint John, KS 67576
620-549-3527
Mailing Address
PO Box 233, Saint John, KS 67576
Our Mission
To promote economic and population growth throughout the County by assisting our local businesses, engaging in community activities, and promoting Stafford County as a great place to live, work, and play.
We are an equal opportunity provider and employer.