A Public Conversation About Housing, Public Investment, and the Future We Are Building Together
For too long, affordable housing has been treated only as a social-service issue. It is certainly that, but it is also much more. Housing is workforce infrastructure, health infrastructure, school-stability infrastructure, and neighborhood infrastructure. When done well, it is one of the strongest economic development strategies a city can pursue.
That matters for Topeka right now.
Across the city, local leaders, nonprofit organizations, developers, lenders, neighborhood partners, and public agencies are beginning to move from talking about the housing crisis to building real housing solutions together. Recent activity around Low-Income Housing Tax Credit projects, industrial revenue bonds, city fee waivers, Affordable Housing Trust Fund investments, infill housing, rehabilitation efforts, and mixed-income developments all point in the same direction:
Topeka is beginning to recognize that housing is not separate from economic growth. Housing is one of the foundations that makes long-term growth possible.
What the Research Shows
A recent Urban Institute / Housing Matters article, “Oklahoma Shows How Affordable Housing Can Also Be an Economic Driver,” highlights how affordable housing investment can strengthen local economies.
The article examined 45 Low-Income Housing Tax Credit developments completed in Oklahoma between 2019 and 2023. Together, the projects created 2,667 affordable homes and generated major economic impact, including more than 4,000 construction jobs, nearly $276 million in labor income, nearly $814 million in total economic output, and more than $126 million in tax revenue during construction and 10 years of operations.
The research also found that every $1 invested through federal and state housing tax credits generated about $3.40 in economic output and returned about 43 cents to public coffers.
The takeaway is clear: affordable housing is not only a cost. It is an investment that can create homes, jobs, economic activity, public revenue, and long-term community value.
Why This Matters for Topeka
Topeka is facing the same question many cities are facing: Will affordable housing remain a side issue, or will it become part of the city’s economic future?
Recent activity suggests Topeka is moving in the right direction.
WIBW has reported on several affordable housing efforts across the city, including SENT Inc.’s Fremont Hill development near the Hi-Crest neighborhood in partnership with Topeka Housing Authority, Mesner Development, and Hoppe Development. The project includes a major affordable housing development near Southeast 31st and Fremont.
WIBW also reported on the Union Tower District at 1104 SE Quincy, a mixed-income development expected to support downtown redevelopment and add hundreds of housing units.
In April 2026, WIBW reported that Shawnee County commissioners approved $12 million in industrial revenue bonds for Resource Housing Group, a nonprofit developer planning a 42-unit project near 37th and Gage. The development is expected to serve households at 60% AMI and below, including units at 20% and 30% AMI.
In May 2026, WIBW reported that the Topeka City Council approved about $40,000 in water and connection fee waivers for two affordable housing developments competing in the LIHTC process. The projects would serve households between 30% and 60% AMI and maintain affordability for 30 years.
The City of Topeka has also advanced its Affordable Housing Trust Fund, creating another tool to support housing acquisition, rehabilitation, development, emergency shelters, and housing-related supportive services for low- to moderate-income households.
These efforts are not isolated wins. Together, they show that Topeka is beginning to build the infrastructure needed to address housing supply, affordability, neighborhood reinvestment, and economic opportunity at the same time.
Give Credit Where Credit Is Due
This progress did not happen by accident, and it did not happen because of one organization alone.
City and county leaders, developers, nonprofit organizations, neighborhood advocates, lenders, funders, contractors, and community partners have all helped move this work forward.
Topeka Housing Authority, Hoppe Development, Mesner Development, Resource Housing Group, the Union Tower District team, SENT Inc., Habitat for Humanity, Cornerstone, JUMP, the City of Topeka, Shawnee County, the Land Bank, Greater Topeka Partnership partners, neighborhood associations, local contractors, and many other community organizations are all part of the housing ecosystem taking shape across the city.
That matters because a healthy housing system is not built by one project, developer, nonprofit, funding source, or public agency alone. It requires coordination, local tools, long-term investment, and trust across sectors.
Housing Is Where Economic Development Begins
When local governments invest in roads, utilities, bridges, industrial parks, or downtown redevelopment, they usually measure jobs, private investment, tax base growth, and long-term return. Affordable housing should be viewed through the same lens because housing creates construction jobs, supports local subcontractors and suppliers, generates demand for professional services, and creates long-term property management and maintenance work. It also helps employers retain workers, allows children to remain rooted in schools, keeps families connected to jobs and support systems, and stabilizes neighborhoods that have experienced years of disinvestment. Housing is not where economic development ends. Housing is where economic development begins.
Local Tools Can Unlock Long-Term Value
Tools like fee waivers, industrial revenue bonds, Affordable Housing Trust Fund awards, Land Bank strategies, and local match dollars are sometimes viewed only as public concessions. But when used strategically, they can help projects compete for LIHTC funding, unlocking millions in outside investment and decades of affordability.
The better question is not only, “What did the city contribute?” but also, “What did the community gain in return?” A small local investment can sometimes unlock long-term housing, economic activity, and outside capital that would otherwise go to another community. That does not mean every project should receive support, but public tools should be used with transparency, accountability, and clear community benefit.
Topeka Can Continue Its Current Path and Strengthen a Coordinated Housing Pipeline
Topeka’s recent momentum is encouraging because the city is already moving in the right direction. The next step is not to slow down or treat each project as a separate debate, but to become more coordinated, transparent, and strategic.
The city has already begun building the foundation of a real housing pipeline. Now it can strengthen that work by connecting existing efforts into a more visible and coordinated system that includes:
- LIHTC multifamily developments led by public, nonprofit, and private partners
- Mixed-income subdivisions and neighborhood development efforts
- Scattered-site infill homes that restore vacant or underused lots
- Rehabilitation of distressed properties by local contractors and community organizations
- Senior and disability-accessible housing that supports aging in place
- Housing connected to supportive services like case management, health care, behavioral health, food access, transportation, and family support
- Homebuyer education and mortgage readiness programs provided by SENT and other partners
- Down payment and closing cost assistance that helps families access affordable homeownership
- Land Bank and tax-sale strategies that return distressed properties to productive use
- Local contractor and apprenticeship pipelines that keep more housing investment in the local economy
A coordinated pipeline like this would help Topeka serve residents across many stages of life, including unsheltered neighbors, renters, seniors, workers, families with children, first-time homebuyers, and moderate-income households priced out of new construction.
Economic Development Partners Should Be at the Housing Table
Housing should not be left only to housing departments, nonprofits, and social-service providers. Go Topeka, local banks, employers, chambers, school districts, hospitals, contractors, unions, philanthropy, neighborhood associations, and workforce partners all have a stake in housing production.
Employers need workers who can afford to live near their jobs. Schools need stable students. Hospitals and clinics need patients with stable housing that supports recovery. Banks need healthy neighborhoods and credit-ready borrowers. Contractors need predictable project pipelines, and neighborhoods need reinvestment that strengthens existing residents rather than displacing them.
If Topeka wants long-term economic growth, housing must be treated as part of economic development, not only human services.
Local Jobs and Local Contractors Should Be Part of the Strategy
Urban Institute research shows that housing investment creates broad economic impact, and Topeka can strengthen those benefits by ensuring more work is done by local contractors, small businesses, apprentices, and suppliers. Affordable housing policy should connect directly to workforce development by supporting local hiring, contractor growth, apprenticeship training, returning-citizen employment pathways, and small business opportunities.
This is especially important in neighborhoods like Hi-Crest, Central Highland Park, and East Topeka, where reinvestment should create opportunity for residents, not just construction activity around them. At SENT, this approach is central to our work. We do not only want to build and rehab homes. We want housing production to create opportunity for families, workers, apprentices, small contractors, lenders, and neighborhoods.
We Must Protect Affordability and Neighborhood Trust
Topeka needs more housing, but it also needs growth that protects the people already living here. Affordable housing should create pathways to stability through rental housing, senior housing, workforce housing, first-time homebuyer opportunities, mixed-income ownership, and rehabilitation of existing homes while protecting affordability, reducing displacement pressure, and strengthening neighborhood trust. Growth should not come at the expense of the residents who stayed through years of disinvestment.
What This Means for Local Topeka Leaders
Topeka is at an important moment. Recent affordable housing approvals, LIHTC applications, fee waivers, industrial revenue bonds, and Affordable Housing Trust Fund investments show the city is beginning to take housing production seriously. The next step is to fully treat affordable housing as economic development.
That means:
- Make affordable housing a standing economic development priority. Include housing production and preservation in economic development scorecards, not just social-service plans.
- Use local tools strategically. Align fee waivers, IRBs, AHTF awards, Land Bank transfers, RHID/TIF-style tools, infrastructure support, and local match dollars to help strong projects compete for outside investment.
- Build a visible housing pipeline. Track LIHTC projects, infill homes, rehab projects, senior housing, supportive housing, and homeownership pathways so the community can measure progress over time.
- Connect housing to workforce development. Publicly supported housing projects should support local hiring, apprenticeships, contractor growth, and supplier participation where possible.
- Balance rental housing with ownership pathways. Alongside LIHTC rental projects, Topeka should continue expanding homebuyer education, down payment assistance, mortgage readiness, and mixed-income ownership models already supported by SENT and other partners.
- Measure the economic return. Track jobs, construction spending, local contractor participation, tax base impact, school stability, resident retention, neighborhood indicators, and affordability outcomes alongside unit counts.
- Protect affordability and neighborhood trust. Growth should include safeguards, resident engagement, and long-term affordability commitments that reduce displacement pressure.
The Question Before Us
The question before Topeka is not whether we can afford to support affordable housing, but whether we can afford not to. If we want a city where businesses can hire, families can stay, children can remain rooted, neighborhoods can recover, and public investments create long-term value, then affordable housing must be treated as a core economic development strategy. At SENT, we believe housing is more than a building. It is a foundation for health, family stability, opportunity, and neighborhood transformation. Affordable housing is not charity. It is community infrastructure that strengthens the entire city while preserving dignity for the families who need a place to call home.
Sources
Urban Institute / Housing Matters, “Oklahoma Shows How Affordable Housing Can Also Be an Economic Driver”
https://housingmatters.urban.org/articles-features/oklahoma-shows-how-affordable-housing-can-also-be-economic-driver
Urban Institute, “How Affordable Housing Contributes to Local Economies and Tax Revenues: Jobs, Growth, and Income Generated by Low Income Housing Tax Credit Projects in Oklahoma”
https://www.urban.org/research/publication/how-affordable-housing-contributes-local-economies-and-tax-revenues
WIBW, “Two affordable housing projects underway in Topeka”
https://www.wibw.com/2025/05/21/two-affordable-housing-projects-underway-topeka/
WIBW, “New development one step closer to meet Topeka low-income housing demand”
https://www.wibw.com/2026/04/27/new-development-one-step-closer-meet-topeka-low-income-housing-demand/
WIBW, “City Council waives utility fees on incoming affordable housing developments”
https://www.wibw.com/2026/05/06/city-council-waives-utility-fees-incoming-affordable-housing-developments/
WIBW, “Topeka Mayor talks progress in advancing affordable housing projects”
https://www.wibw.com/2026/05/04/topeka-mayor-talks-progress-advancing-affordable-housing-projects/
City of Topeka, “City of Topeka Now Accepting Proposals for Affordable Housing Trust Fund”
https://topeka.gov/news_detail_T11_R321.php
Kansas Housing Resources Corporation, LIHTC Program Updates
https://kshousingcorp.org/category/programs/lihtc/