TOPEKA (KSNT) – The Topeka City Council voted to spend over $500,000 dollars funding affordable housing Tuesday evening. The projects are intended to renovate and construct housing built by two separate developers — SENT INC, and the Highland Park Townhomes.

Many of the Topeka City Council members were excited about the prospect of more affordable housing in the capital city.

“We have a lack of housing at every level, but affordable the most. What we’ve got to do is add, add, and add, because one of the reasons rents are so high is because we don’t have enough availability,” said Spencer Duncan, the Mayor of Topeka. “If we want to grow our city and we want to make sure people have stable places to live, we have to make sure to invest in affordable housing all across the city.”

The 500,000 dollars are derived from the Affordable Housing Trust Fund (AHTF). Once the projects are completed, the developers are set to pay back into the AHTF.