CONCORDIA - The Cloud County Health Center Board of Trustees voted unanimously to gift the existing hospital land to the City of Concordia land bank for the purpose of developing moderate to high income housing.
The City of Concordia in partnership with CloudCorp released a housing study in August revealing a deficit in moderate income and higher income housing. Earlier this year, the state legislature allocated funding for rural moderate income housing and applications to utilize the funds are due at the end of September. In order to qualify, the City of Concordia must identify land to build a subdivision or provide existing lots to use for infill in established neighborhoods.
Grant candidates must also demonstrate local partnership and local resources available to supplement the grant funds.
The new North Central Kansas Medical Center will be opening later in the Fall along College Drive. The existing building will be razed to useable acreage at the end of the year and into early 2023.
“It was our hope to use the land in a way that could benefit the entire community,” said Phil Gilliland, President of the Board of Trustees. “Housing isn’t just a need for the hospital, but a need for every employer in the county. We have a golden opportunity to grow our community and our tax base in a way that we haven’t had in decades. The Board of Trustees are pleased to take that first step and encourage all of our partners to find a way to contribute to this worthy project.”