By: NICOLAS FIERRO
Salina Post
Transformative scattered homes across Salina are now available for those who want 'quality affordable housing.'
Thanks to the help of various partners and investors, Salina Housing Authority's 'Salina RAD Homes' also known as "Vanguard Apartments," has completed with co-developer, Knight Development a 118 scattered-site project that are located at various addresses throughout Salina. This $24 million project, consists of single-family homes, duplexes, quadruplexes, and row houses. These units include 10 one-bedroom, 56 two-bedroom and 52 three-bedroom homes with each unit receiving critical upgrades to meet modern standards for energy efficiency, accessibility and safety.
These 'quality affordable homes' were made possible through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Rental Assistance Demonstration (RAD) program, which is a program designed to preserve and improve public housing and certain HUD-assisted properties.
CEO of Knight Development Co., Holly Knight stated that they wanted to make "home ownership available for those who want it." She commented on how long this project took, before it came into fruition.
"From start to finish it took about 3 years," said Knight. "These homes are all scattered into the fabrics of each neighborhood and when people have a sense of home it is just more of a sense of pride."
Knight explained that the Salina Housing Authority along with CHDO (Community Housing Development Corporation of Central Kansas) are 'doing a really good job' of moving people from rental homes into home ownership.
According to the Salina Housing Authority, Holly Knight since 2017 has specialized in helping Public Housing Authorities and non-profit entities create and rehabilitate affordable housing communities. With 15 years of (HUD) experience and a growing list of award-winning developments, Knight has established herself as a preeminent Housing Authority Development expert.
Amenities and upgrades for the Salina RAD Homes include:
Kitchen and bathroom renovations, new HVAC systems, new windows and flooring, washer and dryer connections, new appliances, interior/exterior paint, new energy efficient building upgrades and upgrades landscaping, sidewalks and signage.
Salina Homes realtor, Kimberly Trigg wants to 'guide' those wanting to obtain home ownership.
"As realtors we have a fiduciary responsibility to guide them in what it is to be home ownership," said Trigg. "We will help direct you to resources to look at your credit, resources in how to make your credit better and from there we will go over the process to make sure we give you the best offer."
The various investors and partners who helped achieve this $24 million project includes:
Salina Housing Authority Board of Directors, Kansas Housing Resources Corp., CHDO of Central Kansas, Central Rapids Bank and Trust, Red Stone Equity, Snyder Construction, Perez and Royal American Management.
According to the Salina Housing Authority, those who are interested in investing in a home can contact Salina RAD Homes by calling: (785) 827-3892.
To contact Salina Homes or to get in touch with any of their realtors, go to https://salinahomes.com/contact/
