McLean Manor is one of two low-income senior citizen highrise apartment buildings owned by the City of Wichita. Just 55 of the 90 units in the building are occupied. If you’re looking for a new home, look to see if you qualify to lease one of these units. (Joe Stumpe)

Approximately 55 newly renovated apartments in McLean Manor senior highrise building are now occupied and leasing for the other 35 units is continuing with Mennonite Housing serving as the property manager.

According to the city, renovation of the  building’s interior is substantially complete with only a few remaining “punch list” items to address. Exterior painting and resurfacing and restriping of the parking lot will begin later this fall.

Residents of the city’s other senior highrise building, Greenway Manor, have been moved to McLean and a total renovation of that building began in September.  

There are 86 apartments in the Greenway building and they are expected to be ready for occupancy sometime next year.

Rehab work on two other city-owned multi-family projects is also now largely complete. 

The Rosa Gragg duplex community on West 25th Street North was completed in January 2023 and all 30 apartments are now occupied. Exterior improvements, including painting, will be completed this fall.

The apartments at the Bernice Hutcherson triplex complex at 20th Street and Wellington Place have been renovated, and 14 of the 18 units are occupied. The community building there is expected to be done by mid-October.

All of the renovations were made possible by the city’s decision in 2017 to join other metropolitan areas across the country in leaving the federal public housing program and converting units to a new Rental Assistance Demonstration program (RAD), which allowed them to obtain the funds needed to renovate the properties.

Funding for the expected $36 million redevelopment project came from a $10.9 million commercial FHA insured loan, state and federal grants and tax credit equity. The change moves the projects from Federal Housing and Urban Development public housing to Section 8 rentals with the city as the landlord and Mennonite Housing as property manager.

Top priority is for applicants age 62 and older, then 55 or older and disabled, then 50 or older and disabled, then under 50 and disabled. Rent is 30% of household income with HUD and Low Income Housing Tax Credit providing subsidies to make up the rest of the market rental value.

To get on the waitlist, call Mennonite Housing at 316-942-4848.

The city is in the process of selling almost 350 single-family homes that did not qualify for the RAD project. 

P.J. Griekspoor is a semi-retired veteran journalist with 55 years experience in writing and editing in Missouri, Iowa, Minnesota, North Carolina and Wichita.  She spent 18 years at the Wichita Eagle...