St. Joseph gaining momentum in push to address housing

May 16—Michelle Clark remembers the emotion she and her three business partners felt when they learned someone would call their first rehabilitated property a home in St. Joseph.

What started with an idea and a shared goal over dinner with friends Sarah Weaver, Tara Horn and Ashley Albers on how to improve St. Joseph's housing is now blossoming before their eyes.

"I would tell you that once we found out that we were under contract with a first-time homebuyer, I don't think there was a dry eye in our group," said Clark, a member of HII, or Housing Improvement Initiative. "That is exactly what our mission was."

With their first home under contract to close at the end of May and two acquired properties currently under construction on South 11th Street, the group, founded in March 2023, is hitting its stride in its mission to rehabilitate abandoned homes and revitalize neighborhoods in St. Joseph.

Comprised of four pillars in the business and real estate community in Clark, Weaver, Horn and Albers, HII is one of the latest examples of momentum building on multiple fronts across the city to improve its housing scene and the long-term impact on the local economy.

"We're just doing it because we want our community to be better. We have kids as well. And so there's probably that spirit of we want our kids to be proud of where they came from. And hopefully keep their roots here," Clark said.

HII acquires homes largely from the private market and through Missouri's Abandoned Housing Act. Some have even been donated to them.

The nonprofit is powered by a combination of private investments, donations, government grants and funding agreements with the city and county, a key set of partnerships that have helped pave the way for marked growth.

With a year of knowledge gained and growth, HII has its sights on partnering with other name-stay organizations making a difference like Habitat for Humanity and Youth Alliance.

HII's second home at 2522 S. 11th Street is undergoing a $100,000 remodel process. Moving forward, the group has a goal of rehabilitating five homes a year.

"We're making sure that it stays within the $90,000 to $120,000, $130,000 range, make sure it appraises correctly, make sure that it passes the inspections," she said. "It's also really important that we keep the outside aesthetics similar to the area."

HII's work has provided a boost alongside rejuvenated efforts from the city and county to help strengthen work in a variety of ways from rehabilitating deteriorating homes, improving rental properties and boosting new housing development.

"It really is a strategy that we're a part of what is a cog in the wheel. We believe that high tides raise all ships," said Clark, CFO for Lifeline Foods. "We just see this becoming almost a domino effect to really grow the community."

Stopping it

where it starts

A vital component in the multi-layered push toward housing improvements starts with preventing properties from deteriorating in the first place with help from the city's rejuvenated rental inspection program.

For years, the program dealt with concerns about ineffectiveness due to its voluntary nature and provision for landlord self-certification.

"I think the initial rollout of the program, there was some skepticism from the property owners, property managers of rental properties that the city was wanting to just utilize another government program as a way to dictate what a business owner can do," said Clint Thompson, St. Joseph's director of planning and community development.

New provisions passed by the St. Joseph City Council last year that required a business license for all rental units, removed the option for landlord self-certification and allowed for inspections even when a property is occupied, have opened the proverbial door for significant growth in the number of inspections.

"And so that initial concern, I think was met with a better understanding of the intent of the program and that the city was really trying to not only benefit the renter but the property owner," Thompson said. "The intent of the program is just to level the playing field."

Between 2019 and February 2023, the program inspected 1,531 rental properties. In the last fiscal year, the program inspected 700, nearly half the amount from the last four years combined.

"We've had a lot of new interest in individuals either outside or inside the community wanting to acquire property, to rehab property. And so they're fully on board. And so I think having that new set of interests that the city is working with I think has kind of snowballed to make the project a little bit more successful as well," Thompson said.

The program itself is just one tool the city has introduced to address blighted conditions and improve the overall property maintenance of older existing housing stock. The vacant residential registration program keeps properties up to compliance by requiring owners of vacant property in violation of maintenance codes to register with the city.

This past year, the department's Community Development Block Grant helped facilitate housing rehabilitations for 12 occupied homes. The city also issued 36 new single family home permits and oversaw the demolition of more than 65 vacant structures.

2023 also saw the creation of the Housing Task Force, a group comprised of city staff including Thompson, along with county commissioners and members of the business community, who work to identify future growth and development leading up to the year 2040.

Looking at the bigger picture effort across the city, Thompson said recent developments along with work from new nonprofits like HII are putting St. Joseph on a positive course for success.

"And it's something that I think has been a focus area amongst the different entities within the community or those nonprofits or for-profit developers. But I think now we're really focusing together to try to achieve a common goal," Thompson said. "And so I think the approach that exists now I think will create more positive momentum."

A coordinated plan for new development

As St. Joseph continues to expand east and north, the need for new housing and apartment spaces is becoming more apparent to area officials and business leaders.

With American Rescue Plan Act funds required to be obligated by December 2024 and spent by 2026, officials see an opportunity in front of them to strike while the iron is hot and assist groups looking to make an impact.

In its Comprehensive Plan, the city identified a shortage of mid- and upper-income housing options in the rental market and a growing number of young workers commuting from areas like Platte City and North Kansas City instead of staying in St. Joseph because of it.

In an effort to incentivize development of a multi-family upscale apartment complex at North Point Drive, the city, county and Chamber of Commerce agreed to a Memorandum of Understanding this month.

"The county's committed to giving that property away, more or less, to somebody that's willing to come in and develop it and get it moving and get it done within the next year and a half or two years, if we can get them," Western District Commissioner Ron Hook said.

The county also recently signed with Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices to help market an additional two plots of land totaling 8 acres near the area for development.

Hook and Eastern District Commissioner Scott Burnham stressed the importance of finding a developer who is committed to owning and maintaining the property for the right reasons.

"There's a lot of things that we are being cautious about, and that is that an outside person can come in, build the facility on, on free land that we're providing and then up and sell and move out after they've made their money and just move out and let it sit there," Burnham said.

The issue has impacted areas throughout St. Joseph over time and creates significant barriers to ensure properties continue to thrive and support the city's economy.

Thompson has seen frequent and similar occurrences in past years with properties throughout the city.

"You had multiple different outside investment groups registered through different leases who purchased property at a tax sale," he said. "They turn around and flip this property. It's substandard housing."

As a new wave of housing improvement momentum unfolds, one fueled by motivated citizens, reenergized programs and budding partnerships, those involved are working to benefit more than just this generation, but those to come.