The Emporia Community Housing Organization now has all three of its rental homes up and running.
On Tuesday, ECHO celebrated the completion of the three-bedroom homes, intended to make rental housing more affordable for low-income families. Two of the houses, at 108 and 114 S. West St., are finished except for the landscaping. The third, around the corner at 621 W. Copley Ave., was completed in late 2005 and is the only one of the three to be occupied.
“This has been a long time happening,” said Patty Gilligan, the president of ECHO. “But it’s great that we have three families that are going to have a safe and warm home for Christmas. That makes it all worthwhile.”
ECHO originally focused exclusively on fixing up rundown homes and selling them to low-income residents. But in 2004, the agency decided to go into the rental business. Not only would that alleviate a tight market for larger affordable homes, but it would give ECHO a steady revenue stream and make it less dependent on grants.
The homes are paid for with $75,000 in bank loans, a $30,000 grant and about $300,000 in federal funds received through the Kansas Housing Resource Corporation.
The three houses are between 1,300 and 1,400 square feet and have three bedrooms each.
“I wish my kitchen looked like this,” ECHO director Lance Rutledge said as he toured the blue home at 114 S. West St.
Applications are still being taken for the two vacant homes. To qualify, renters must meet low-income guidelines and have between four and six people in their family.
Rutledge said that ECHO hoped to build more rentals in the near future.
“They (the government) changed some rules on us last year and we didn’t come out so well,” he said. “They were looking for larger projects with tax credits attached. But they’ve changed their tune again, so it looks very good for us.”