Kenyon Hall may be on its way to renovation.
The 60,000 square-foot building at 1300 C of E Drive recently qualified for federal Housing Tax Credits to help build affordable rental housing developments. The credit will make available $507,357 a year for 10 years for the renovation of the building. The money is part of $71,054,080 in credits awarded by KHRC to help fund 19 housing developments in Kansas.
“These awards help provide attractive, high quality housing at an affordable rent,” said Fred Bentley, KHRC rental housing division director. “The added bonus of these awards will be a boost to the economy, creating additional construction jobs and increasing state and local tax revenue.”
The building, owned by Mitchell-Markowitz Construction, is to be converted into housing for the elderly, Bentley said.
The credits were necessary so work on the project could progress; otherwise, the building was in danger of being torn down.
Mitchell-Markowitz filed for the credits last year, and were counting on receiving them.
“... (I)f we don’t get the tax credits, that’s probably coming down,” Rick Mitchell said in a Gazette interview last May. “Because there just isn’t any other use for the building.”