KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Kansas City Council on Thursday approved millions of dollars for affordable housing across the metro.

A new housing trust fund is opening up doors for affordable housing in Kansas City, Missouri. It’s a project council members and the mayor have been working on since 2018.

The Kansas City Council approved nearly $8 million for affordable housing across Kansas City. That money will create 500 housing units in underserved areas.

More than 280 units will be new or preserved rentals, 113 are transitional and supportive housing and 57 homes will have owners.

Housing Development Director Jane Brown said 90% of the 500 units are restricted as affordable.

“It helps senior citizens, average citizens,” Brown said. “The housing trust fund projects will help veterans, people with disabilities, victims of domestic violence.”

The new housing trust fund board looked at 26 proposals, only 14 were selected. Habitat for Humanity of Kansas City was one of them. They’ll receive $114,000.

“It’s exciting,” Interim CEO Lindsay Hicks said.

They’re currently building up to 25 houses in the Wendell Phillips neighborhood. This money will help fund an additional four homes this year.

“It’s impactful for not only our organization, but our entire community,” Hicks said.

“There are so many people, tens of thousands of people that need affordable housing here in Kansas City, so anytime we can find that additional funding to support us, it’s really giving back to the community and building more long term stability for them.”

Here’s a list of the approved projects and funding allotted for each:

• Ivanhoe Neighborhood Council, Garfield East Senior Cottages for affordable rental creation – $370,360
• Ivanhoe Neighborhood Council, Heroes Homes for transitional and supportive housing – $725,000
• Missouri Housing Partners, Greenwood Senior Apartments for affordable rental creation – $500,000
• Missouri Housing Partners, Blue Hills Townhomes for affordable rental creation – $600,000
• Palestine Gardens North, rehabilitation to preserve affordable rentals – $1,700,000
• Amethyst Place, expand traditional and supportive housing – $500,000
• Parade Park Homes 2.0, for affordable rental preservation, subject to Ordinance 220184 – $350,000
• Lykins Neighborhood Trust, to create affordable rentals in northeast Kansas City – $383,000
• Community LINC Housing, proof of concept for transitional and supportive housing in Ivanhoe Southeast – $161,000
• Habitat KC, neighborhood revitalization for homeownership services and creation in the Wendell Phillips neighborhood – $114,000
• Marlborough CLT, homeownership services and unit creation – $450,000
• The Whole Person, Prospect at 35th for transitional and supportive housing – $1,000,000
• KC MASS Synergy Services, domestic violence transitional and supportive housing at 3500 NE Prather Road – $750,000.00
• Westside Housing Organization, health and environmental resiliency for home ownership and unit creation in Kansas City urban core neighborhoods – $350,000

While the majority are in the third district, there are also approved projects in the first, fourth and fifth.

“Now we’re seeing the need for 10,000 new affordable housing units,” Councilwoman Andrea Bough said. “So, it is incumbent upon us to build affordable housing so that we will keep Kansas Citians living in Kansas City and not drive them to other parts of the metropolitan area or even out of state.”

Bough said this is just the beginning.

The board will start accepting new applications in September.

She also said we should start to see these units pop up soon. Teams must start construction within 12 months.