Patrick
Seven years ago, the Kansas City Council established the Housing Trust Fund to encourage the construction of affordable housing across the city.
While the initiative took time to gain momentum, 2025 marked a turning point as several projects funded through the program finally opened their doors.
However, the success comes with a looming concern: the fund is expected to be depleted by the end of next year, with no guaranteed plan to refill it.
A Holiday Season Defined by Stability
For Whitney Leaming, this year’s holidays feel profoundly different. Her apartment door is filled with festive decorations—red garland, green ribbon, snowflakes, and holiday ornaments—symbolizing more than seasonal cheer. For Leaming and her two daughters, it represents stability they have never truly had.
She shared that having a permanent home during the holidays, a place to decorate and create traditions, is something she missed throughout her childhood due to unstable housing. Now, for the first time, she can give her children those experiences.
Life at Amethyst Place
Leaming and her family have lived at Amethyst Place, a Kansas City nonprofit offering long-term housing and social services, since 2022. Earlier this year, they moved into one of the newly constructed units on Amethyst Place’s expanded campus along Tracey Avenue.
The expansion, completed in 2025, added 25 apartments and seven townhomes for women who have experienced chronic homelessness. The project received $1 million from Kansas City’s Housing Trust Fund, helping make safe, long-term housing a reality for families like Leaming’s.
Measuring the Impact of the Housing Trust Fund
Since its creation, the Housing Trust Fund has distributed $39.7 million to dozens of developments throughout Kansas City. According to city estimates, these investments have resulted in approximately 2,433 affordable housing units, targeting residents with the greatest need.
Urban planning experts note that federal funding alone is not sufficient to address low-income housing shortages. Local funding tools like the Housing Trust Fund have become one of the few reliable ways to support deeply affordable housing projects.
Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas, who sponsored the original ordinance establishing the fund, has described it as one of the city’s most effective municipal programs, emphasizing its broad and tangible impact on residents.
From Policy to Everyday Change
The effects of the fund are visible not just in new buildings, but in daily life. At Amethyst Place, common areas are filled with donated toys for the 140 children who live there. For Leaming, the greatest change is emotional—being able to relax, spend time with her daughters, and no longer worry about where they will sleep.
She explained that once basic survival concerns disappear, families can begin building a real life rather than simply enduring day-to-day uncertainty.
How the Housing Trust Fund Was Financed
The Housing Trust Fund was approved by the City Council in 2018, but it remained unfunded until 2021, when Kansas City directed $12.5 million in federal COVID-19 relief funds to launch the program. In 2022, voters approved a $50 million bond, allowing the city to allocate $12.5 million annually to the fund.
A review board evaluates project proposals before they receive final approval from the City Council.
Recent Projects and Investments
In September, the City Council approved $8.5 million for eight new developments. These projects include housing for seniors, adaptive housing for people with disabilities, and redevelopment of historic downtown buildings. Together, they are expected to create or preserve 447 affordable units.
The council also committed $12 million from the fund toward the redevelopment of Parade Park, a $300 million project that will add over 1,100 housing units.
Parade Park was previously among the nation’s oldest Black-owned housing cooperatives, and city leaders have framed its redevelopment as a symbol of renewal and community commitment.
Funding Cliff Ahead
Despite these achievements, the Housing Trust Fund is approaching its financial limit. The final $12.5 million allocation from the original bond is scheduled for the end of 2026. Beyond that point, there is no stable, ongoing funding source.
Attempts to require developers receiving city incentives to contribute to the fund have not gained traction. Mayor Lucas has expressed support for placing another bond measure before voters, emphasizing that continued investment in housing is essential for Kansas City’s long-term health and economic stability.
From Applicant to Builder: Leaming’s Journey
Leaming was approved for housing at Amethyst Place in 2022 and initially moved into a fully furnished unit at the organization’s main campus near 28th Street and Troost Avenue. She recalled that the transition felt unreal for months after moving in.
Amethyst Place focuses on serving single mothers and children, offering services such as substance use recovery support, therapy access, job training, education assistance, and help obtaining identification documents. Families can remain in the program as long as needed, allowing them to rebuild stability without strict time limits.
Through the nonprofit’s job assistance program, Leaming joined Local Laborers 264, the union responsible for constructing the new campus. She worked on everything from groundwork and foundations to framing—often marking the building as her own during construction.
Why the Trust Fund Matters to Nonprofits
According to Amethyst Place leadership, approval from the Housing Trust Fund helped legitimize the expansion in the eyes of other funders. In addition to the $1 million trust fund grant, the organization secured another $4 million from the city through additional awards and grants, making Kansas City its largest financial supporter.
For nonprofit developers, grant funding reduces the need for debt, making projects more feasible and sustainable. Without the trust fund, some developments may never move forward.
A New Routine, A Safer Life
Before the expansion, Amethyst Place had just 37 housing units and a long waiting list. With 32 new units and an additional campus, the organization can now support significantly more families.
For Leaming, the impact is deeply personal. She and her daughters now each have their own bedrooms for the first time. She has learned to cook and prepared Thanksgiving dinner herself this year.
Daily routines—work, school, cooking, and eating together—have created a sense of safety and normalcy that once felt unreachable.
Kansas City’s Housing Trust Fund has proven that targeted local investment can transform lives, turning policy decisions into safe homes and stable futures.
From large-scale developments like Parade Park to personal stories like Whitney Leaming’s, the fund’s impact is undeniable.
As the program approaches the end of its current funding, city leaders face a critical decision: whether to renew this commitment or risk losing one of the city’s most effective tools for addressing affordable housing and long-term stability.