By PHYLLIS ZORN

Staff writer

An allocation of low-income tax credits last week from Kansas Housing Resources Corp. will make 28 new Marion houses for residents of low and moderate income possible. Move-in dates are expected by the spring off 2024.

The houses are to be built north of Marion’s baseball field, on a 300-by-900-yard lot that will have a cul-de-sac off Eisenhower Dr.

Overland Park-based MRE Capital will build three-bedroom homes with rental rates estimated at less than $750 a month.

MRE co-founder Daniel Sailler said $750,000 in federal tax credits were awarded to the company. He expects to sell them for 80 to 85 cents per tax credit dollar to help pay for construction.

Market conditions will drive how much the credits actually bring, Sailler said.

The credits were awarded through KHRC.

One requirement is that MRE must maintain ownership of the 28 houses for 15 years.

Land for the project, owned by Marion Advancement Campaign, is being leased for agricultural use. The farmer who leases the ground soon will be notified that MAC won’t renew his lease.

Mike Powers, board president of MAC, expects construction to begin within a year.

City administrator Roger Holter said the houses would have small yards.

The model is a hybrid between an ongoing project on Coble St. and Homestead duplexes on Victory Lane, Holter said.

MRE said tenants would have strict lease requirements, often more strict than market rate rentals.

The company often develops home sites for veterans, but the Marion development will not be limited to veterans.

KHRC’s list of tax credit awards describes a plot northeast of the intersection of Roosevelt and Kellison Sts. as where the development will be. That location, a reserved section of the city industrial park, is not where city officials, MRE, and MAC say houses will be built.

Emily Sharp, communications director for KHRC, said the grant team told her no one has contacted them about the error and they will reach out to MRE about the project location.