Women’s Recovery Program Plans Affordable Housing Near Troost

A program that provides affordable housing to women recovering from substance abuse and their children intends to build a 37-unit development at 28th and Tracy.

Amethyst Place, which currently operates a similar-size development and 27th and Troost, is planning the $15.4 million project that’s expected to begin construction this spring and be completed by late 2024.

The project incudes 25 apartments and 12 townhomes on a 1.2-acre site. It’s being developed by a team primarily made up of women professionals in the development field with the guidance of Sunflower Development, according to a press release.

Amethyst Place is described as a long-term supportive housing program. Through housing and wraparound services, the agency helps women and children recover from generational poverty, substance use and trauma, according to the release.

In operation for 22 years, its current campus of 37 units cannot keep pace with rising community demand.

“Sadly, our average waitlist holds about 40 families,” Starla Wulf Brennan, executive director, said in a statement.

“Most families wait a year before they can move in. During this time, mom is unhoused and most children are separated in foster care. Imagine all the trauma endured and the potential stifled during this devastating wait.”

The Amethyst Place expansion is being built near a stretch of Troost that’s seen hundreds of market-rate apartments developed in recent years. (Rendering from Amethyst Place)

The expansion of the Amethyst Place housing program also is bringing additional affordable apartments to a booming stretch of Troost Avenue near Hospital Hill that’s seen hundreds of new apartments developed in recent years, most of them market-rate.

“It’s an important facet of the project to bring 37 units of affordable housing to an area that’s rising in value,” said Sarah Knopf-Amelung, director of strategy and growth for Amethyst Place.

The businesses and women participating in the project are:

• Rosemann & Associates, P.C. (with Emily Clements, NCIDQ as project architect)
• Rau Construction Company (with Alison Meyer Reynolds as project manager)
• Antella Consulting Engineers, Inc. (MBE/WBE, with Monica S. Santos, P.E., LEED, founder and president)
• KH Engineering Group (WBE, with Kathy Hagen, PE, founder and principal)
• Landworks Studio (WBE, with Carisa McMullen, principal)
• Olsson (with Brad Sonner, vice president)
• Sunflower Development Group, LLC (with Jason Swords, principal)

The project still needs community support to reach its fundraising goal, according to the release.

“We hope other civic leaders, businesses, and philanthropic-minded individuals will pitch in to raise the remaining funds needed for this very worthwhile campaign and cause,” Sword said in a statement.

Women interested in learning more about become a resident at the development can learn more here.