Wichita City Council members have a long agenda waiting for them Tuesday morning, and a good chunk of it touches housing and the infrastructure that comes before housing.
The council meets at 9 a.m. Tuesday, Oct. 20, in the City Council Chambers at 455 N. Main St. The headline item is a request to spend $1.619 million from the city's Affordable Housing Fund, approve an updated plan for the fund, and sign a memorandum of understanding with the Wichita Housing Authority covering the purchase of 21 housing units, according to the city's meeting agenda.
What the housing money would do
The Wichita Ledger reported that Tuesday's action would acquire 21 existing single-family homes for affordable rental housing.
The city created the Affordable Housing Fund in 2022 with $5 million in federal American Rescue Plan Act money. According to city budget documents cited by the Ledger, the fund targets low- to moderate-income households in qualified census tracts inside Wichita's Established Central Area, the older core of the city. Eligible uses include single-family renovation, new construction and home repair.
This isn't the fund's first big move. In May 2025, the council voted 6-0 to approve an earlier allocation from the fund along with the sale of 47 single-family homes.
Also on the housing side, the council is set to take a final vote on taxable industrial revenue bonds for The Lark Project, which the agenda describes as the acquisition, construction and equipping of a multifamily housing facility. The bond ordinance got its first reading Oct. 13. The agenda doesn't list a unit count, a site or a builder for the project.
Two more housing items sit on the consent agenda: 2027 payment standards for the Housing Choice Voucher Program, which take effect Jan. 1, 2027, and an amendment to a real estate sale contract for a property at 1608 E. Del Mar St.
Pipes, pavement and property
For contractors who work in site development, the bigger story might be the stack of public improvement petitions for the Kabbaz Addition. The agenda lists 14 separate resolutions covering:
- Water: four phases of water improvements.
- Storm sewer: two phases of stormwater drains, Nos. 569 and 570.
- Sanitary sewer: two phases of sanitary sewer work, plus a lift station upgrade serving both the Betzen Addition and the Kabbaz Addition.
- Streets: four phases of paving and a left-turn lane.
The council is being asked to approve the new petitions and budgets and adopt the resolutions. Petitions like these are how new subdivisions in Wichita typically get their streets and utilities built, with costs spread to the benefiting lots through special assessments, so a list this long signals a sizable residential area coming along in stages. The agenda summary doesn't give dollar figures or lot counts.
Other public works items on the agenda:
- A resolution to acquire private property for the 143rd Street East improvement project between U.S. 54 and Harry Street, which crosses District II and Sedgwick County.
- A final vote on an eminent domain ordinance for the South Bleckley Drive drainage improvement project between East Waterman Street and East Second Street North.
- A first reading of industrial revenue bonds for 1651 Eisenhower LLC's Leadfoot Express Project, a commercial facility, with a second reading expected Oct. 27.
- A final vote on taxable industrial revenue bonds for improvements to Greater Wichita YMCA facilities.
The meeting also includes the regular Board of Bids and Contracts report, which is where the city approves construction contracts it has bid out.
Why it matters for Contractors
Buying 21 existing homes for affordable rentals could mean renovation work down the line. The agenda doesn't say what shape those houses are in, but older homes often need roofing, HVAC, plumbing, electrical or finish work before they're ready to rent. The Lark Project bonds point to a multifamily build somewhere in the city, and the Kabbaz Addition petitions put water line, sewer, storm drain, lift station and paving work into the city's pipeline in phases. Contractors who want a piece of that should watch the Board of Bids and Contracts reports in the months ahead and get on the city's bidder lists now, since the council's approval of the petitions is the step that clears the way for design and bidding.