United Believers Community Church planning $19.5 million housing project on Hickman Mills campus

By Tony Madden

United Believers Community Church in Hickman Mills is planning a $19.5 million housing project on its campus, according to the church and city officials. Predevelopment costs in the amount of $1.8 million will be covered by the Kansas City Shared Success Fund after an ordinance was passed on Jan. 29.

Planned for the campus at 5600 E. 112th Terr. is Edwards Estates. The four-story apartment building with 60 units will serve working families who earn between 30% and 60% of the median income, according to pastor Darron Edwards. Current plans show rent costs between $850 and $1,450 per month depending on the unit. Units will range from one to three bedrooms.

The Nash Group (led by former councilman Troy Nash), Alpha Development, Paramount Bank and the Greater Kansas City Local Initiative Support Corporation have been named as partners in the project. Construction is expected to begin by mid-2027 with the first residents moving in by early 2029.

Sponsoring the ordinance were 5th district councilman Darrell Curls and Mayor Pro Tem Ryana Parks-Shaw. Curls said he could not recall the last time the city was involved in such a housing investment in south Kansas City. He added his district has seen a lack of investments in affordable housing across the board.

“This shows that we are finally starting to get attention in south Kansas City from City Hall, which has been sorely needed,” Curls told the Telegraph. “I think that this project is going to be the beginning of opportunities that will continue to present themselves in south Kansas City.”

Most of the city’s investment — $1.3 million — will go toward acquiring land for the project, Edwards said. The remaining $500,000 will go toward a market study, environmental assessments, preliminary architectural and engineering work, legal fees and surveys. 

Roughly $7.4 million in funding will come from the 9% Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) administered by the Missouri Housing Development Commission. The church plans to apply for these credits in the September 2026 application cycle, according to Edwards. United Believers is also raising funds to close the remaining gap.

“Housing is the foundation,” Edwards said. “When I look at the vacant land next to our church, I see an opportunity to do something permanent. Not a program that ends when the grant runs out, but 60 homes that will serve families for decades.”

Edwards estimates an annual $740,000 in gross rental income will be generated by Edwards Estates. It is also expected to generate construction jobs, property management employment and tax revenue. The money, however, will not be the sole impact, Edwards said. The signal sent by the project and the city’s investment is that Hickman Mills is worth investment.

“South Kansas City has watched development dollars flow to other parts of the city for years,” Edwards said. “This project says that Hickman Mills matters. That the families who live here deserve the same quality of investment that other neighborhoods receive.”

Originally a working-to-middle-class neighborhood, affluent families migrated out of Hickman Mills starting about 50 years ago. Property values dropped in the late 1980s when the Housing Authority of Greater Kansas City placed several Section 8 housing complexes there. Blight became frequent. Problems were only exacerbated by the 1990s construction of U.S. Highway 71 and the 2008 financial crisis. Affordable housing is hard to come by in the neighborhood, which reports a child poverty rate of 36%

“This community is probably one of the most resilient communities in Kansas City just in terms of having every reason to jump ship but choosing to remain on the ship,” Edwards said. 

Edwards Estates will be the first ‘substantial’ housing development built in Hickman Mills in the past 40 years, according to Edwards.

“Everybody wants to have a better home,” Edwards said. “Everybody wants to have the modern look that they see on TV, or what their friends in Overland Park have, but they don’t have it in Hickman Mills.”

Edwards Estates is not United Believers’ first or only area of community service. The church distributes 30,000 pounds of food every third Wednesday of the month through its food bank program. Grab-and-go closets at the church are outfitted with extra clothes and school supplies for kids. On every third Sunday of the month, the church welcomes mental health professionals to offer free counseling sessions to the congregation.

The four-fold approach to community service goes by the acronym “HHAM.” The acronym stands for housing, hunger, advocacy and mental health. Edwards said he knows he is in his last decade of leading United Believers, and he has already worked to address hunger, advocacy, and mental health over the course of his career. Housing is next on the list. 

“A church must do more than preach the gospel,” Edwards said. “We’ve got to do the gospel. And I’m determined to be a pastor that does the gospel to make it visible, to make it relevant, to make it noticeable.”