New Apartments on Horizon for Main Street Gallery Building If Grants are Approved

19 S. Main, is on the left, with 23 S. Main on the left. The buildings are located at the corner of First and Main Street.

The City of Fort Scott approved two resolutions  for an apartment project at 19 and 23 S. Main.

Currently Spoiled Brat Beauty Salon and Main Street Vintage and Co. are housed on the main floor of the two buildings.

The Project

Justin Pregont, with Pomeroy Development LLC, of Atchinson, appeared before the Fort Scott City Commission this month to ask for and did receive approval for the submission of a moderate income housing grant application to the Kansas Housing Resources Corporation.

In addition he sought and was approved for submission of a Rural Housing Incentive District and an Industrial Revenue Bond issue in support of the project.

The entire process of a project like this can take several years, Pregont said in an interview, and all plans are contingent on the receiving of the funds from the grants. In late March 2023, he will be notified from the state if he is a winner of the first of the grants, which he said is very competitive.

The Van Fossen Apartments is the name of the project. It is a sixteen  unit adaptive reuse and historic preservation project approximately 16,000 square feet of the second and third floors of the Van Fossen building at 23 S. Main as well as a comprehensive renovation of the second floor of 19 S. Main, which has approximately 3,000 square feet.

Pregont sought the city’s approval to apply for $1,375,000 in the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) category, a federal stimulus bill to aid public health and economic recovery.

It is in  the Moderate-Income Housing (MIH) category of the grant. He stated that the city’s responsibility is administrative, because the checks must flow through a local government sponsor.

Pregont told the commission he has similar projects he has done in the past. He stated that he is the sponsor, he is responsible for carrying it through to completion and he is responsible for the compliance, but the funds flow through the city.

To see prior projects of Pregont:

https://www.pomeroydevelopment.com/

“A friend of mine notified me of the real estate listing,” Pregont said. “We like historic buildings, they are superior in architecture to  modern.

The historic tax credits are a big piece of the funding of such projects.

The Apartments

The apartments will be “top of the market”, Pregont said, and the rents will reflect that. “It will provide quality housing for people who want something better.”

He said he knows people are concerned about the increased shortage of parking spaces in the historic downtown area.

“Anytime there is a booming downtown, there is parking distress,” he said. “It’s an indication of success.”

The primary entrance will not be on Main Street, but on First Street near the alley, which should help with the parking issue currently on Main Street, he said.

Whether pets will be allowed in the apartments, Pregont said it is uncertain at this time, although therapy dogs will be, according to laws that are in place.

Many business owners and downtown residents have expressed concern over animal feces in the downtown area.

About the Name

The buildings were built in the 1880s by Van Fossen and Wilcox, Pregont said.  It was originally a dry goods store, but through the years saw many transformations.

“Van Fossen is a unique name, so we went with that,” Pregont said.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

11 thoughts on “New Apartments on Horizon for Main Street Gallery Building If Grants are Approved”

  1. This should help with the parking problems already in the area.

    Moderate Income? Seems like every day this country comes closer and closer to becoming socialist. The developer won’t build it unless he gets free money from the government, then won’t rest the apartments freely to anyone, you have to meet Income requirements. I think we ALL know that moderate income will shift to LOW income if this project even gets off the ground.

    1. Concerned, to have your comments on this site, your correct name and correct email address need to be included. Thanks.

    2. Concerned, you’re always free to move. Is someone holding your family hostage and in turn forcing you to continue living here? Several years of posts sure make it seem that way. Are you involved in any local boards or volunteer groups? Are you receiving any kind of federal assistance from say Medicare or Social Security?

  2. I can’t believe we have a need for ANYMORE apartments downtown!! I love that the buildings will be repaired but do we really have that many people looking for apartments?

  3. I am impressed with the work this developer has done in other historic buildings. Follow the link and look at them. I’m happy these buildings are going to be restored before they deteriorate.

    1. I am happy about the restoration too….However They are also turning the Fort Scott Manor Nursing home into apartments! …My only problem is wondering who are they going to fill all of these apartments with?

      1. 1 in 4 millennials say they are forever renters That number has grown significantly in a short amount of time showing Millennials are giving up on homeownership, according to Apartment List’s 2022 Millennial Homeownership Report. In 2022, nearly 25% of Millennials planned to always rent and not buy a home.

      2. YES. I get requests daily for my apartments downtown. Much like the rest of the region and state, we simply do not have the housing stock to meet the need.

  4. Fort Scott has a extreme dearth of rental properties. There is a large, daily in-migration of workers to Fort Scott who could not find a place to rent here and are living in other jurisdictions. Rent is very high for very modest properties, and we have some landlords reluctant to make repairs and upgrades to properties in order to maintain their high income on properties, recognizing their tenants have nowhere else to go. Good quality rental properties are a critical and urgent need for Fort Scott.

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