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Larned council supports Wichita firm’s housing bid
Gleason Hospital
A Wichita-based property management company is in the process of acquiring the former Gleason Hospital at 523 Main St. in Larned, with the intent of converting the structure to an apartment building - photo by Charles Tabler


LARNED — Efforts are underway that could lead to converting the old Gleason Hospital, at 523 Main St. in Larned, to a 34-apartment structure. The building was last used commercially as the Sunrise Inc. house, an addiction recovery facility. The building has been used in recent years for storage. 

PETRA, a Wichita-based company that specializes in investments and property management, has purchased the building, contingent on getting the approval of Housing Tax Credits (HTC) from the Kansas Housing Resources Corporation through the Kansas State Housing Trust Fund (SHTF).

PETRA is interested in renovation of the interior of the building to construct 34 apartment units. The plan generally consists of taking two rooms and making one larger room between 400-500 square feet. The rooms would be fully furnished, one-bedroom market-rate apartments with a kitchenette.

There are no costs associated with this project for the City of Larned. The only action required by the City was to adopt a resolution of support for Tax Credits by PETRA to the Kansas Housing Resource Corporation. That resolution was approved by the Larned City Council in a special meeting on Nov 14. 

The council had previously adopted a Resolution of Support for a separate housing project on Oct 2. 

The tax credits have now been applied for. The approval of those tax credits should come in January of 2024.

In his notes to the council for the Nov. 14 meeting, City Manager Brad Eilts wrote that three of eight recommendations of a housing study conducted for the community by Novogradac last July would be partly addressed through the PETRA project:

• expanding the supply of moderate-income housing,

• enhancing housing and amenities in the downtown area, and

• expanding the types of units offered by supporting tax credit applications.

The building at 523 Main was originally built by Dr. B.L. Gleason. Construction was begun in 1927 and completed in 1928, when it became known as Gleason Hospital. In 1948, new additions were completed and the original building was remodeled. At the time, it was the second-largest osteopathic hospital in the state of Kansas.