We need the sales tax

Union at Tower District is their first Topeka community (and third in Kansas, after projects in Lawrence and Wichita). It is a ~$59–70 million, 250-unit development of one-, two-, and three-bedroom apartments for households earning 30–60% of area median income.

• Location: 1104 SE Quincy Street (southeast corner of SE Quincy and 11th Street), near downtown Topeka.
• Buildings: Two four-story and one three-story buildings on about four acres.
• Amenities: Community center, fitness center, playground, dog park/courtyard, on-site management.
• Timeline: Groundbreaking June 3, 2025. Construction is underway; the first building was expected to open spring/early summer 2026, with full completion targeted for January–March 2027. Applications have been accepted.

Financing and public partners include:

• City of Topeka RHID tax incentives (approved ~$12 million cap with a 20-year term and sale clawback).
• Shawnee County revenue bonds (Stifel underwrote $35 million; not-to-exceed $65 million).
• Kansas Housing Resources Corp. 4% LIHTC and tax-exempt bonds.
• Citi Community Capital (construction and permanent lender).
• WNC (federal credit investor) and Advantage Capital (state credits).
• Impact Housing Indiana Corp. (a nonprofit founded by Kyle Bach that provides resident services).

Other partners include BVH Architecture, REGA Engineering, and SBB Engineering.

Kyle Bach launched the company (originally Mecca Companies) in 2006. It is an Indianapolis/Fishers, Indiana-based vertically integrated firm focused on affordable, workforce, student, and market-rate multifamily housing. They develop, build, own, and manage properties. Union at Tower District is listed on their portfolio as under construction.

This is a public-private deal that went through Topeka City Council (RHID/development agreement) and Shawnee County Commission (bonds) approvals in spring 2025. No other Topeka projects by the company turned up in current reporting.

Sales tax exempt?

Yes. The Shawnee County multi-housing revenue bonds (also described as industrial revenue bonds or IRBs) for Union at Tower District included a sales tax exemption on construction materials and supplies.

County bond counsel Bob Perry told commissioners the bonds would allow an exemption “for material supplies that would otherwise be subject to sales tax.” City staff and the developer’s representatives likewise described the county IRB as the mechanism for the sales-tax exemption on materials. One estimate given during city discussions put the value of that exemption at roughly $1.5 million.

This is a standard Kansas tool for qualifying housing projects: the county issues the bonds (here, intent approved at up to $65 million), which lets the project claim the exemption on qualifying building materials without creating repayment liability for the county. The city separately approved the RHID tax abatement; the county bonds handled the materials sales-tax piece.