In 2000, the Topeka Planning and Development Department started assessing the "health" of the city's various neighborhoods based on poverty, public safety, average residential property value, homeowner tenure, and boarded houses. The Highland Crest Neighborhood in the southeast part of the city, known commonly as Hi-Crest, was listed in the dark red "intensive care" category.
The non-profit SENT Topeka was formed in 2018 to focus on revitalizing neighborhoods in Shawnee County, starting with Hi-Crest. SENT stands for Strengthening and Equipping Neighborhoods Together. The organization aims to move the area to "healthy" status by focusing on three pillars: Education, Community Health and Wellness, and Business Development and Housing.
Johnathan Sublet is the founder and board chairman of SENT and Fellowship Hi-Crest Church's Servant Pastor. Both groups are housed in the neighborhood's former Avondale East Elementary School building, sharing space with the Community Resources Council. Fellowship Hi-Crest also offers programs beyond its religious scope to uplift the area. Sublet points out the average African American student in the Hi-Crest community is slated to have a household income at the age of 35 of $19,000. The average Hispanic student's projected income at age 35 is $22,00 to $26,000.
"You can’t raise a family on that. We are trying to move the needle," he says.
A 2020 Housing Market Study by the city found that the average rent for a two-bedroom unit is $788, including utilities. An hourly wage of $16 per hour ($32,000 per year) is needed to afford rent of that level. However, many of Topeka's major manufacturers' starting wages range between $9 and $12 per hour.
The study also found that 80 percent of the housing units built in the last decade were single-family homes, causing a shortage of alternative housing types such as duplexes, townhomes, and multi-family properties. Add to that a homeless rate 35 percent higher than the national average and neighborhoods made up of homes constructed before 1960 in need of renovation. It is understandable why the bulk of SENT's work has been in addressing these housing issues.
SENT aims to transform 15 percent of the housing in Hi-Crest through curb appeal projects, house rehabilitation, and new home construction. So far, the organization has purchased, rehabbed, and constructed more than 20 properties, including the first new home built in the neighborhood in more than 60 years. For 2023, the plan is to build two houses and rehab four. Eighty percent of the homes they build or rehab will be sold, while 20 percent will be kept as rental properties.
Also, on this year's agenda is to begin the development of Fremont Hill, located on 29 acres just off SE 29th Street on both sides of Fremont. Phase one of the project would see 35 new houses built. Twenty-five would be low-to-moderate income homes, and ten would be market-rate homes.
Phase two of Fremont Hill will construct mixed-use buildings with retail space on the main level and condos on the upper floors. Other facilities and amenities include a community center and several outdoor recreation spaces. Hopefully, when this phase finishes, Hi-Crest will have a local grocer, a community health clinic, new youth sports fields, a skate park, and a dog park.
Completing the entire 29-acre Fremont Hill project will cost approximately $110 million, which would be in the top ten for real estate development in Topeka's history. Also, it will bring much-needed assets to one of the most under-resourced neighborhoods in Kansas and one of the traditionally redlined neighborhoods in Topeka.
To support the organization's education pillar, SENT Prep Academy opened in 2021 to provide working families with early childhood education and child care. The program serves children ages six weeks to six years, along with limited care offered during the summer, spring, and winter break weeks for school-aged children.
Also, Fellowship Hi-Crest started The Bridge Builder's Investment Club for middle and high school students. Students beginning in sixth grade commit to spending one night a month learning financial literacy by investing in a nest egg with the help of financial coaches. They will also learn financial basics like credit scores, car loans, and mortgages. When they graduate from high school, the students will receive proceeds from the nest egg to help with college, trade school, or an investment account for those going into the workforce.
SENT also offers mental health counseling from a licensed professional to the community. Last year, the therapist saw more than 300 clients. The hope is to hire an additional therapist. If they can raise six months of salary, the position becomes self-sustaining.
"For the first time, last summer, Hi-Crest moved from being intensive care to being at risk" Sublet says. "The thing I want to tell people is, it's working. It's working. We're trying to do things that gel us together as a community. It's going to take deep work. We need partners. We need banks to help finance us. We're looking for people who want to make deep impacts with maybe non-traditional ways of doing the work in the neighborhood."
Then Sublet adds, "We wanted a holistic model because when you transform a place, it allows an environment where people can also be transformed."
To learn the latest about SENT Topeka’s projects and programs, log onto senttopeka.com. Information about Fellowship Hi-Crest can be found at fellowshiphicrest.com.