A 40-unit, 55-plus senior affordable housing project is inching toward becoming a reality. The Flats at Coach Crossing is a housing project made possible through Missouri Housing Development Corporation (MHDC) and the only MHDC project approved in Clay County during the 2022 round of approvals. “This housing project is similar to The Oaks and the Villas of Excelsior Springs downtown region,” said Excelsior Springs Economic Development Director Melinda Mehaffy. The development is not Section 8 housing but is a moderate-middle income project considered a mixed-income project with some homes being traditionally marketed at a higher cost. “The Oaks housing addition is phasing out of their MHDC project,” said Mehaffy. She explained that the rent values of the Oaks and the Villas of Excelsior Springs’s downtown region could increase, moving towards market-rate housing costs. In contrast, the Flats at Coach Crossing would a...