By NANCY PIATT Special to the Hays Post

Sunday will be a long-awaited day for Victoria. Following almost two years of planning, community meetings, fundraising events and grant writing, the official groundbreaking ceremony for St. John’s Place will happen.&nbsp;

The community and area dignitaries are invited to the event at 11:30 a.m. on site.&nbsp; Lunch will be served, tours conducted. and hard work celebrated.

The Victoria Community Coalition Board is especially excited to conduct the tours of the old nursing home to give visitors a view of all the demolition work that has been done by community volunteers.

The work includes removing old wiring, plumbing, metal and insulation as well as stripping sheet rock down to the main supports.

The debris removed has filled more than 12 dumpsters. Many items removed have been sold, including copper, good insulation, refrigerators and coolers, bathtubs and sinks. All of this has boosted the Victoria Community Coalition treasury.

Board members estimate the labor donated will save more than $140,000 in demolition costs.&nbsp; &nbsp;

Another accomplishment has been the removal of all the asbestos in the part of the building that is Phase 1: 12 independent senior apartments. &nbsp;

The first part of construction will be the replacement of the entire roof.&nbsp;

In addition to the apartment complex, another part of the project is the construction of a satellite site for the Ellis County Historical Society.&nbsp; Work on its portion of the roof has begun. &nbsp;

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/4/1712175275336.jpeg" alt="Visitors on Sunday will be able to see the exposed bare pipes and ceiling rafters that reflect the labor of volunteers at St. John's Place in Victoria. Courtesy photo" />
 <figcaption>Visitors on Sunday will be able to see the exposed bare pipes and ceiling rafters that reflect the labor of volunteers at St. John's Place in Victoria. Courtesy photo</figcaption>
 </figure>By NANCY PIATT Special to the Hays PostSunday will be a long-awaited day for Victoria. Following almost two years of planning, community meetings, fundraising events and grant writing, the official groundbreaking ceremony for St. John’s Place will happen.&nbsp;The community and area dignitaries are invited to the event at 11:30 a.m. on site.&nbsp; Lunch will be served, tours conducted. and hard work celebrated.The Victoria Community Coalition Board is especially excited to conduct the tours of the old nursing home to give visitors a view of all the demolition work that has been done by community volunteers.The work includes removing old wiring, plumbing, metal and insulation as well as stripping sheet rock down to the main supports.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/4/1712175354336.jpeg" alt="As construction begins, this space will soon be a two-bedroom apartment unit at St. John's Place in Victoria. Courtesy photo&nbsp;" />
 <figcaption>As construction begins, this space will soon be a two-bedroom apartment unit at St. John's Place in Victoria. Courtesy photo&nbsp;</figcaption>
 </figure>The debris removed has filled more than 12 dumpsters. Many items removed have been sold, including copper, good insulation, refrigerators and coolers, bathtubs and sinks. All of this has boosted the Victoria Community Coalition treasury.Board members estimate the labor donated will save more than $140,000 in demolition costs.&nbsp; &nbsp;Another accomplishment has been the removal of all the asbestos in the part of the building that is Phase 1: 12 independent senior apartments. &nbsp;The first part of construction will be the replacement of the entire roof.&nbsp;In addition to the apartment complex, another part of the project is the construction of a satellite site for the Ellis County Historical Society.&nbsp; Work on its portion of the roof has begun. &nbsp;

St. John’s project in Victoria to break ground on Sunday

By JAMES BELL 
Hays Post

VICTORIA — This month, Victoria residents heard updates
from the <a href="https://hayspost.com/posts/20265d70-4cca-400e-9a7e-69323db9d166">Victoria
Community Coalition as they continue in their effort to repurpose the former St.
John’s Rest Home.</a>

Coalition chair and <a href="https://hayspost.com/posts/20265d70-4cca-400e-9a7e-69323db9d166">building owner Jeff Pfeifer </a>opened
the meeting by highlighting progress already been made to bring the
beloved building back to life under the proposed name St. John’s Place.

<a href="https://heartlandcommunityfoundation.org/">The
Heartland Community Foundation</a>, Pfeifer said, awarded the project a $5,000
grant for architectural work and set up an account for the organization to accept
tax-deductible donations. An application that would secure the organization as
a not-for-profit 501(c)3 is also underway and associated media explaining the
project has been developed, including the launch of a <a href="https://www.victoriakscommunity.com/">coalition website.</a>

During the meeting, the coalition also shared the results
of a completed survey that would qualify the project for grants. They
reported responses from 73 percent of homes in the city with active meters.

The survey highlighted the city’s largest
employers out of the 49 listed — the Victoria school district, Nex-Tech and
Frank’s Oilfield Service — and other economic data, but some of the most telling data centered around the workforce in the city.

“We are a retirement community,”
said Victoria Community Coalition Treasurer Marilyn Braun. “Out of the 979 people that we actually surveyed,
there are 228 that are 66-plus years of age. Out of those 228, 226 are actually
retired, doing nothing. They are retired.”

Further, they found a significant portion
of the available Victoria workforce works outside the city.

“Of that percentage that we
talked to, 50 percent had a worker in Hays,” Pfeifer said. “Of that, 25 percent
had two or more people working in Hays.”

He said that amounts to 70
percent of homes with working individuals are working in Hays.

“Basically, what it told me
was, Victoria provides housing for Hays employers, and Hays provides employment
for Victoria residents,” Pfeifer said.

He said those findings reflect
a mutually beneficial situation.

“I don't see any reason not
to reach out to Hays and see how we can work together,” Pfeifer said. “And I've
been trying to do that.”

He noted the coalition has
been working with Hays-based economic development organizations such as&nbsp;<a href="https://www.growhays.com/">Grow Hays</a> and the <a href="https://hayschamber.com/">Hays Chamber,</a> along with their continued work
with the Northwest Kansas Planning and Development Commission <a href="https://hayspost.com/posts/93f2e61e-a2e0-43d8-9f38-f7beacb841b5">after the
city of Victoria signed up earlier this year.</a>

“We're a bedroom community to
Hays,” Braun said. “We are a retirement community, and we got to do something to
bring families in and make housing available for them. It was very clear in the
interviews with the employers that finding housing within Victoria is problematic.
That was stated by a couple of the employers interviewed. But that's where we
are.”

Outside of giving the coalition
a clear view of the housing and workforce needs in the city, the survey allows
the coalition to apply for Moderate Income Housing program grants available
for cities with populations under 60,000 in Kansas.

“This will be our foundation
for when we apply to the MIH grant,” Pfeifer said. “We're going to ask for
$650,000 from the state that is for housing.”

Homes owned in the community
totaled 321, with 117 above the median home value of $172,700 — 204 homes were
below the median.

The survey found 71 renters in
the city, paying an average rent of $730 monthly. Eighty-three percent reported rent
under that amount.

“So, the rent in town is fairly
low,” Braun said.

The survey also
reported that many currently living in the community would qualify for housing
developed in the facility.

“We did find out that for the MIH grant that we were looking at, for 100 percent of income, one person could
have $60,600 income, two people could have $69,300 in income and still qualify
to live in an MIH moderate-income housing facility,” Braun said.

She said 171 Victoria
households are under that threshold.

“What this did was support
the need for affordable housing,” Pfeifer said. “So, that leads us to our plan.”

As envisioned currently, the
former rest home would include 20 rental units, comprised of studio, one- and
two-bedroom apartments, a childcare center large enough for 20-25 children and open
community space. Rent is being roughly projected at $1 per square foot for the
apartments.

<a href="https://hayspost.com/posts/4e8ad16c-9ee2-43ac-bfc0-857f715636e6">The Ellis
County Historical Society had previously announced they would create a satellite
museum in the building as well and would occupy around 9,000 square feet of the around 40,000 square foot facility.</a>

In the proposed agreement, currently being finalized, the society will receive 10 years
of free rent. At the same time, they are responsible for the cost of repairing and updating
their portion of the building.

“It's
good for them, and it's good for our community, good for Ellis County,” Pfeifer
said. “They want to focus on the church, the history of the Church, on the
artifacts of the church, and they want to focus on the Volga German heritage.”

Moving forward, Pfeifer said the
most pressing issue is repairing the aging roof of the entire facility. Due to
its current state and the building’s design, nearly all of the whole top will need to be replaced at one time.

He estimates $500,000 to $650,000
would be needed to repair the roof entirely. 

Once the roof is secured, Pfeifer said
the project would be split into phases, with the total project expected to cost less than $3 million.

Phase
one would include the construction of 11 apartments in the newest part of
the building, along with the child care center.

But everything is dependent on the
current ability of the coalition to raise funds, and while much of the project
cost is hoped to be covered by grant and organizational funding, community
efforts will be important to demonstrate “buy-in” from Victoria residents.

“They want to see what you're
bringing to the table with what you're requesting,” said Heartland Community
Foundation Executive Director Sarah Meitner. “They'll see the time that the
community has put in the time and it counts for something.”

Time and effort, along with the influx of community dollars
into a project, project the overall desire of residents to see a project
completed, she said.

“And that's why we're here,”
Pfeifer said. “The last piece tonight is, 'How do we do that?' ”

He said currently the coalition
has three efforts underway, including a donor campaign, physical work at the facility
and fundraisers.

<a href="https://hayspost.com/posts/9020a3c3-5787-4198-8ef6-638ce2acd105">One
fundraiser has been planned featuring homemade popcorn balls.</a>

While those fundraisers might generate relatively small amounts compared to the total project cost, Hansen
Foundation Facilitator Betty Johnson said it demonstrates more than just a financial
commitment.

“It's important for even a Hanson or Schmidt Foundation or Patterson Foundation that the residents of Victoria
have financially invested,” Johnson said. 

But she said a long list of
small contributions matters far more than just a few very large ones.

And it can help leverage the support
of the community.

“All
you're doing is presenting an opportunity,” Johnson said. “We have an
opportunity to talk to them about what's going on in their community, letting
them know, and giving them an opportunity to invest and be a part of some great
things going on.

“It [shows]
the community cares, and that they believe, and they care and lead by putting
dollars in,” she continued. “That's the way Hansen looks at it, is that there's
other skin in the game.”

And with
the holiday season being a typically more fruitful time for philanthropic
giving, Meitner said the push to the end of the year to raise funds for the
roof can be successful with a high level of involvement.

“Something
like 80-ish percent of charitable giving happens during the month of November
and December,” she said. “So, it's the time to get this project out in the
community and abroad and even further through alumni or through even into Hays
or rural areas and start telling them why this is important and how this
benefits the community.”

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/10/1666403002211.jpeg" alt="Victoria Community Coalition chair Jeff Pfeifer and treasurer Marilyn Braun share information developed from a recent community survey during a recent community on Oct. 5. Photo by James Bell/Hays Post." />
 <figcaption>Victoria Community Coalition chair Jeff Pfeifer and treasurer Marilyn Braun share information developed from a recent community survey during a recent community on Oct. 5. Photo by James Bell/Hays Post.</figcaption>
 </figure>By JAMES BELL 
Hays PostVICTORIA — This month, Victoria residents heard updates
from the <a href="https://hayspost.com/posts/20265d70-4cca-400e-9a7e-69323db9d166">Victoria
Community Coalition as they continue in their effort to repurpose the former St.
John’s Rest Home.</a>Coalition chair and <a href="https://hayspost.com/posts/20265d70-4cca-400e-9a7e-69323db9d166">building owner Jeff Pfeifer </a>opened
the meeting by highlighting progress already been made to bring the
beloved building back to life under the proposed name St. John’s Place.<a href="https://heartlandcommunityfoundation.org/">The
Heartland Community Foundation</a>, Pfeifer said, awarded the project a $5,000
grant for architectural work and set up an account for the organization to accept
tax-deductible donations. An application that would secure the organization as
a not-for-profit 501(c)3 is also underway and associated media explaining the
project has been developed, including the launch of a <a href="https://www.victoriakscommunity.com/">coalition website.</a>During the meeting, the coalition also shared the results
of a completed survey that would qualify the project for grants. They
reported responses from 73 percent of homes in the city with active meters.The survey highlighted the city’s largest
employers out of the 49 listed — the Victoria school district, Nex-Tech and
Frank’s Oilfield Service — and other economic data, but some of the most telling data centered around the workforce in the city.“We are a retirement community,”
said Victoria Community Coalition Treasurer Marilyn Braun. “Out of the 979 people that we actually surveyed,
there are 228 that are 66-plus years of age. Out of those 228, 226 are actually
retired, doing nothing. They are retired.”Children in the city totaled
218.Further, they found a significant portion
of the available Victoria workforce works outside the city.“Of that percentage that we
talked to, 50 percent had a worker in Hays,” Pfeifer said. “Of that, 25 percent
had two or more people working in Hays.”<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/8/1660869675268.jpeg" alt="The former St. John's Rest Home in Victoria. File Photo" />
 <figcaption>The former St. John's Rest Home in Victoria. File Photo</figcaption>
 </figure>He said that amounts to 70
percent of homes with working individuals are working in Hays.“Basically, what it told me
was, Victoria provides housing for Hays employers, and Hays provides employment
for Victoria residents,” Pfeifer said.He said those findings reflect
a mutually beneficial situation.“I don't see any reason not
to reach out to Hays and see how we can work together,” Pfeifer said. “And I've
been trying to do that.”He noted the coalition has
been working with Hays-based economic development organizations such as&nbsp;<a href="https://www.growhays.com/">Grow Hays</a> and the <a href="https://hayschamber.com/">Hays Chamber,</a> along with their continued work
with the Northwest Kansas Planning and Development Commission <a href="https://hayspost.com/posts/93f2e61e-a2e0-43d8-9f38-f7beacb841b5">after the
city of Victoria signed up earlier this year.</a> “We're a bedroom community to
Hays,” Braun said. “We are a retirement community, and we got to do something to
bring families in and make housing available for them. It was very clear in the
interviews with the employers that finding housing within Victoria is problematic.
That was stated by a couple of the employers interviewed. But that's where we
are.”Outside of giving the coalition
a clear view of the housing and workforce needs in the city, the survey allows
the coalition to apply for Moderate Income Housing program grants available
for cities with populations under 60,000 in Kansas.“This will be our foundation
for when we apply to the MIH grant,” Pfeifer said. “We're going to ask for
$650,000 from the state that is for housing.”Homes owned in the community
totaled 321, with 117 above the median home value of $172,700 — 204 homes were
below the median.The survey found 71 renters in
the city, paying an average rent of $730 monthly. Eighty-three percent reported rent
under that amount.“So, the rent in town is fairly
low,” Braun said.The survey also
reported that many currently living in the community would qualify for housing
developed in the facility.“We did find out that for the MIH grant that we were looking at, for 100 percent of income, one person could
have $60,600 income, two people could have $69,300 in income and still qualify
to live in an MIH moderate-income housing facility,” Braun said.She said 171 Victoria
households are under that threshold.“What this did was support
the need for affordable housing,” Pfeifer said. “So, that leads us to our plan.”As envisioned currently, the
former rest home would include 20 rental units, comprised of studio, one- and
two-bedroom apartments, a childcare center large enough for 20-25 children and open
community space. Rent is being roughly projected at $1 per square foot for the
apartments.<a href="https://hayspost.com/posts/4e8ad16c-9ee2-43ac-bfc0-857f715636e6">The Ellis
County Historical Society had previously announced they would create a satellite
museum in the building as well and would occupy around 9,000 square feet of the around 40,000 square foot facility.</a>In the proposed agreement, currently being finalized, the society will receive 10 years
of free rent. At the same time, they are responsible for the cost of repairing and updating
their portion of the building.“It's
good for them, and it's good for our community, good for Ellis County,” Pfeifer
said. “They want to focus on the church, the history of the Church, on the
artifacts of the church, and they want to focus on the Volga German heritage.”<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/10/1666403285864.jpeg" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure><h2>Next Steps</h2>Moving forward, Pfeifer said the
most pressing issue is repairing the aging roof of the entire facility. Due to
its current state and the building’s design, nearly all of the whole top will need to be replaced at one time.He estimates $500,000 to $650,000
would be needed to repair the roof entirely. Once the roof is secured, Pfeifer said
the project would be split into phases, with the total project expected to cost less than $3 million.Phase
one would include the construction of 11 apartments in the newest part of
the building, along with the child care center.But everything is dependent on the
current ability of the coalition to raise funds, and while much of the project
cost is hoped to be covered by grant and organizational funding, community
efforts will be important to demonstrate “buy-in” from Victoria residents.“They want to see what you're
bringing to the table with what you're requesting,” said Heartland Community
Foundation Executive Director Sarah Meitner. “They'll see the time that the
community has put in the time and it counts for something.”Time and effort, along with the influx of community dollars
into a project, project the overall desire of residents to see a project
completed, she said.“And that's why we're here,”
Pfeifer said. “The last piece tonight is, 'How do we do that?' ”He said currently the coalition
has three efforts underway, including a donor campaign, physical work at the facility
and fundraisers.<a href="https://hayspost.com/posts/9020a3c3-5787-4198-8ef6-638ce2acd105">One
fundraiser has been planned featuring homemade popcorn balls.</a>While those fundraisers might generate relatively small amounts compared to the total project cost, Hansen
Foundation Facilitator Betty Johnson said it demonstrates more than just a financial
commitment.“It's important for even a Hanson or Schmidt Foundation or Patterson Foundation that the residents of Victoria
have financially invested,” Johnson said. But she said a long list of
small contributions matters far more than just a few very large ones.And it can help leverage the support
of the community.“All
you're doing is presenting an opportunity,” Johnson said. “We have an
opportunity to talk to them about what's going on in their community, letting
them know, and giving them an opportunity to invest and be a part of some great
things going on.“It [shows]
the community cares, and that they believe, and they care and lead by putting
dollars in,” she continued. “That's the way Hansen looks at it, is that there's
other skin in the game.”And with
the holiday season being a typically more fruitful time for philanthropic
giving, Meitner said the push to the end of the year to raise funds for the
roof can be successful with a high level of involvement.“Something
like 80-ish percent of charitable giving happens during the month of November
and December,” she said. “So, it's the time to get this project out in the
community and abroad and even further through alumni or through even into Hays
or rural areas and start telling them why this is important and how this
benefits the community.”