By MIKE COURSON
Great Bend Post
In May, the Dominican Sisters of peace announced the motherhouse, located at 3600 Broadway in Great Bend, would be closing its doors for good at the end of 2026. In recent weeks, some good news has emerged regarding the large facility, commonly known as the Convent. At last Monday’s Great Bend City Council meeting, Great Bend native and Founder of Riverstone Platform Partners Kelley Hrabe discussed plans for the building.
“We have a contract to purchase and redevelop the convent project at 3600 Broadway,” he said. “Our goal is to redevelop it into 50-60 units of 55 and older. Fifty-five and older is enough for families, and a lot of projects we’ve done like this, historic adaptations of old YMCAs, schools, now a convent, and we’re working on a military barracks in Boonville, Mo., convert well to more age-restricted housing because they don’t have big families that need all that space.”
He noted his firm is not asking the city for money, just support at this time. He hopes the $20 million budged can be funded through historic tax credits and, hopefully, private funds and foundation money.
“This financing we’re pursuing is very competitive in the state of Kansas,” Hrabe said. “The state of Kansas gets about $10 million in housing tax credits a year. They’ll get about 35 applications, and it’ll go to about eight communities. We want Great Bend to be one of those communities this round. Tax credit financing represents about 57-60 percent of our $20 million budget, so it’s very important that we compete and get those credits awarded to the project.”
The budget remains relatively low because the building has remained occupied. The renovation project will not only provide affordable housing to area residents, but also keep a large facility from decay.
“When a building like this becomes vacant, as you all probably know, time doesn’t treat these properties well, even though it will be maintained,” said Hrabe. “If it’s unoccupied, it can really start to have some issues with maintenance, break-ins, and those types of things.”
Hrabe grew up in Great Bend but started his firm in Kansas City. Over the last 30 years, Riverstone has developed more than 2,100 housing units in a six-state area, and in Kansas communities including McPherson, Moundridge, and Hutchinson.
Hrabe said the property is not currently on local tax rolls. With apartments, the facility would generate tax money for the city, and he hopes some of that money could be redirected into the development of the apartments. The lowest estimated rent could start as low as $365 a month.
Riverstone will likely use a general contractor from outside of Great Bend to complete the renovation, but Hrabe said one goal of the project is to stimulate the local economy.
"We want to use this project not only as preserving a building, providing affordable housing , but also to help stimulate the local economy with good subs and contractors that are located here in Great Bend," he told the council. "That’s my promise to you guys."
Riverstone will submit its pre-application to the state on Jan. 17, then be invited for a full application in May. Financing would be approved 60 days after that, then Riverstone could move forward to close on the building and redevelop the property. The goal is to have residents living in the apartments in the first quarter of 2029.